Weekend stage schools - are any of them good?

[SquashedInTight]

I have been to watch the children of friends at two of these now. In both cases the production was worse than I have seen in schools - even at Primary age! Do any of them actually teach the children, so they improve???

My daughter is 5 and does stagecoach. I think they are great. However I think the main goal at that age (the 4-6 group) is to have fun and build self confidence not be produce budding stage stars although I am sure there are some in there. They encourage them to stand up and do a solo turn (sing /dance) in front of others but with no pressure if they feel they cannot do it. That's great for them.

Interested to hear what others think/ experience
DD (3) has been going for about 4 months now- her insistence (it runs straight after her baby ballet). Other benefits aside she has an amazing time, runs in grinning and comes out beaming. She's made lovely friends and has grown in confidence. The teachers are all well qualified in their areas (drama, singing, dance).
They performed at a local community event just after my daughter jojned and I was very impressed and I over heard a lot of other people saying how impressed they were. But they are also a very inclusive group, there's no audition to join. Some children have great natural talent, others have gone to gain confidence etc.
Dd lives to perform, but I also love how confident she has become making friends and chatting to the teachers.

(And yes you could get that from any hobby I expect, but this is the one she loves! Her brother does a sport and it has had similar benefits)

Drama classes aren't like lessons with a clear progression, so you can predict exactly where a child should be after a given time. Instead they are about trying out different things, testing ideas, gaining confidence. They are usually very inclusive and everybody is in the same group; it's about teamwork, doing things as a group.

That's what i figured Cory, and that certainly in Dd's class they don't spend all the lessons working towards show. They will have a different theme each lesson and it's just about exploring that together.

DD attends Italia Conti associate each weekend. She loves it, has improved no end, has a new set of friends and confidence coming out of her ears. IC is not as commercial as some of the other schools and the standard is high. The teachers teach at main school and West End. There is no entry bar for the kids, but the more able get the prime parts in shows etc. It won't be for everyone but for those who love being on stage and have aptitude, then it's perfect.

Children learn so many great skills from a good drama club/school. Any activity that encourages children to be part of something and have fun is always worth while.

DD1 does Stagecoach (Early Stages). Its mostly about learning some songs, a few dance moves and putting on a 'play' at the end of some of the terms. She learns her lines and follows directions, which is all she needs to be doing.

The shows are by no means 'good', but they try hard and she enjoys the sessions.

In my experience, the main 'national chains' of these are a 'one stop shop' for a little bit each of three things that are all better taught separately, but where the single venue and single time are convenient for many who do this more 'for fun' than anything else.

Potentially, they can also act as 'gateways' to the more serious 'single' providers - so if you like the dance side, you can join a good / serious local dance school to do ballet + modern theatre exams. Or if you like the drama side, you can join the local theatre's youth company. Or if singing is your thing, you can find a solo teacher or a good local youth or schools choir or even church choir if you want to learn to sing better.

Also, despite being a national name, each franchise will differ in the genuine expertise of their staff and their ability both to train their pupils and signpost them to next steps.

So if you are a parent or child looking to have fun, be out of the house for a few hours each weekend, gain confidence and get to be on stage, they're fine (though as said before, the franchises vary). If a child is genuinely serious about improving as a dancer, singer or actor, then with a little searching, the highest quality training in each is probably found elsewhere.

I think it depends. My child goes to one in Glasgow three hours a week for a musical theatre class. She loves it and it's done wonders for her confidence. That's really why we send her - get her mixing with a different group and improve her confidence. The show is a minor aspect, tbh

That's really why we send her - get her mixing with a different group and improve her confidence.

Exactly. If you want to train properly in one of the genres, then go elsewhere. However if it's about fun and confidence and sociabilty, then the weekend stage schools are great. As long as everyone knows what they are buying, and don't mistake it for serious dance / singing / acting training, it's perfect.

tbh I am not sure you need to start serious acting training aged 5, or even aged 12. Those of dd's friends who have got into the big stage schools and/or got acting work have attended fairly basic local youth theatres or similar up until Sixth Form and then started getting more serious.

Dancing and singing obviously different.

My children went to stagecoach and their 'in house' productions were great and really helped them participate at the level needed for professional productions.

fairly basic local youth theatres

Absolutely - as i said in my earlier post, such 'one genre' suppliers are often great (certainly the onesI know of based in our local theatres are, and are a perfectly good stepping stone to more serious theatre or acting work). The 'three in one' national / franchised chains - not always.

My point was more that acting isn't like dancing or singing where it's terribly important that you get it right from the start. You can learn from all sorts of things and in all sorts of ways. Dd's youth theatre was not connected to a local theatre and I don't think they had any ambition to send anyone on to anywhere. But you can always learn something.

My 2 go to stagecoach, they absolutely love it. Ds has always been confident but it has done wonders for dd's confidence. They go for fun and they enjoy performing. I think their shows are really good and even better that they are totally inclusive. Because of that though, you get some kids who are very good and some less so.

That's the thing loved both about dd's ballet school and her youth theatre: totally inclusive and welcoming both of children of all levels of abilities and of a range of disabilities and SN.