SHE is dreaming of becoming an actress. Romsey School pupil 13-year-old Suzanne Poole has made it through to the regional finals of the Open Mic UK singing competition, and will now be performing in the live showcases of the competition. And tomorrow (Saturday) Suzanne will be hoping judges will give her top marks when she performs at the Ferneham Hall in Fareham.

Suzanne is not new to singing competitions, she was judged overall winner of the Rotary Test Young Musicians Festival and she says her favourite singer is the late Michael Jackson. She refused to say what she will be singing in tomorrow’s final which is organised by Future Music. Suzanne revealed that she has been cast as Brigitta Von Trapp in the school’s forthcoming production of the Sound of Music. “I have played this before at the Plaza Theatre so I have no line learning,” said Suzanne.

“When I am older I would like to be an actress and it would be great to be in big production musicals. So far I have 12 musical productions.”

Suzanne reached the regional finals after auditioning for Teenstar where she sang two songs in front of seven judges who put her through to the next round.

Among Suzanne’s rivals on Saturday will be 17-year-old Jordan Sheath from Romsey who recently recorded an EP which reached number eight in the iTunes singer-songwriter album chart.

Events coordinator and head of Future Music Chris Grayston said: “Every year that we hold this competition the bar is raised and the quality gets higher and higher. We’re really looking forward to experiencing the raw talent from across the country. For promising singers, songwriters, rappers and vocalists, Open Mic UK provides a real opportunity to open the door to a music career by showcasing their talent to music industry professionals and audiences across the country”

The competition is divided into age categories – Under 16, 16-20 and 21 and over, and all types of singers, vocal performers, groups and acoustic singer-songwriters are invited to enter.