It’s Claire Delaney who joins Alexa this week to give us a tour behind the scenes of working on the ITV show ‘Mamma Mia! I have a dream’, the search for Sophie and Sky. Claire is a vocal coach with a private business and also teaches at UK Drama School Italia Conti. She initially trained in Opera, performing at the likes of the Royal Albert Hall, and now works with singers of all skill levels from beginners to West End professionals. To celebrate the winners of ‘Mamma Mia! I have a dream’ and their West End debut, Claire is here to give us the gossip on how she landed this TV job, what her role entailed on the program, and how we can help our theatre performers navigate auditions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• “Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream” premiered on ITV in October 2023. The program followed the quest for two fresh and undiscovered talents in musical theatre, aiming to cast them in the roles of Sophie Sheridan and Sky Ramand for the West End rendition of the musical “Mamma Mia!”.
• If you or one of your students are thinking about applying for a TV show like this in the future, Claire believes you need to be strong in the following areas: storytelling, working collaboratively, creating chemistry, having the endurance to perform 9 shows a week, and not taking yourself too seriously.
• In previous “Mamma Mia!” shows, it was understood that a straight tone was desired over vibrato. However, this more traditional approach didn’t appear to be the case in the TV show. Claire loves vibrato because it adds colour and a feeling of release to the voice. As a teacher, you need to make sure your students can do both so they can use whichever they think is right for them.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I feel like having worked on TV now it adds to my credibility’

‘It’s not Shakespeare, it’s pure entertainment and just joyous’

‘The key to any audition is to do your background development on the character’

‘My best advice is just be cheeky and ask, the worst anyone can say is no and not everybody will say no’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Guest Website:

• delaneycoaching.com

Social Media:

• Instagram: @Claire.delaney.coach
• Tik Tok: Claire_TheVocalCoach

Relevant Links & Mentions:

• Fiona McDougal: fionamcdougal.com
• London School of Musical Theatre: lsmt.co.uk
• Italia Conti Arts: italiaconti.com
• Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep. 91 How to Help Prepare Singers for Drama School Auditions with Michael Vickers
• Songs mentioned: Luck Be a Lady from Guys and Dolls; Trustfall by Pink; Somebody To Love from We Will Rock You; Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer; Shivers by Ed Sheeran; Night Fever from Saturday Night Fever
• Vocology in Practice: vocologyinpractice.org

BAST Book A Call

ABOUT THE GUEST

Claire Delaney is a professional voice coach and currently teaches at Italia Conti. She has been in the performing industry for 15 years and has recently worked with voice coach Fiona McDougal on the new Mamma Mia ‘I Have a Dream’ show for ITV.

Trained in Performing Arts and Opera, Claire has performed at venues including The Royal Albert Hall, The Wales Millennium Centre, The Other Palace, Kensington Roof Gardens, and The Bristol Hippodrome. She has also worked with Disney composer, Alan Menken, for the musical Galavant on ABC Comedy, and as an actress on various productions for Netflix, Sony Pictures, BBC One, BBC3, ITV, and ITV2.