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Katy Osborne
Katy was born in Colchester on the 6th August 1984, the third of four children. Katy�s father is a Secondary School Music Teacher. Her mother is a Practice Nurse.
Katy lives in Trinity Close, Wivenhoe and first attended Millfields Primary School in Wivenhoe and later the Colne Community School in Brightlingsea.
From the age of 3 she attended the Colne Bank School of Dance, run by Jenny Overton. There she studied ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance and participated in all their annual dance shows in Brightlingsea and at the Lakeside Theatre.
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She also joined the Choir of St Mary�s Church in Wivenhoe, where she was trained by the Director of Music, Graham Wadley. It was here Katy�s voice began to develop, and through Graham�s encouragement, Katy became a Bishop�s Chorister and joined the Southern Cathedral Singers.
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At the age of 15, Katy started singing lessons and went on to pass the Associated Board Grade V examination with distinction. She currently has lessons with Alison Benz in Brightlingsea, of whom she speaks very highly.
Katy has participated in many local amateur groups [see list below]. One early and significant achievement was as a member of the National Youth Music Theatre, where she was successful in national auditions for a part in the specially commissioned piece �Creation� by Richard Taylor. Katy has now performed this in venues across southern England .
In September 2000, at the young age of 16 she won a grant from the government to attend Laine Theatre Arts College in Epsom, Surrey . Arguably one of the finest colleges of its kind for musical theatre, Laine�s gave Katy the training and credibility to embark upon her passion for the musical stage. From there she obtained a professional qualification in Musical Theatre. 
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| During the summer of 2002, Katy was successful in open auditions to take part in a summer season in Ayr in Scotland . The Gaiety Whirl, as it was known, at Ayr �s Gaiety Theatre was her first professional job.
She also was successful in getting the part of Wendy in �Peter Pan� the pantomime at the Richmond Theatre, in December/January 2003. This exciting show also starred Robert Powell, and Bonnie Langford. The following year she went to the Grand Theatre in Swansea to be part of their pantomime, Cinderella.
On leaving college in the summer of 2004, Katy won a place in We Will Rock You the musical based upon the songs of Queen, and was part of the original cast which opened in Cologne . She spent 18 enjoyable months as Swing.
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 On her return to England in 2006 she was part of the ensemble in Hello Dolly on a short run at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln .
Throughout the summer of 2007 Katy was the featured singer in Forbidden ~ an extravagant theatre piece at the Globe Theatre in Blackpool .
She even appeared in Hello magazine as part of their coverage of the show�s opening.
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| This year (2008) Katy has been on a UK tour. She was invited to rejoin colleagues for Hello Dolly, a show that starred Anita Dobson and Darren Day, and has been all over the country, including a two week run in Jersey . Many local people came and supported the show when it arrived at the Cliff�s Pavilion in Southend.
It has been said by those more qualified than I, that Katy has a stage presence which shines and sparkles. There are many people in Wivenhoe, Colchester and now in Germany , who would vouch for her spectacular singing voice, and amazing dancing ability. She remains unassuming and generous, and always extremely grateful to the people of Wivenhoe who have supported her.
August 2008
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Katy’s appearances in Wivenhoe and Colchester productions:
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With the Wivenhoe Pantomime she played the lead girl as Beauty in �Beauty & the Beast�, (1998) and with the Wivenhoe Players she played Maria in �Bitter Sanctuary� (also 1998).
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Before that she has had parts in the Braintree Musical Society�s performances of �Annie�, �The Wizard of Oz� and �Carousel�.
At school she played lead roles in �Bugsy Malone� (1998); �Grease� (1999) and �Fame� (2000).
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In Colchester she won her vocal section in the Rotary Music & Dance Festivals of 1997 (when she also performed in the Finale) 1998 and 1999.
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She has performed solo (1998 & 1999) in the Charter Hall for charity events, to some considerable acclaim.
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She joined Colchester Operatic Youth Group [CO2] and played the lead in their performance of the �Rock Nativity� (1999).
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More recently, Katy has been involved as choreographer for the Wivenhoe�s G&S Society�s of production of My Fair Lady.
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On her return to England in 2006 she was part of the ensemble in Hello Dolly on a short run at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln .
