RARE Productions - any experience?

[AlexaShutUp]

Just wondering if anyone had dc who have done MT productions with Rare Productions, and if so, whether you thought it was worth the money?

DD (14) has been offered a supporting role in one of their shows. She is excited and wants to do it, but I'm mindful of the cost - probably just short of £200 by the time we've paid the fee and for tickets etc. I appreciate that they have costs to cover, so fair enough, but just wondered whether people who have done it thought it was worth the investment?

It's just a hobby for dd and she isn't considering a career in the theatre, so I'm not that fussed about the quality of the show itself, more interested in knowing what the overall experience was like for your dc, whether they enjoyed it etc.

DD already does dance and drama locally anyway, as well as stuff in school, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't do it, but equally, we'd be happy to pay for it if we think she'd get a lot out of it.

Any insights would be welcome - positive or negative!

Bump

I think Rare are a bit of a money grabbing exercise tbh. My DD goes to a PQA every Saturday, they do similar productions, which cost extra, but not as pricey as Rare. They cover a lot of aspects of behind and in front of camera and are split into age groups.

Sorry, I just saw that your DD attends a Saturday drama school already.

Disclaimer -I am chair of a local children's MT group. So I see a lot of children's shows.
IMO Rare takes a massive number of children into chorus who are poorly rehearsed to get bums on seats in the theatres.
Their are much, much better small local children's MT groups which are well rehearsed, registered with NODA ( national organisation for the dramatic arts) and get critiques for their shows.
In our area Rare shows rehearse over 8 weeks once weekly, supporting cast each have multiple small roles.

Compared to our local group we rehearse for 20 weeks twice weekly, nearly every single one of our members will have a speaking role. Our fees are actually less than Rare over a 12 month period and two shows in both cases.

Thanks Steamed, I did wonder if it was a bit of a money-grabbing exercise. Has your dd actually done any of the rare shows or is this just the impression that you've formed?

Don't want to stop her from doing something she might love, but don't want to pay out for something that isn't worth it!

Thanks Lonecat, that's interesting.

My dd did several of their productions, the last being about 6 years ago, and she loved it. It was a smaller concern then though, so things may have changed, but the productions were good, so on the whole, it was good value for money for the experience when you work out the cost per hour of rehearsal & performance time overall.

could somebody please shed some light for me too. My girl has been offered a place in a Rare production show as a main dancer and/or singer in 7 dance numbers. Now i have heard there’s a red/green group... What differentiates them both? And do you pay the fee then find out if it’s dance/sing/both they are involved in... Only as my girl really mainly wants to dance or dance and sing and feel it’s a lot of money to be just sat singing (this may not be the case-that’s what i’m trying to find out before I accept/reject offer) Anybody have any knowledge or experience I would be grateful. Thank you

@curlysue13 the chorus/ dancers for each production are divided into two groups red and green. Red do two shows and green do two shows of the production.
For your daughter I would investigate other local groups ( either NFP or charities) that have a company that go all year round rather than a business that puts auditions for an individual production.

Thank you dodo, good to hear from someone whose dc has enjoyed it. I think we're going to give it a go and see what happens.

DD has a named role with some solo singing/acting, just not one of the lead roles iyswim, so we know roughly how much she'll have to do.

I do appreciate that some of the local groups may offer better value for money overall, and as I said in my OP, dd is already involved in a local drama group and dance school, but she is really eager to do this particular production because it's a musical that she especially loves.

Hope your dd enjoys it if she decides to go ahead with it curly.

Hiya, I’ve been in 3 of rare productions shows, they’re not picky with their auditions and they pretty much let everyone join, the rehearsals take time but they are thoroughly detailed and they make sure it’s accurate, the dress rehearsal is most fun when your getting that urge to just sing your heart out, but the overall show and the atmosphere of the show is Great, I’ve been in Fame, Les Mis, and Hairspray (the best one tho) and I loved them all. You have a great chance of making new friends and it helps to build your confidence, the price is a bit much considering it’s about £200 (after tickets aswell) however if she real wants to do it I can tell you that it’ll be worth it and that she will enjoy herself and it’s worth the money !

Are rehearsals for these productions usually at weekends ?

My dc did several shows with them and the rehearsals were on Sunday mornings as far as I remember. They have a number of branches though, so maybe email them.

In our area they are on a Wednesday evening. As I understand the production team are working on multiple shows in different areas so they all have different nights.

My daughter has done a few Rare shows, they used to be good but now they cram so many kids into the stage it just looks messy and for the mains and dancers, they always choose the same people. A real disappointment after a positive start. I think they just got yo money grabbing and don’t care about the final performance or the kids

My daughter has done a few performances with Rare productions. i used to think this was a company that cared about the children involved but sadly my daughter was treated very badly by the production team in Leatherhead. However it is impossible to speak to anyone about it because you just get fobbed off by the main office. We feel very aggrieved by this company who we’ve paid extortionate amounts of money to over the years.

Hey! Could I ask you what the audition process was like and how you found out about getting the role? I am looking to audition soon!

@empart my child has auditioned before and been offered ensemble but had other opportunities so hasn't actually done one yet (looking to audition again soon.)

The process was, register on arrival with audition form and get given a number and a copy of various short monologues and the song for the audition. They could choose which monologue to perform.

Get called into the room in groups of 10-20 and perform monologue, get taught the song and sing it together then in small groups (and maybe some individually). Get taught a short dance then perform that in small groups.

Leave and wait two weeks for a letter!