TikTokWhat's your dream? To act in a Hollywood film? Tour the world in a band? Or sing on the West End stage?
For TikTok creator @HannahLowther8, she wants nothing more than to perform again...but she won't let the pandemic close the curtain on her singing! 👩🎤 💃 👩🎤
Taking to TikTok, Hannah has put the spotlight on her new job at Tesco, using her talent to bring West End musicals to the Fruit and Veg aisle.
From showing us the everyday objects that remind her of the West End, to Saturday night dances, Hannah's creativity shines through as she dances and jokes her way through the pandemic.
She has even created Tesco The Musical, set to Dolly Parton's Classic 9 to 5 track, watched by over a million people...and performed a duet with the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber!
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Hannah's journey is shared by many in the performing arts industry. 2020 saw the closure of theatres across the country. But the talent that brought them to life didn't disappear.
To support the budding thespians, directors, musicians and designers who have found a creative place on TikTok, in partnership with The Evening Standard we are launching the Future Theatre Fund, offering grants to emerging talent in the industry as well as two TikTok breakout stars.
The winners will each receive £10,000, as well as additional mentoring to help them on their way to making their dreams a reality.
Apply here for your chance to become the TikTok Breakout Star!
But while you're waiting for your dreams to come true, let's hear about Hannah's...
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What do you love most about TikTok?
TikTok is an amazing platform for creative people! It has this awesome way of connecting us to fellow creatives and people who are passionate about the same things as us, which is so uplifting!
After a year of not being able to perform on stage and do what I’ve been training my whole life for, TikTok has allowed me to continue to perform and create content, just in a different way!
I love that I can be myself and create fun videos that make people smile, without the pressure of looking or sounding perfect. It has really helped me connect with how much I love Theatre and why I am so passionate about it.
Why is TikTok right for your content?
I think my content works well on TikTok because it covers a variety of different audiences! I show positivity doing a job that people often don’t think twice about. I think people are fascinated that people working in shops can be positive people that actually have other talents and interests! My content also covers the theatre side of TikTok, which has proved to be full of a massive amount of talented people! I’m still planning my entry for the RATATOUILLE MUSICAL!
Who do you follow on TikTok and why? What is on your TikTok feed?
I follow lots of theatre creators, mainly American ones weirdly! I love @jjnieman for his behind the scenes videos and @deannagiulietti for her girl power, body positivity! I really enjoy watching cake decorating videos, I find it so satisfying, so a lot of those videos come up on my For You page!
What is your favourite TikTok you have made to date and why?
Although my Tesco 9-5 video has the most views out of all my videos (3 million) my favourite TikTok is the backstage tour video! I didn’t plan it at all, I was just leaving work one day and thought ‘oh that might be funny’ and got my phone out! It’s the video that was shared by Rylan on Twitter and led to all of the news interviews about my TikTok account and my story! Sometimes it’s the spontaneous ones that turn out the best!
New to TikTok and want to see more from Hannah and the wider theatre communnity? Getting involved couldn’t be easier - just download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon.
What is the TikTok / Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund?
The Future Theatre Fund is a £120k fund that has been set up to help new talent who have been struggling due to the pandemic.
Twelve recipients from a range of disciplines (actors, directors, musicians and designers) will be given £10,000 each to help with their chosen career path, as well as being allocated a mentor from the industry to provide support and guidance.
The Future Theatre Fund has a panel to help select the recipients, which will be chaired by Paul Roseby, Artistic Director and CEO of the National Youth Theatre. Members of the panel also include the theatrical heavyweights Helen McCrory, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kwame Kwei-Armah.
How can I apply for the TikTok Breakout Award?
Anyone applying for this award will need to create and submit a TikTok in line with the following brief (be as creative as you can!):
"Help us put this year behind us; create a TikTok using your specialist theatre discipline – whatever that may be – and convey to us the hopes and dreams you hold for your future theatrical career."
You’ll also need to answer a few questions about your journey and how the fund would help you.
You’ll find the entry form on the discovery panel in the TikTok app, or here , where you will also find the full terms & conditions.
The deadline for applicants is the 17th January, and the deadline for the TikTok Breakout Star Award is now the 31st January.
Break a leg!
Do you want to benefit for the Future Theatre Fund on TikTok? Getting involved couldn’t be easier - just download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon.
