On the Yellow Brick Road

A year after coming fourth on the TV talent search, Steph gets her golden opportunity - one that coincides nicely with the release of her debut album, a collection of show tunes which goes under the name My Parade.

Steph will be selling it at the Pavilion Theatre.

“It should be on sale front of house. It came out in December and has done quite well actually, but in December I was doing panto, so I have not really promoted it as much as I would have liked.

“It has got Somewhere Over The Rainbow on there and some of the songs that I sang in the show. I did it in a month and it has gone really well. We have had a lot of positive feedback. I did it independently. I had all the freedom in the world. I produced it with my dad.”

It’s all part of the opportunities which have opened up since Over The Rainbow on TV. Since then, she has appeared in three theatre productions - Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The Wiz and Aladdin. The big difference is that now, she’s getting parts without having to audition.

Steph was encouraged to enter the show by a friend and wasn’t sure at first: “But then I thought ‘What harm could it do?’

“It exceeded my expectations. I came fourth. I don’t know how I did it. It scared the hell out of me every Saturday night. I was terrified, but I treated every week as a showcase rather than thinking ‘I must stay on another week, I must stay on another week’. I just treated it as an audition, and that took the pressure off a little bit!”

The version of The Wizard Of Oz touring to Worthing will be a different version to the big West End one, but it’s still great to play such an iconic character: “We are going to be doing about ten different venues. It is going to be intense, but I certainly want to put my own little spin on the part!”

Tickets on 01903 206206.