Help Ruby Lyon go to The Royal Academy of Music!

Born and bred in Hamilton, New Zealand, I spent every spare moment of my teenage years on the local musical theatre stage in countless Hamilton Operatic Society shows - even travelling up to Auckland for months on end when there was nothing available closer to home.

Once leaving school, I attended The Actors' Program at a younger age than usually accepted and received not only excellent acting training, but also a thirst to continue to learn, improve and explore my creativity. The one year intensive course ignited in me a love for the Auckland theatre and screen community, which I have relished being a part of since graduating in 2015.

In the last one and a half years, I have been fortunate enough to work consistently in either a singing or an acting capacity. A few of my favourites:

Playing the feisty teenager Ashley Whitley on 'Shortland Street' (during the epic 25th Anniversary celebrations).

Being an original cast member of the sell-out feminist theatre hit 'FLAPS' at Basement Theatre.

Playing Magenta in Richard O'Brien's 'Rocky Horror Show' creatively advised by Richard O'Brien himself.

Co-writing, co-producing and co-starring in an original musical 'And So It Goes' for the Auckland Fringe Festival.

Musical theatre is my biggest love. Whenever I'm acting, I miss singing. And whenever I'm singing, I miss acting. Musical theatre is arguably (though I have an excellent argument) the most visceral, spectacular and emotional form of entertainment. In musical theatre a character bursts into song when words are no longer enough. They break into dance when there is no other way to express how they feel. There is nothing so cathartic and therapeutic and... satisfying!

So London (an infamous hub of musical theatre culture) has always been on my radar. Upon auditioning for The Royal Academy of Music over Skype, I was offered a place in their prestigious MA Musical Theatre program, despite not having a degree.

I am now one term in to this mind-blowing course, learning from London's best MT professionals (including Claude-Michel Shönberg - composer of 'Les Miserables') among a tribe of intimidatingly talented performers. To give a pretty accurate description, I feel as though I am living in the movie 'Fame'. It is a dream coming alive. Here is a link if you're interested in finding out a bit more:

http://www.ram.ac.uk/departments/musical-theatre

However, being an international student, the fees are astronomical and I am ineligible to qualify for a student loan. London is an extremely expensive place to live for a student and because my accepting the offer was very last minute and during a rather turbulent time, I was too late to apply for any scholarships. And so, like how life unfortunately often is, money is a massive obstacle.

In between my demanding amount of course work, I am actively researching scholarships and fundraising schemes. To entice donations, I have organised a fundraiser concert at Clarence St Theatre on December 17th at 6.30pm. The concert includes some of New Zealand's most prolific musical theatre talent, including Gwen Lyon, Kyle Chuen, Julia Booth, Scot Hall, Nathan Reilly with musical direction by David Sidwell. For more information and to purchase tickets, click on through:

http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=RUBYLYON17&v=HTT

The concert is in Hamilton - for those in Auckland it is only an hour and a half away!

However, if you are unable to attend the concert, or would like to donate further, this is the place you can do so. And if you are unable to donate at all, it would still be a massive help if you can spread the word and share this page! Alternatively, if you know of potential sponsorship or funding routes I can pursue you can contact me at rubyclyon@gmail.com.

Asking for money is difficult and uncomfortable, but I appreciate the encouragement I have already received from generous supporters. Thank you all from the absolute depths of my heart.