Glee: Making a song and dance of it

Ties have been loosened, sleeves rolled up, and perspiration is forming on foreheads as drama teacher John Naples-Campbell exhorts his Glee students to commit themselves to the moves.

Glee clubs are part and parcel of the American high school system, but this side of the pond, singing at school has generally been restricted to the school choir.

But ever since the US series hit our screens, exploding ratings and taking the Golden Globe for best comedy series, interest in such clubs has been rising.

Mr Naples-Campbell, a Queen Margaret drama graduate who also runs the Random Act Theatre Company and still directs musical theatre, thinks his club might be the first in Scotland. And while he misses the element of competition that could result if there were others, he believes that it's more about having fun and building youngsters' confidence.

"The difference between a Glee club and a school choir is that it's for every year group, so we have kids aged 13 to 17 here. When I came here I knew there was a tradition of good school choirs and classical music and I wanted to offer something different. The school choirs are for junior and senior girls, but there wasn't much for boys or those who wanted to sing and dance. We started the club before Glee came on British TV, but I had a box set of the series on DVD and loved it. It reminded me of my time at Queen Margaret. The drama students were with the nursing, media and sports science students. We were the weirdos who were singing in corridors.

"We started as a show choir, but that was when we had about 20 members. Since Glee came on TV the numbers have risen to around 100, so now we need the school hall to rehearse – and we're planning a show in the Brunton Theatre at the end of the year."

He adds: "I thought it was brilliant when pupils started coming – and yes we probably have some "Gleeks", but it's a real mix of pupils. It's all about having fun, and it's given the kids confidence."

Certainly there's a good cross-section of types at the Tuesday rehearsal: the cool ones, the enthusiasts, the MORs. Even those not involved obviously know what Glee is all about. As photographs are being taken, one pupil opens a classroom window and a chant of "glee, glee, glee" carries across the internal courtyard, while an older male pupil holds his fingers to his forehead in an L shape. His thoughts on Glee members are obvious – losers.

That is definitely how the club in the TV show is regarded at first, given that it's members are made up of school misfits: a homosexual fashionista, the nauseating narcissist, a disabled guitar player, the Beyonc-wannabe and a Goth with a speech impediment. But at Knox, it's a different scenario.

"We have a lot of the cool people who are members," insists 17-year-old Robert Edgar, the club's pianist, who it seems is too cool himself to even watch the show that often. "I got involved because I was in the sixth year panto and it's a fun thing to do – even though I can't sing or dance. I just move my shoulders a bit.

"We also get to choose the music which is great. I chose Rihanna's Disturbia."

Fiona Duncan, 15, who is getting ready to sit her Standard Grades in May, including drama, adds: "It's a place to come and be a bit mental, let off steam. I love the show, though I wouldn't say I'm like any of the characters."

A younger enthusiast is Ben Nesbet, 14, one of the few male members. "My parents think it's great there's something like this for me to come to because the choirs at my age are just for girls," he says. "I'm studying Standard Grade music, and this is so different from that, but I love singing. I don't always like the songs we do, though.

"I'm not a big fan of Don't Stop Believin' which is what we're doing at the moment."

One of the youngest members is 13-year-old Mary-Beth McFern. "I watch the show and think it's great, so when the club started I came to see what it was all about, and it's good fun," she says. "I think more schools should take it up. It would be great if there were competitions like in America."

So is there a wannabe-famous factor in Glee? "There are kids at school who want to be on X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, but I would say, thankfully, they don't seem to be Glee club members," says John. "People who want that aren't part of a team, and the Glee club is a team effort."

And as someone once said: Fame costs, and right here is where you start paying. "But Glee isn't like that," he laughs. "It's just about fun."

Glee is on E4 on Mondays at 9pm, repeated on Channel 4 on Sundays at 5:30pm.

A GROWING PHENOMENON

GLEE is the brainchild of Ryan Murphy, the Golden Globe-winning creator of Nip/Tuck.

The gay 43-year-old Irish Catholic used his childhood experiences as a lead actor in high school musicals, while his co-creators Ian Brennan and producer Mike Novick also sang in their own schools' Glee Clubs.

Set in the fictional Wiliam McKinley High in Ohio, the club is run by Spanish teacher Will Schuester, who took over after the previous Glee teacher was sacked for inappropriate conduct. He is treated horribly by his wife Terri, who is pretending to be pregnant.

The show is such a success that the producers have released a number of recordings by the cast which have been major hits in the States.