By Chloe Mee
You can never be too young to pursue your passions, and Nicole Thompson is somebody who embodies this statement. Nicole is in grade seven, and has already discovered her love for drama and music. She has been in three of the Wentworth musicals during her time at Collingwood, and has even begun to write her own music outside of school. Born in Singapore, Nicole has lived in four countries on three continents. She moved to Canada from Malaysia where she attended Mont Kiara International School, and prior to attending Collingwood she completed Grade four at Irwin Park. Her sister Farrah also shares a love for the arts, though Nicole says that “she is more into designing, dance and fashion.”
Whilst in Wentworth, Nicole has been in three musical productions. She has been Cookson the pirate in Peter Pan, the Captain of the Guard in Shrek, and the most recent being the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Being in these musicals has offered a combination of two of her favourite subjects. “My favourite subjects are drama and music because I love the way that you can be really create and let loose in drama, in music I just like musical instruments and I find it magical when music is made and it is just so much fun!” Outside of the school schedule, Nicole has taught herself how to play both the acoustic and electric guitar, as well as the ukulele. She has used YouTube to teach herself how to play these instruments. Not one month after teaching herself how to play the guitar, Nicole began to write her own songs. She has also learnt how to play the flute and trumpet in the bands at Collingwood.
Her inspirations in writing songs are Grace VanderWaal and Conan Gray. Grace VanderWaal was eleven years old when she won the eleventh season of America’s Got Talent. She, too, wrote her own songs and performed them on the show. This prompted Nicole to learn the ukulele and eventually play the guitar. Conan Gray is also a young singer-songwriter who has inspired Nicole, as they share a similar song style. If she could ask either one of these inspirations a question, she would ask what their main drive is to write their own music. Grade Seven has been her favourite year in the arts because “there are way more opportunities and parts of the arts that you get to learn more about. I am looking forward to going to Grade Eight in Morven where there is an awesome arts department!”
Nicole loves musical theatre because “[musical theatre] combines two of my favourite things, music and acting. Musical theatre means to me working together with your fellow cast members. The memories you create with your cast are memories to always remember. The final curtain call is always bittersweet but like team sports musical theatre is about working together.” Apart from writing songs and musical theatre, Nicole is part of the basketball, soccer, swimming, and volleyball teams at Collingwood. “I have been enjoying many of the team sports I have been trying. I played volleyball in Grade 5 and was swimming for a few years in swimming lessons and all the other sports I participated in are new to me.” If a friend were to chose three adjectives to describe Nicole, they would be: unique, ambitious, and witty.
You can never be too young to pursue your passions, and Nicole Thompson is somebody who embodies this statement. Nicole is in grade seven, and has already discovered her love for drama and music. She has been in three of the Wentworth musicals during her time at Collingwood, and has even begun to write her own music outside of school. Born in Singapore, Nicole has lived in four countries on three continents. She moved to Canada from Malaysia where she attended Mont Kiara International School, and prior to attending Collingwood she completed Grade four at Irwin Park. Her sister Farrah also shares a love for the arts, though Nicole says that “she is more into designing, dance and fashion.”
Whilst in Wentworth, Nicole has been in three musical productions. She has been Cookson the pirate in Peter Pan, the Captain of the Guard in Shrek, and the most recent being the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Being in these musicals has offered a combination of two of her favourite subjects. “My favourite subjects are drama and music because I love the way that you can be really create and let loose in drama, in music I just like musical instruments and I find it magical when music is made and it is just so much fun!” Outside of the school schedule, Nicole has taught herself how to play both the acoustic and electric guitar, as well as the ukulele. She has used YouTube to teach herself how to play these instruments. Not one month after teaching herself how to play the guitar, Nicole began to write her own songs. She has also learnt how to play the flute and trumpet in the bands at Collingwood.
Her inspirations in writing songs are Grace VanderWaal and Conan Gray. Grace VanderWaal was eleven years old when she won the eleventh season of America’s Got Talent. She, too, wrote her own songs and performed them on the show. This prompted Nicole to learn the ukulele and eventually play the guitar. Conan Gray is also a young singer-songwriter who has inspired Nicole, as they share a similar song style. If she could ask either one of these inspirations a question, she would ask what their main drive is to write their own music. Grade Seven has been her favourite year in the arts because “there are way more opportunities and parts of the arts that you get to learn more about. I am looking forward to going to Grade Eight in Morven where there is an awesome arts department!”
Nicole loves musical theatre because “[musical theatre] combines two of my favourite things, music and acting. Musical theatre means to me working together with your fellow cast members. The memories you create with your cast are memories to always remember. The final curtain call is always bittersweet but like team sports musical theatre is about working together.” Apart from writing songs and musical theatre, Nicole is part of the basketball, soccer, swimming, and volleyball teams at Collingwood. “I have been enjoying many of the team sports I have been trying. I played volleyball in Grade 5 and was swimming for a few years in swimming lessons and all the other sports I participated in are new to me.” If a friend were to chose three adjectives to describe Nicole, they would be: unique, ambitious, and witty.
Recently, Nicole participated in the Canadian Songwriting Challenge, sponsored by the Nimbus School of Recording and media. This event was also sponsored by Music BC, SOCAN, and Bell Media. She was the youngest songwriting participant in a group of 29 people, the majority of whom were adults. During this time, she participated in a workshop for three days which taught her more about songwriting, demo recording and mentorship. Nicole will be working in a group to record a demo of a song which they collaborated on in a studio in Vancouver. The workshop provided her with a toolkit in developing commercially aware and unique songs.
The best thing about the arts for Nicole is that they “can be used as a way to express yourself. Music and acting can somehow express feelings in a way that cannot be explained in words…. When I am writing songs I feel really connected to myself and my feelings. I know it may sound cliché, but when I'm writing songs I can feel as if I can truly express myself.” Her favourite song that she has written is called Jungle, whose lyrics discuss “socialite pressures and being yourself. This is probably the deepest song I have written. I have spent a lot of time thinking about the lyrics and its meaning.” You can listen to Jungle below.
Nicole says that arts are the expression of your truest self as the possibilities are endless. Everyone is unique and they can express themselves through the arts. “I have developed as a person due to my art. I used to be quite self conscious and didn’t think the best of myself until I started writing songs and playing guitar. I then had something special about me, something to be proud of and then my self esteem soared. Music has made my life better in so many ways, and it can make anyone’s day brighter.” If she were to give advice to anyone who was trying to hone their own musical skills, Nicole says “never compare yourself to other people. There will always be a person who is better than you but you need to be the best you can be. And if you don’t feel satisfied with your capabilities, then work hard until you are. Another piece of advice I would give is to learn because you want to and not because someone tells you to.”
Due to being a part of musical theatre, Nicole feels that her presentational skills have improved, as she is able to better convey her message in her presentations. Writing songs has improved her writing skills, as this skill is fundamentally writing poems, which has improved her grammar. In the future, Nicole wants to pursue a career that involves music, such as a singer-songwriter, sound engineer, or music producer. We wish her all the best in the future with her musical endeavours!
