Why is Perform more expensive than Stagecoach?

[Popgoestheweaselagain]

My daughter moved up to MainStages (6-15). She is one of the youngest in MainStages. I feel like the age range of this class is too great. Three hours is very long for the 6-8 year-olds. Also, she wasn't so fussed on the performance they put on this term. All the main parts went to the teenagers, so she could see that she's going to spend years in the chorus before she really gets a go.

I had a look at Perform, which do 1 1/2 hour classes for 7-12 years. But it costs the same as Stagecoach for half the time and the Holiday Courses are twice the price! From the website it also looked like they want you to buy their costumes as well. Stagecoach is all included, except the jazz shoes and t-shirt, and plain black leggings can be picked up really cheaply.

Why is Perform so much more expensive than Stagecoach? Is what they do really that much better?

Whereabouts are you based? I've found that smaller academies tend to be slightly more flexible about ages in classes as well as significantly cheaper, so may be worth looking at slightly smaller names rather than the 'big brands'

I'm based in the Oxfordshire area.

Sorry, can't offer a recommendation as we're not close by, but I would definitely recommend looking at some more local providers. Ours has about 20 venues across the county so it's big enough to collaborate for some big shoes but small enough to allow flexibility and for the children to have more of a chance at at least a small part if they want one.

You can request to stay in Early Stages until closer to a child's 7th birthday, my daughter was very ready to move up when she was 6 but others in her class were older. Also you do know that she won't be in a class of children aged up to 15 years? Main Stages is split into Stage 1, Stage 2 & Stage 3. They do come together for whole school shows but for us that was once a year, the other two terms they did demonstrations/smaller performances where they stayed in their classes.

I don't know why Perform is more expensive.

Try looking for a smaller performance group, we have several in our area and they are amazing, we prefer them over the big brands, and my kids have had some amazing opportunities.

Comfromfaraway. Yes, I think she preferred it when they were split up into individual classes for each stage, although she did enjoy the fun of the make-up and costumes - which were pretty impressive. She says she prefers it to EarlyStages, so I don't want to send her back to that. I just wish I had more idea what they're doing in the classes. Presumably the shows and showcases are just the tip of the iceberg? It's just a bit difficult at the moment because my other half thinks it's a waste of time and I don't really have much evidence to prove him otherwise. The principal is really enthusiastic, the teachers are well qualified, but trying to get information out of a 7-year-old about what they've been doing all afternoon is like trying to get blood out of a stone. :) Wish I was a fly on the wall.

@Popgoestheweaselagain

I'm based in the Oxfordshire area.

Take a look at West Oxfordshire Academy of Performing Arts (WOAPA) in Witney. Privately run by real experts. Excellent value for money. My kids have been there for 8 years now.

If you are close to Oxford it is worth looking at Flintlock Theatre School which is an independent group.

They are both franchises so run for profit.

Look for a group attached to a local theatre or arts centre. They are run by genuine lovers of youth theatre and are usually not-for-profit.

No one we know buys the costumes at Perform. Our 8 year old really enjoys it, will probably have out-grown it by 9/10 though.

They are absoluteky run for profit so your husband could be right...

What is it you want to get out of it ? If she loves performing as above Id look at local options. Often cheaper and often better.

I'd send her to a proper dance school instead. She'll get decent dance training and many schools offer musical theatre or singing too, or do festivals and competitions.

She doesn't seem to be so excited about dance. She goes for the acting and singing.

Ah. She might get bored some of the time then, because those weekend theatre groups are all about the triple threat, act, sing, dance. They tend to need to be able to do all three, especially if they want bigger parts later on.

Chisanunian, I think she's finding it hard to remember the dance moves, which is discouraging her a bit. I've never been convinced by this idea that drama lessons give you confidence. Performance is actually a very difficult set of skills to learn and kids confidence can take a bashing if they feel like they're not succeeding. But it's early days. She might catch on. Now that I've looked at Perform prices, I've realised Stagecoach is actually quite good value, so worth sticking with a bit longer!

I think she's finding it hard to remember the dance moves

That could be because many of the other children don't just do the weekly Stagecoach, they have lessons at a dance school as well and have already been taught many of the steps they are being asked to do.

Incidentally, I don't think that drama classes are necessarily good for improving confidence either. If you're quiet or an introvert, or just a bit shy, they can make you even less confident, because you're faced with all the outgoing extroverts all the time.

@chisanunian, the class is a mixture of kids who spend their whole weekend at Stagecoach and various dance classes, and kids who are there because their parents see it as a way of keeping them off their phone and ipad for a few hours. I took her to dance class as soon as she could walk, but it didn't catch on. I've tried to convince her that dance is quite important if you want to perform, but this is rather an adult perspective!

Some principals might be in it for the money, but in our area I'd say it was run by someone who genuinely loves musical theatre and this is the way they can do that. I don't think I'd find anything much different at the local theatre companies, which all charge similar prices. I might ask them if they could put out a video of the dance moves to practice at home.

Thanks for helping me think it through. :)

Probably a bit late to the party here but
a) my DDs did the Stagecoach summer holiday workshops for years. Although the bigger parts went to older pupils I was always impressed at how inclusive they were ensuring everyone got at least 1 line.
b) depending on where you are I have been to a number of excellent productions over the years by the Wheatley Am Dram group which include children where appropriate.

Thanks for that, TeensPlusCat. She seems to be happy again now they've gone back to classes by age group. Hopefully she'll like the next production better. Or I could try a holiday course.

My kids both did Perform. They employ their teachers rather than using a franchise model and are very flexible at letting them go off for a few months if they get an acting job. replacements are always excellent. I think that model gives really good quality of teachers, certainly all the ones I knew were superb at bringing my very shy kids out of their shells.

and I rarely bought the costumes, could do better on amazon!