Last month you sent your questions to Lauren Bain. Lauren is currently the longest serving West End Kid, having started when the Company first opened in 2001. Here, you can find out what it's really like to be a "West End Kid".

Here are your questions and answers :-

Q - What's it like being on stage and singing infront of all those people? (Jade MacDonald, London)

A - It differs from people to people but for me personally, it’s an unreal experience and I just get this amazing buzz which gives me this new confidence and presence. To the people who know me well, I can get quite nervous and worried if I don’t like a certain note I sing or I am having trouble with something, but as soon as I get on a stage, all the nerves and worries just disappear and I just go for it, leaving everything behind me. Martin, our Musical Director, always tells us to tell the story and no matter how daunting it can be, for those few minutes I’m on there, I just become a different person and I’m part of the song and its story. I don’t know if you’ve had much experience performing but it’s an amazing feeling once you’ve finished a song and its gone well and you just want to do it again and again.I hope that’s given you some help and if you do want to perform, you get the same great feeling.

Q - What would your ideal role in the West End be? (Katie Bright, Milton Keynes)

A - Ooooh, that is a good question! One musical that is quite popular at the moment with most people and something you may have heard of is “Wicked”. I love the story and music from that and to get a part like Elpahba would be amazing, but very challenging! I also would love a part like Eponine from “Les Mis” or good old Nancy from “Oliver”, a character I briefly played in our Oliver Medley at West End Live and our upcoming review.Thanks for the question, never really thought about a specific part in general before.

Q - What's it like being a West End Kid? (Kim Downling, Liverpool)

A - Being a West end kid (and this may sound VERY corny ) is like being part of a family. Everyone is so close here and it makes being a West End Kid so much better because you enjoy going every week and enjoy being with the people you perform with. It’s great to share the experiences we have with one another and we also all pretty much socialise outside of WEK. We all work really hard to put on good performances and it’s great to hear positive feedback from people, who aren’t related to us but have seen us and enjoyed our performances. Especially after shows like West End Live, it’s great to be called a West End Kid because we loved doing it so much and it makes that much better knowing other people did too! I hope that wasn’t too corny, but it's true.

Q - I saw you at West End Live, you were AMAZING! How nervous were you? (Charlie Moston, Middlesex)

A - Wow! I’m glad you enjoyed our performance! I’m not going to lie; we were all a bit nervous! But it wasn’t a bad thing because our excitement completely crushed all those nerves when we stepped onto the stage and heard the cheers from the audience! All that mattered was that we enjoyed what we were doing and had a great time doing it. When I’m nervous before going on a stage, I just use it all to put on the best performance I can and have a good time doing it. Afterwards, as soon as we got off we were absolutely crazy and just ecstatic because the audience and atmosphere was just….Fantastic!! Last year I think it helped that the cast of Avenue Q were backstage waiting to go on, clapping us, but that’s another story. Thanks for the question.

Q - I'm nervous about auditioning for West End Kids, can you give me any advice? (Jack Wright, Kent)

A - Okey dokey…I will do my best. First things first, it’s OK to be nervous but don’t let this get the better of you. The two Members of the WEK staff you need to impress are Martin and Emma, who are lovely and will definitely not bite! So you don’t need to be nervous about them. In the audition, you will be told what to do and as long as you keep calm and collected, showing that you can handle what they give you, you will be fine. What they don’t want to see is your nerves and you shying away from things. A couple of hints that might help you are telling the story of the song and having confidence. Please audition for WEK as it will be a great experience and if you are unfortunate to not get in the first time round, you will have gained experience and know the areas you may need to improve on for next time. Good luck in whatever you chose to do.

Q - Why have you been at West End Kids for so long? (Ellie Mitchell, Nottingham)

A - I think the reason I have been here so long is because during the years, I have learnt many great things which has helped me grow confidence and new skills that I may need if I achieve a career in Musical theatre. I have also met some amazing people who I still keep in touch with today who I met when I was about 9/10 and its great meeting people who have the same kind of ambitions and interests as yours. It makes me laugh how many performances I have actually done with WEK and things that I can say I’ve done and places I have been to. I’ve also found, and I’m sure many other WEK members will agree, that you don’t know what to do with yourself if you don’t have WEK lol!

Q - What are rehearsals like? (Amy McGregor, London)

A - I have to admit, rehearsals can be quite tough at times as we are always learning new material and sometimes do nearly 18hours a week when we have various performances! But as long as you are committed and are willing to put in the hard work, they are really fun as everyone gets on really well with each other. We also help each other if we are stuck or finding things difficult to make sure we all are happy and confident with the material we are doing. The rehearsals are made as stress-free as possible but we still have to put in the effort. This being said, we do have a good laugh and have reasonable breaks so we can relax, talk and get help and guidance from other WEK members of the WEK staff.

Q - Do you have a boyfriend? (Nathan Jones, Essex)

A - Welll exxcccuusssee mee!! Only joking! I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing but I am currently single!