Stagecoach show was really shit! (Lighthearted)

[Frazzled2207]

Sort of an Aibu but I don’t want to get flamed.

We send ds2 to Stagecoach on Saturday mornings at vast expense. This morning was the first ever show he has taken part in due to covid. He is 6 and the “class” is for 4-6yos so he is possibly the oldest (certainly the tallest) and Tbf most of the kids look the younger end of the spectrum.

Anyway they did a mini show which took about 10 minutes. Some songs which were sung pretty rubbishly. Other than my own son who I’d practiced with at home with, none of them projected their voices at all (surely that’s rule no 1)?. They are supposed to do dancing every week and had jazz shoes on but there was no dancing at all that I could make out. All in all it looked really under rehearsed and we all had to pay £25 in total to watch (was at a small theatre so I am sure they had fees to pay for that) . To cap it all off some of the teenage helpers had to take the part as some of the kids who were ill with covid (can’t be helped) and even they couldn’t be bothered to speak up . I literally couldn’t tell you what the show was about as I barely heard anything other than background music. It was an embarrassing mess. I don’t blame the staff for this but there were also 2 screaming babies in the audience which didn’t help matters.

My parents travelled 100 miles round trip to see it (normal for them) which was quite embarrassing really. They made it known to me how disappointed they were.

I get that they are small and not had much time to train (once a week). But the school nativity productions have been so much better. For starters they had clearly trained the kids to sing up and project their voices when they had a line to say.

Aibu to expect better or am I a pushy nightmare mum?

Tempted to not renew next term but I suppose iF ds enjoys it it’s the most important thing. But I’m not sure what the point is when they’ve clearly not taught the kids to do much at all.

You can definitely find drama, dance and musical theatre at local dance / drama schools as good or likely even better for much cheaper cost. A few of DDs friends have done stage coach but none more then a couple of terms as the quality just didn’t match the fees.
DD did the holiday camp a couple of times and I was quite impressed with what they had put together in a week but costumes etc were very low quality. I don’t mind paying the holiday club prices as it’s not much different to other childcare but she enjoys it a lot more.
DD is now part of a amateur dramatics group and they do an annual panto with the parts getting slightly bigger each year.

Not stage coach but experience of dance school. That age group often a little bewildered and underwhelming performing. 8-10 years later (if they stick with it, have some aptitude and train hard) they turn into accomplishes, polished performers! Have faith!

@NellieBertram

A stage show with 4-6 year olds is always going to be shit though, isn't it?

I couldn't tell you the plot of any of my kids preschool/infant Christmas shows - you only go to see your own child say their one line.

Well I would have thought so but have always been impressed by our primary schools productions especially the nativity for years N and R.

Stagecoach have always been awful. My DM wouldn't let me join but found a local youth theatre for me instead.

Franchises like Stagecoach, Razzmatazz etc vary in quality tremendously. A friend of mine used to be the singing teacher at our local Stagecoach and I watched a couple of their shows which were very good, but when she left I heard it went downhill considerably and a lot of parents withdrew their children.
So it's extremely hard to generalise, though obviously what an be achieved in one day a week will always be limited compared to performing arts schools that teach every day.I know Stagecoach and the similar companies like to sell themselves as "everything in one place" and publicise the success of their alumni but a lot of the more serious children have other lessons in addition. Everyone I personally know whose Stagecoach child has gone on to do anything further in the performing arts has also gone to a separate dance school and most have had private singing lessons too.
I can understand your disappointment but one day a week for half a term isn't very long to put something together, especially for brand new starters. I'd leave it a bit longer before drawing any conclusions but if things don't improve then maybe look for somewhere else. At this age any hobby should obviously be for fun, but as a paying customer I think you are also reasonable to expect to see some kind of development with time.

@IslaInthesun

They are all shit with the worst parents

If I had a penny for every parent who told me ...at stagecoach ... and then went on to make me have to bite the inside of my cheeks not to laugh... I'd have a lot of money

Well our franchise is fantastic-friendly, super organised and put on great shows. Maybe I am a shit parent for this....or you are a grumpy mare and generalising???

OP this term is demo so not a rehearsed show as such but parent can see a bit of what they have been working on. Term 3 is full performance. Having said that I see you paid for this which doesnt sound good. Like all franchises it depends on whoever is running yours, def not worth the crazy fees if it isn't amazing though

Awful experience here too, partly because I wasn't a pushy parent. The principle took me aside to tell me that I didn't support my DS enough! ( clash of dropping off time, single parent, other DC's needed to be elsewhere) and due to my son staying with his dad at times he was accused of being 'uncommitted'. I think it was more that he wasn't in every production, so there were no ticket sales or fees to take part.
Principle also accused my son of 'only being about himself' and lacking talent. He was so upset.

My DS took a break then moved to a local amateur dramatics society ( £20.00 per year subscription!).
He auditioned for a chorus part - I wouldn't let him audition for the main part as he was new to the society.
He was asked from that audition, to audition for the main part. The musical director had to retrain my DS out of his 'stagecoach habits'.

He went on to chair the youth theatre group for the society, perform annually with the same group and train other kids. He learnt so much about leadership and so enjoyed making friends with people of all ages. The society speak so highly of him, not as a performer but as a person.
He joined a theatre group at uni, including volunteering on the committee that ran it. He has performed at The Fringe and is now studying for a masters in musical theatre at a National conservatoire.

So much for the 'Stagecoach' view which nearly put an end to interest and severely dented his confidence and talent.

I think it’s unreasonable that they expect you to pay £25!

DC did two different acting classes when they were younger… one offered a show that was in the evening, we had to pay for tickets, get them there at 5 and hang around helping them with costume changes so missed some bits . The other one offered a “watching week”, no show but just a few prepared bits and pieces in normal lesson time . Definitely preferred the latter approach!

I think some drama schools are aiming to attract future “stage school” kids who want to audition for major shows. Some are just a fun thing to do on an afternoon. You need to decide which you want and pick !

An expensive money making enterprise sadly.

Op, no in my experience there are some die Garda that stay the course and are still pretty awful. We watch shows with a few amazingly talented performers and several awful ones. My son left due to illness but he was getting paid work for a while so it did help and a lot of the kids do west end but I think also do dance elsewhere. For straight acting it’s not so great I guess.

We have just returned from our show and I was impressed. All the stages did well and they all blended together. Everyone from early stage to furthers put on a great performance.

Oh goodness, dd2 (9) has just done her first term at stagecoach. She was absolutely desperate to do it. It's very expensive and a load of hassle but she loves it. We've got the first show next weekend but it's £1 donation for each person. Slightly dreading it now. DD1 does LAMDA and I'm sure DD2 will too when she gets to secondary.

My son went to a local theatre group (we don't have stagecoach here). Fact is, most children will never make it on the stage. They are there for confidence. I'm convinced my son wouldn't have the job he has without it (already presenting to others at 23). Be careful running it down in front of him. You'll knock his confidence....the exact thing I'd be personally hoping he gains.

I think one of stagecoaches problems is the cost. Presumably so many people creaming off profislts they make you think you deserve more. And I get that.

My sons in his 20s now but I think we paid about £3 - £5 for the real.shows and nothing for end of term showcases.

Sometimes our end of term showcases weren't rehearsed at all. The teacher would put them in random groups and ask them to improvise. Obviously they were much older but it was sometimes hilariously bad and somtimes hilariously brilliant at the same time.

Ok, I’ll warn you now: do not give him a violin or go to a children’s violin performance 😉

Being serious- look at your child. If he is more confident as a result of going and you see some sort of self-development and progress then send him. If you just wondered what the hell you‘ve spent money on stop, particularly if it looked like he was affected by the choas

We did a similar thing for years also massively expensive and because I had nothing to compare it to I thought the very amateur nature of shows was par for the course. But then discovered two independent musical theatre companies who produce practically professional standard productions, and charge way less. If you see any shows advertised in small local theatres, go and watch one to see the standard.

£170 a month!?!?!?!

I'd be expecting at least an Oscar for that financial outlay.

I'm sorry it was shit, OP. Hopefully your kids at least enjoyed it? 😬

The main issue with Stagecoach is behaviour management. The parents are often pushy nightmares who complain at the drop of a hat, so the poor teachers can't tell off Little Barnaby for being a little shit and swinging from the ceiling as they desperately need the fees to pay their mortgage (and absolutely nuts franchise fees!!)

My DD did stagecoach for years.

It was eye-wateringly expensive, esp as ypu pay termly. BUT I used to remind myself that it was 3hrs a week - an hr each of singing/dancing/acting, and when I worked it out per class, it was really good value.
I had to remind myself this regularly.

The shows were generally rubbish. You tended to get bigger parts if you were a boy, because there were fewer of them.
They tended to give ch more to do as they got older and more experienced, which makes sense.

Children generally went on to pass drama exams, get into drama school, get cast in shows and TV, etc

DD goes to drama club at our city theatre's studios. Brilliant modern, purpose built venue. Free tickets to loads of shows. Very good professional tuition. £30 per month.

I used to work for them and would say the main thing is that the calibre of teachers from class to class varies hugely. We had a cracking team where I was working (I was the weakest link) and some of the stuff we did was fantastic. Other places I've depped at were less blessed and the standard was a bit crap.

My DD used to attend PQA (Pauline Quirk Academy) I paid £90 a month, and the shows were sooo amateur. She also attended a local youth theatre paying £45 a term, the shows were so much better. Also PQA were supposed to do LAMDA exams but it never happened.

Whoa, some major hate towards us Stagecoach Mum’s on this thread!
Ds and dd are pretty rubbish at it but they love it and we don’t care as long as they’re enjoying it. We didn’t send them because we thought they’d end up going to RADA or be A*/professional performers. We send them because they both struggle with anxiety and it helps with their confidence. Massively.
It also gives us a a precious 3 hours off every Saturday morning so worth every penny imo!
Stagebox is more for the aspiring parents.

Oh dear! My DC did Stagecoach at eye watering cost a few years back.

Luckily we were spared extortionate ticket prices for the end of year show. But we still needed ear defenders to avoid hearing loss due to the exquisite singing 😁.

Sounds so disappointing for you.

@Bellfor

Stagecoach have always been awful. My DM wouldn't let me join but found a local youth theatre for me instead.

How can you say it’s awful when you admit to not being part of it?! You have no experience of a Stagecoach school/branch never mind the organisation as a whole for such a sweeping statement.