EDDLESTON teenager Will Rowse will take another step towards stardom when he vies for a role in Fame: The Musical.

The Peebles High pupil enjoyed a taste of the big time earlier this year in front of thousands of people at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre.

The 17-year-old was cast in July’s Scottish premiere of Bring it On: The Musical after auditions with The Beyond Broadway Experience.

And he is aiming for more stage success with a role in Fame: The Musical, for which auditions begin next month.

Will auditioned alongside several hundred fellow aspiring performers as he bid ? successfully ? to be cast in Bring It On and is expecting a similarly competitive race to be part of Fame's opening night next July at the King’s Theatre.

As The Beyond Broadway Experience invites young stage hopefuls from across Scotland to audition for the show, Will has been busy attempting to convince his school friends to join him in try-outs.

Will told the Peeblesshire News: “At The King’s Theatre with my family all there, with more people in the audience than I’d ever performed to before and in a more professional production than I’d ever been part of, it was a fantastic experience.

“After that show, the director Drew Gowland told us all about Fame being the next show.

"I had made friends through The Beyond Broadway Experience and had enjoyed performing, and I want to experience that again. I enjoyed being a member of the chorus in Bring It On and would be happy with that role again in Fame, but I’d love to be cast in a bigger role.

“The Beyond Broadway Experience caters for people of all backgrounds ? actors, singers, and dancers. I had a little experience on stage, but they are open to people of all levels of experience.”

The Beyond Broadway Experience offers young performers access to training by professionals who work in the performing arts industry.

In rehearsals for Bring It On, Will and fellow members of the young cast worked under American actress Taylor Louderman, who played head cheerleader Campbell in the Broadway production of the musical.

Will added: “In rehearsals, it was good to be working under professional choreographers, singers, and actors.

"It was great to meet Taylor, as I’d never met anyone from the theatre industry and we had the chance to find out how she got started. She definitely inspired me to think more about pursuing a career in performing arts.

“The auditions with The Beyond Broadway Experience in Edinburgh were really good and more intense than any I had experienced previously. When I was accepted, I grew very excited for rehearsals. I was surprised at getting in because I hadn’t danced much before, and the standard of candidates was a lot higher than I’d seen at other auditions. People there were really friendly and everyone wanted to learn.”

Will has performed at Shakespeare At Traquair in Macbeth and Twelfth Night.

And he also starred as as Fagan in his “first proper musical” ? Oliver ? at Eastgate Theatre, as well as in a school production of Sunshine On Leith a year ago.

He is currently preparing to play Eugene in the Peebles High production of Grease, which will open in December.

To apply for auditions for Fame, which are set to take place in central Edinburgh on Sunday, November 27 visit www.beyond-broadway.com/experience