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.

My daughters went to stagecoach in early primary school 'to build confidence'. The shows were never very well rehearsed, content wise some were way more fun than others.

In hindsight I have no idea what if anything it did for them. It was mostly a way to see friends and structure Sat mornings. I think it is fine if you can afford it easily, if you have to scrimp to do so I'd think twice.

Mind you it's a franchise if I get it right - so quality will depend on local personnel.

I think you would be shocked by the amount of time primary schools spend rehearing their plays and shows. This is often to the detriment of lessons in core subjects. Their is so much pressure to entertain and impress the parents that these things take up an inordinate amount of time.

The musical theatre society my kids go to now costs £40 a term for three hours a week and really professional shows. As opposed to the previous one they went to which was £250 a term with rubbish shows! It's definitely worth looking around for something different.

Fair enough.

Stagecoach have always had a reputation for being awful

Better?

It was a group of mainly 4yos on a stage after 10 sessions of rehearsals, I'm not sure what you were expecting? We're they having fun? All managed to get on the stage? I think if they were then it is fine.

My dc went when he was 4/5 and did a couple of shows in that time and we really
enjoyed them. Everyone had a part and the singing and dancing was really good considering their ages! We really liked the teacher who was honest and pushed the kids.. it really depends on who the tutors are I think. If you have another branch of Stagecoach near you try them before you give up on it

@Bellfor

Fair enough.

Stagecoach have always had a reputation for being awful

Better?

Stagecoach is a group of independent businesses. The quality will vary enormously depending on the principle and staff. Surely you can see that?

@mowglika

My dc went when he was 4/5 and did a couple of shows in that time and we really enjoyed them. Everyone had a part and the singing and dancing was really good considering their ages! We really liked the teacher who was honest and pushed the kids.. it really depends on who the tutors are I think. If you have another branch of Stagecoach near you try them before you give up on it

That really doesn’t sound like ours at all. No other Stagecoaches within easy reach but there are some smaller theatre schools that we will consider.

To be clear, I don’t think ds is destined for The West End! Indeed if he enjoys it that is the main thing. I just suppose given the amount of money paid over 18 months I was really shocked at the standard and lack of professionalism but it’s a good point that most of those in his group would have been new to it in September.

Am pleased at least some parents have had positive experiences. I think it must depend on the individual school to some extent.

@cansu

I think you would be shocked by the amount of time primary schools spend rehearing their plays and shows. This is often to the detriment of lessons in core subjects. Their is so much pressure to entertain and impress the parents that these things take up an inordinate amount of time.

Yes, and also the same ‘reliable’ kids get picked every time. But that’s for another thread! I don’t know, as have no experience, but maybe Stagecoach is more inclusive than schools are, in that they give every child a reasonable go at something?

Another good point- as far as I could see every child had pretty much the same to do.

and also the same ‘reliable’ kids get picked every time. But that’s for another thread! I don’t know, as have no experience, but maybe Stagecoach is more inclusive than schools are, in that they give every child a reasonable go at something?

But not in the bigger sense of being inclusive as it is so expensive. Excludes so many even with talent.

I did stagecoach from 6-16 and then was a classroom assistant for the 4-6 year olds for a couple of years. Can I act, dance and sing as a result? Absolutely not! I’m a passable actor, a mediocre singer and dancer. No teacher can make you talented if you aren’t. As there aren’t auditions to get in there are going to be plenty of kids with no talent (like me!) and there’s a limited amount they can do to make a performance look professional. With us the annual big performance was usually quite good and well rehearsed but I’m sure there were some dire performances at the standard end of term things.

However, I am 100% going to send my children to stagecoach or something similar. I absolutely loved it, made friends who I am still in touch with, learnt hundreds of songs that I still sing, gained so much confidence and got to perform in the west end. It also gave me such an outlet when I was struggling to make friends at school. There is a lot of value in something like this as well as learning performing arts. I honestly cannot say how positive an impact it had on me.

If your child is genuinely talented then they will stand out and, at the franchise I went to, get better parts (probably not while they are so young but as they get older) but I’d say you’ll need more than just stagecoach to push a child that’s going to make a career out of it.

Thanks for that different perspective @Anonymouslyposting
I certainly don’t think my ds is cut out to be a stage star. I encouraged him to join when I saw how much better than his brother he was at the school plays two years ago! I think it’s prob far too soon to know if he has proper talent, I think he might be better than the average person but that’s not saying much is it. And you’re quite right if they enjoy it and make new friends out of it that is going to be the most valuable part. He is so different to his brother who literally would happily game all day if I let him.

When our son’s small drama school was sucked into the Stagecoach franchise the classes were doubled in size. There has been whispers in the profession there are a lot of Stagecoach franchises that it’s profit over professionalism unfortunately. Some don’t & are brilliant, but I hear more horror stories than happy ones.

If your child is really into it, find an independent smaller school (my son’s was smaller & cheaper than our local Stagecoach school, he did all his Trinity Guildhall exams in acting by 14, but he was a professional actor by 8 travelling the world & winning & nominated for world recognised awards, talented bugger 😂).

His Dad & I are at an advantage as I trained as a drama teacher & stage manager (bloody illness & disability harpooned that career) & his dad trained as a actor so for us, the drop in standards was more obvious than other parents may have noticed.

Theatre is all about having fun at this age. If you’re happy with the kids having fun & learning social skills, fill your boots with your local Stagecoach. If they have a real talent & aptitude, maybe find a smaller school.

But not in the bigger sense of being inclusive as it is so expensive. Excludes so many even with talent.

Yes, I take your point. It saddens me that schools are not more inclusive. There is a tendency to go with who they know. Schools more than anywhere should be giving kids a chance to grow in confidence and ability. In my experience, the opposite often happens, in the arts and sport, anyway.

My daughter does Stagecoach and has done for 6 years. My oldest did for 3 years but didn't want to do main school.

She will never be in the west end but she enjoys it and tbh as a single parent the 3 hour break it gives me is worth it!

That said I think our franchise is one of the biggest and I think gets highly rated. She attended another one for a couple of terms and I definitely did not feel it was good.

We have never had to pay to watch an end of term show - they are all just in the school.

I went to one stagecoach performance, supporting my 6 year old niece, and declined invitations for subsequent shows with thanks.
It wasn’t that her bit was bad, although it was (albeit cute of course), but the older children were dire and the choice of material poor. ‘Defying gravity’ is known to be difficult to sing. Why give it to a poorly rehearsed 13 year old? She sang the whole thing off key and it cannot have been good for her confidence. Others were equally, excruciatingly bad.
Surely the organisers should know to select material the children could deliver well and enjoy performing?
At £15 a ticket, more than ten years ago, it felt like the rip off it was.

I work in this particular industry though not with a franchise , and as a franchise you pay for the name, and it depends on the person running it as to the quality of teaching . If I were you I would find an independent group who are likely to put a lot more heart and soul into their business without the back up of a bigger chain, and therefore take more of an interest in the kids progression .