Stagecoach Theatre Arts

Stagecoach Theatre Arts Ltd.
Type Private
Founded 1988 (1988)
Headquarters Walton-on-Thames,
Surrey, United Kingdom
Area served Australia
Canada
Germany
Gibraltar
Ireland
Malta
Spain
United Kingdom
USA
Founder(s) Stephanie Manuel, David Sprigg
Industry Theatre Arts
Slogan(s) Believing in the potential of every child
Website Stagecoach.co.uk
(see list of localized domain names)
Current status Active

Stagecoach Theatre Arts Ltd is a professional part-time theatre arts school, operating in hundreds of locations around the world, with over 600 schools in the United Kingdom. Training is offered in singing, dancing and acting. Stagecoach operates one of the largest networks in the world with 40,000 students in the UK and Ireland and 10 other countries worldwide. In addition there are offshoots such as annual performance opportunities at Disneyland Paris, performances at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, Stagecoach Teacher Training, Regional Choirs and Dance Troupes.

Stagecoach Theatre Arts is the one of the leading Franchises for part-time theatre arts schools in Australia, Canada, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Malta, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA.[1]

Overview

Stagecoach Theatre Arts Ltd is a national network of part-time theatre schools for young people aged 4 to 18 years. It was founded by Stephanie Manuel and David Sprigg in 1988 in Surrey and is the UK's largest network of children's part time performing arts schools in the UK. Stagecoach caters for the needs of young performers - whether they are budding talents or reserved and shy. Stagecoach has provided a springboard for some of the UK's leading young talent and had the privilege of watching thousands of children grow in confidence and ability. Stagecoach are committed to helping children develop in all these areas of the performing arts while at the same time introducing them to a range of musical genres and skills in a friendly, safe and fun environment. Often copied, but never equaled, Stagecoach has remained the market leader for children's performing arts, reaching beyond the scope of normal after-school clubs.

Although Stagecoach is open to all young people with an interest in the performing arts whatever their ability, it does provide opportunities to perform professionally and some students have found considerable success in film, television and on the West End stage. Occasionally Stagecoach schools come together for large national events. These have included performances at The Royal Albert Hall, the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations, The Lord Mayor's Show and Her Majesty's, Shaftesbury Theatre, Adelphi Theatre and Drury Lane Theatres in London's West End.

25th Anniversary Celebrations

To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, 3500 children performed Andrew Lloyd Webbers 'Cats The Musical'in the Birmingham National Indoor Arena on March 24, 2013.[2] In association with 'The Really Useful Group', 3500 children from across Europe joined a virtual choir of many international Stagecoach students to perform the biggest production of the musical ever seen. The virtual choir was an addition to a 500 strong live choir, and to accompany the choir and the rest of the students was a full size orchestra and 16 selected soloists. 35 Stagecoach franchises across the UK performed the show on 7 'stages' around the arena, with each school taking it in turns to portray a small section of the musical. In addition to this, 52 selected elite dancers, including 14 solo dancers taking the named parts, performed the whole musical on a raised stage in the centre of the arena. The Really Useful Group, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Veronica Bennetts, Stephanie Manuel and Paul Leddington Wright all contributed and collaborated to bring this production together.

New Stagecoach logos and special 25th anniversary logos were also released as part of the celebrations. Many celebrities involved either with Stagecoach or with general theatre and musicals wished Stagecoach luck in the performance of Cats, including Ruthie Henshall, Tom Fletcher and Dani Harmer.

Early Stages (4 to 6 years old)

Children aged 4–6 years are introduced to Stagecoach through Early Stages classes which run for a shorter period of 90 minutes, split into three 30 minute sessions in dance, drama and singing. Class sizes are small (15 maximum) with room to nurture young raw talent alongside encouraging and inspiring those whose confidence needs building.

Running for 90 minutes, the Early Stages class is split up into three 30 minute sessions, where young children learn performing arts skills through singing, dancing and drama classes:

Singing classes

Children identify where their voices come from and how sounds are made and formed. Young kids get the opportunity to develop rhythm and timing, improving diction, alongside learning popular show songs.

Dance classes

Working in a group, children learn fun and contemporary routines, which help improve coordination, balance and spatial awareness, while developing strong motor skills.

Drama classes

Through role play and improvisation young children get to stretch their imagination, experimenting with words and feelings. By interacting with others in the group they learn vital social skills such as giving, taking and sharing. In themed fantasy worlds and through storytelling kids can express themselves physically and emotionally, learning new words and phrases while memorising lines through repetition.

Parents receive individually written reports on their child's progress twice a year.

Main School (6 to 16 years old)

Stagecoach offer singing, drama and dancing lessons all in one place over a three hour time slot. The schools operate for three hours each week during term-time, either after school or at weekends where kids learn to sing, dance and act. Split into three groups of similar ages, youngsters gain confidence, self-esteem and learn to express themselves creatively and effectively through drama classes, singing lessons and dance classes. These skills, acquired while learning the skills of performance, do not disappear when they come off stage, they are skills for life.

Young Performer

Young Performer (Known as 'The Mask' until a revamp to Young Performer in approx 2000) is the only national performing arts magazine for young people. Inspired by Stagecoach and published by Ten Alps Creative, the magazine is designed to appeal to those young people for whom acting, singing and dancing is a passion. With three issues a year, the focus is to entertain, inform and educate through articles, interviews, news stories, quizzes and competitions.

Young Performer magazine is circulated to all Stagecoach Main School students, a magazine devoted to young actors, singers and dancers, and includes information on the entertainment industry, and interviews with young British actors.[3]

Stagecoach at Her Majesty's

Three times each year Stagecoach schools can take part in a special performance at Her Majesty's theatre in Central London - providing an exciting opportunity for students to perform on a West End stage.

Her Majesty's theatre - famous as the home of 'The Phantom of the Opera' - plays host to a collection of Stagecoach schools from around the UK and overseas. Stagecoach students busily rehearse for their evening in the spotlight, and on a Sunday they arrive at the theatre during the day to prepare for the evening performance, some of them travelling many miles to be there.

Stagecoach Regional Choirs

The first Stagecoach Choir was established in 2000 in the Midlands, and was created out of a separate choir, auditioned and assembled for a show especially commissioned for performance in the Millennium Dome. Written by Veronica Bennetts this piece, The Piper's People, comprised a dance troupe, a choir and several soloists and fused Bennetts' music with traditional Commedia dell'Arte characters. The following year, the newly created 'Midlands Choir' was invited, along with the original soloists, to recreate this performance, along with another new piece by Bennetts entitled The Ragman, in Coventry Cathedral. The Midlands Choir, along with its southern counterpart the Stagecoach Singing Ensemble, a smaller close-harmony group auditioned from Surrey and the surrounding area and based in Stagecoach's Head Office in Walton-on-Thames, were so successful that the decision was subsequently taken to create 'Regional Choirs' to cover most of the UK.

Since then nine more choirs have been established, all composed of Stagecoach students and run by Stagecoach Principals or other members of staff, celebrating the best ensemble singing in the Stagecoach network. The Stagecoach Singing Ensemble was then enlarged to a similar size to the other regional choirs and renamed the London Choir initially, and subsequently the Surrey Choir.

Since their inception, the Midlands Choir and the Stagecoach Singing Ensemble have performed in many venues around the country, including the Stagecoach at Her Majesty's and at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane events, at the Royal Albert Hall (both), as a solo group for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in the Mall (Singing Ensemble) and the regional choirs have since continued this tradition. As well as participating in many events across the country, the regional Choirs have performed together on three occasions as part of the Stagecoach National Choir Festival. The first Choir Festival took place at the Birmingham Symphony Hall in 2006. After the resounding success of this event, further Choir Festivals have been held every two years.

Teacher Training

The Stagecoach Teacher Training Course is a course for those who wish to learn more about the teaching of performing arts; established teachers who are wishing to revitalise their skills in the teaching of performing arts; or for those who wish to teach more creatively.

The ADPA has been developed for teachers working with young people in part-time performing arts and those teaching children skills for singing, dancing or drama. It is an internationally recognised qualification awarded by Performance Arts Awards. The preparation course is delivered by Stagecoach Theatre Arts.

The Stagecoach Teacher Training short course looks at classroom management, preparation of lessons, realistic lesson plan writing, child development, diversity awareness, current child protection issues, health and safety issues and much more.

Localization

Stagecoach is available with localized website versions in 10 countries including the UK.

Country Language Website
 Australia (and worldwide launch) English (Australian) Stagecoach Australia
 Canada English (Canadian) Stagecoach Canada
 Germany German Stagecoach Germany
 Gibraltar English Stagecoach Gibraltar
 Ireland English (Irish) Stagecoach Ireland
 Malta English Stagecoach Malta
 South Africa English (South African) Stagecoach South Africa
 Spain English Stagecoach Spain
 UK English Stagecoach UK
 USA English (American) Stagecoach USA

RADA Collaboration

In early 2011, Stagecoach Theatre Arts teamed up with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and designed the 3Dimensions course.

This part-time course is specifically constructed to offer students aged 16–19 years the opportunity to train in the performing arts to a high standard of drama, dance and singing, while continuing with school studies or employment. The innovative part-time course allows students to still consider their future options; be it vocational training in the performing arts, university or even a career away from the arts.

Taking place over four academic terms, the course consists of three-hour classes each weekend during term time. An additional four intensive one-week workshops will be taken during the holidays at RADA in central London. Sessions will include acting classes, musical theatre training, singing lessons, auditioning for drama school, teacher training, Shakespeare and auditioning for musical theatre.

Entry is by audition only and students work under the guidance of specialist tutors at the top of their fields to enrich their skills. The first cohort started in September 2011 and is based at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in central London.

Child Licensing Petition

On 13 May 2008 Stagecoach, along with 60 students and parents, went to Downing Street to present Gordon Brown with over 10,000 signatures. The petition called Gordon Brown for an immediate reform and overhaul of legislation relating to the Children's performance licence to ensure that children throughout the country are given equal opportunities in a safe and protected environment. Stagecoach publicly announced that they are currently waiting for a response from the government and will, furthermore, publish details as soon as they are received.

Background

Tarquin Shaw-Young the Managing Director of the Agency & Head of Casting who led this campaign says that from its own research and experience Stagecoach and its Agency believes that the current legislation is seriously flawed and that some local authorities are failing in their statutory duties to ensure adequate protection for minors working in the entertainment sector. Stagecoach believes that misunderstanding of the current legislation, results in differing standards across the country and a paperwork burden on local authorities preventing them from providing the protection that the current legislation intends.

Stagecoach calls on Government to amend existing legislation, or to implement new legislation in order to ensure that children throughout the country are given equal opportunities in a safe and protected environment. The undersigned agree and support Stagecoach in its call to Government to reform Children’s Performance Licences.

Notable alumni

Summer Showcase

If Stagecoach Student is over ten years old, they are automatically offered the opportunity to audition to perform in "The Summer Showcase" (formerly known as "Easy Stages"), an annual production where students from across the UK and the rest of the world rehearse for 2 weeks on the outskirts of London and perform a musical to a professional standard. Performances currently take place at The Leatherhead Theatre (Previous venues include the Waterman Theatre and Epsom Playhouse).

Past shows have included:

1998: Guys and Dolls

1999: Sing Your Story

2000: Fiddler On The Roof

2001: Jane Eyre

2002: Barnum

2003: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

2004: The Pirates of Penzance

2005: Gypsy Blood (based on Wuthering Heights)

2006: Annie

2007: Oliver!

2008: Children of Eden

2009: Unsinkable (based on Titanic)

2010: My Fair Lady

2011: Secret Garden

2012: Calamity Jane

2013: West Side Story

2014: Seussical the Musical

2015: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

2016: Little Shop of Horrors

Stagecoach Agency UK & Ireland

The Stagecoach Agency UK & Ireland is the Europe's largest children’s performers’ agency and represents students, between 4 – 20 years, currently attending the Stagecoach Theatre Arts network of schools across the UK and wishing to be represented by an agent.

The Agency offers Stagecoach students, who choose to become members of the Agency, opportunities to take part in exciting and worthwhile experiences from a wide range of entertainment platforms.

All members represented by the Agency are included each year in Stagecoach's Spotlight directory, the industry's 'casting bible'. In addition all members' CVs are displayed on the leading internet based casting website service 'Spotlight Interactive', which is only viewable by casting directors, not the general public.

Whenever casting professionals require children for their productions happening anywhere in the UK they call.

The Stagecoach Agency enjoy a high degree of success within the industry and in their 2010, managing director & head of casting Tarquin Shaw-Young reported that in the directory year they enrolled over 2100 students and won over 5,500 auditions or bookings for their members. Successes have included winning parts, both major and supporting, in TV, Films, Commercials, Radio, Voice-overs, West End Shows, Corporates and Photoshoots.

References

  1. ↑ "Stagecoach Part Time Theatre Arts School". Stagecoach Theatre Arts plc. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  2. ↑ "REFLECTIONS ON 'CATS' - Stagecoach Theatre Arts". Stagecoach.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  3. ↑ http://www.stagecoach.co.uk/stagecoach/html/article_list.php

External links

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