Stagebox

[LittleLoo1]

Hi,

Can anybody tell me about Stagebox and if they would recommend it? I have been told I have to commit to a years worth of monthly payments if my child wants to accept their place. I have asked, but I am not allowed to view part of a training session or have any sort of paid trial session. It looks very professional and i can see they film amazing videos for Youtube. I am just feeling edgy about commiting to it and feel like they most likely see my child as a £ sign. However, it does appear to be a good quality training company.

Any opinions would be so appreciated.

Thanks

I should also say that I have tried 'not a pushy mum' forum and got one response. Just looking elsewhere for any more info

How old is your child? Would it be the main programme or the minis?

Hi! Main programme. But level 2. There is a level 3 as well. So she is in the intermediate group. She is 10. She wants a step up from her current stage school that she attends on a Saturday, so I figured an auditioned type of school would be better quality teaching/level of other children. However, it’s rather a lot of money, have to commit to full year, and I just can’t seem to find out a lot about it other than all the sparkley edited footage on their website, and the few children that are getting west end parts. I’m sure there are many who aren’t! Just wondering if it’s worth the move to this company or not really x

Hi There.
Did you ever register with Stagebox?

Not in the end no. Sorry that i cannot give my experience with them, as we chose to stick with other theatre groups.

Thanks for the response.
I too am struggling to see anything beyond the glossy nice videos and photos- no trial, unable to attend in person etc.

Yes it's the trying to keep you at arms length, but grab your money at every turn that made me feel uneasy. But we all have different reasons for doing things. I have a few children, so the holiday training would be too disruptive for us long term. I think overall, many succesful children are part of Stagebox. So it can't be bad. Just depends on what you have to sacrifice to be part of it.

There are a number of training schools of this type - Spirit Young Performers, MX Masterclass, West End Kids etc

Stagebox is very good at what it does.

It does depend on what you are looking for? Great training or are you hoping it's a route into West End roles etc.

Having a child who attended some of the schools named above and who has been reasonably successful professionally both WE and screen, I would offer this as advice.

Most of the successful kids who are at the schools do them as supplementary training, on top of a number of other classes in dance, singing, acting etc.

You really need to live close to Manchester/London and have a v flexible job and be able to afford what is a very expensive hobby... it's probably on a par with having a horse!

If you book 1 role for every 100 auditions than that is a good hit rate in general. It is a very over saturated market especially for girls.

If you have a child who is aiming for drama/MT college then these schools are well worth it for the prep.

If your child literally lives, breathes, sleeps and eats doing this - and you have the flexibility and finances then it can be a great rollercoaster ride. If not, run don't walk as fast as you can in another direction!

My daughter attended Stagebox for 3 or 4 years and was on the London Elite Team.

Yes it’s not cheap but if that’s really what your child wants to do then it does give them great training with current industry professionals - my daughter loved attending, she was also with Stagebox management.

She is a dancer and is often asked about past training and there appears to be a certain kudos to having attend Stagebox, she has also encountered Stagebox creatives on audition panels, it’s a small world!

That being said I didn’t always agree with their approach to student care, issue resolution or inclusion.

The uniform is also expensive although that has been relaxed recently but it all adds up.

On the whole though, if I had to make the decision again I’d make the same one. For any personal downsides the training was worth it and had undoubtedly improved my daughter as a performer.

I've got a lot of strong views about Stagebox.

If it was up to me we wouldn't be involved but my daughter really loves the holiday training and it probably has improved her stage performance. Every year I try and persuade her not to sign up again.

So here goes:-

It's expensive, uniform, agency fees, extra add on online classes, travel etc.

There's no transparency about how to move levels or get selected for things.

Their communication is shockingly bad and they always just give you some standard response about it being the way 'the industry' works. This just isn't an acceptable way to treat people but I think that they can get away with it because parents just want to give their children all the opportunities they can.

You need to be near London to get the opportunities.

Some of the comments in training/rehearsals are not appropriate. My daughter was told that as a group they were an embarrassment to Stagebox - I work with young people in another sector and this sort of language is awful and not the way to get the best out of people.

If you are happy not to feel resentful about spending a small fortune (that you can't really afford) getting your child to London and then hearing a couple of days before that they are only needed for a couple of hours then maybe it's for you.

They are happy to suck you in and make your child feel as if they are really talented but the reality is they are a business trying to make money.

BUT like I say my daughter loves it so I'm stuck with it just now. The stuff round the edges makes me really annoyed and I know from speaking to other Stagebox parents hanging around waiting that I'm not the only one who feels like this.

Absolutely this is so true, I feel they have their favourites and everyone else is just a £