Myles Smith proved himself ready for showbusiness after directing, producing and performing in his first variety show.

The 18-year-old CedarBridge Academy pupil organised the Diversity in Fine Arts show for the Career Pathway programme at his school.

The show featured a host of young actors, musicians and dancers from his school and the young director took part in all three.

Myles said: “I kind of went in blind — this my first time putting on a show, period.

“The only guidance I’ve had of putting on a show was my brother, because he’s put on his own shows, and my drama teacher, Patricia Nesbitt, who creates the school shows.”

Myles, from Warwick, said that his drama teacher helped mentor him for his first time as a director.

He explained: “Ms Nesbitt is a very passionate woman and when she doesn’t like something, she will tell you what’s not working.

“One day she said to me, ‘Myles, if you are the director you have to be a Ms Nesbitt.’ Showing that serious side of myself is not really in my comfort zone — I don’t like being really bossy when it comes to things like that.

“But sometimes we have to step outside of our comfort zone to get what we need.”

Myles also organised a small production team to help put together the show, which included managers, assistants and advertisers.

He said: “It was very stressful, but, luckily for me, I had friends who had my back for the whole thing.

“You don’t see how much work goes on behind a show until you actually put on one yourself.”

DIFA premiered at CedarBridge on February 22 to an audience that was much bigger than expected.

Myles explained: “I wasn’t expecting a lot of people to come, but then I went down the aisle at the start of the show.

“There was a lot of people in that audience, anywhere from 100 to 200 people.

“I was confused by how all of these people got here, but then I realised I have supportive people in my life.” He added: “We got a standing ovation after the show finished.

“Everyone was very supportive — they said it was a really, really, really great show and I even cried a few times.”

Myles is unsure how much money he made from ticket sales, but knows that it was much more than he anticipated.

He plans to use the money to fund his trip with the international performance group Up with People.

Myles said: “I feel like I want to put on another show, but that’s to be determined.”