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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

West End theatre summer camps

10 replies

Playdoughcaterpillar · 21/04/2023 12:26

Has anyone’s child attended this or similar courses? And would you recommend? Any tips? It’s for a 12 yo, already goes to a weekly drama club and loves the stage.
https://www.westendstage.com/book-now/

Booking Your Spot In Theatre Summer School - West End Stage

Book your child's spot at our West End theatre summer school today. Visit our site for information on availability & cost.

https://www.westendstage.com/book-now/

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 22/04/2023 18:39

My DD did BYMT rather than West End Kids. Can really recommend them.

britishyouthmusictheatre.org/take-part/courses

AmyandPhilipfan · 22/04/2023 19:11

My son does a week long course most summer holidays with a local theatre school. It's £100 for 5 days and they put on pretty much a full musical for parents on the last day. It's great! I don't know if I'd pay the price for the above courses, although I suppose it's perhaps worth it if your child has aspirations of being on stage professionally.

My niece actually did a course in London one year, with accommodation etc. She loved it but it did make her realise that she would probably never 'make it' as there were so many kids more talented and with more experience than her.

Playdoughcaterpillar · 23/04/2023 22:05

Lonecatwithkitten · 22/04/2023 18:39

My DD did BYMT rather than West End Kids. Can really recommend them.

britishyouthmusictheatre.org/take-part/courses

Thanks but I wasn't really wanting residential ideally. We live within easy travelling distance of central London.

OP posts:
Playdoughcaterpillar · 23/04/2023 22:06

AmyandPhilipfan · 22/04/2023 19:11

My son does a week long course most summer holidays with a local theatre school. It's £100 for 5 days and they put on pretty much a full musical for parents on the last day. It's great! I don't know if I'd pay the price for the above courses, although I suppose it's perhaps worth it if your child has aspirations of being on stage professionally.

My niece actually did a course in London one year, with accommodation etc. She loved it but it did make her realise that she would probably never 'make it' as there were so many kids more talented and with more experience than her.

Which area are you in?

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DanceMonster · 23/04/2023 22:09

We’re in the midlands and my children do one with a local theatre school… £90 per week per child. They do a full show at the end. I know it’s probably like comparing apples and pears but… those prices 🤯

allhailthebrain · 24/04/2023 00:24

Hi,
Personally I would look at NYMT (National Youth Music Theatre). In the past their courses have been residential, but I notice this year they have teamed up with Arts Ed to put on a course together, at Arts Ed's premises.
Having done courses with both before (or my teen son has) I think it looks really good! Sounds like from your location it could work.
It looks better value too - it's the second one down on this link (first is their residential one) - https://nymt.org.uk/workshops/

Workshops

Do you have a passion to train with leading industry professionals? Look no further...

https://nymt.org.uk/workshops

TheatreTaxi · 26/04/2023 12:57

@Playdoughcaterpillar, my DS did a lot of professional MT (including WE) when he was younger and I am familiar with a number of holiday training courses. I think whether a West End Stage course is worth the exorbitant fees or not depends on what your child is looking to get out of it.

If your child's main aim is to spend a week getting some high-quality training amongst like-minded kids, something like Spirit Young Performers, Stagebox or MX Masterclass would be much better value. Staff on those courses are often working MT professionals.

If your child is just excited about the experience of performing in a WE theatre, then West End Stage might be worth considering if you can afford it.

However, if your child is keen on the couse because they hope they'll be spotted by agents or casting directors, it's definitely not worth the money. Despite the hype on the West End Stage website, casting directors very rarely use these sorts of courses for serious scouting, and a child is more likely to get noticed by an agent and offered rep from a summer course run by a performing arts school with an affiliated agency. Stagebox would fit the bill there, or if you're anywhere near North London, I can recommend New London Performing Arts Centre in Muswell Hill.

Playdoughcaterpillar · 26/04/2023 13:15

TheatreTaxi · 26/04/2023 12:57

@Playdoughcaterpillar, my DS did a lot of professional MT (including WE) when he was younger and I am familiar with a number of holiday training courses. I think whether a West End Stage course is worth the exorbitant fees or not depends on what your child is looking to get out of it.

If your child's main aim is to spend a week getting some high-quality training amongst like-minded kids, something like Spirit Young Performers, Stagebox or MX Masterclass would be much better value. Staff on those courses are often working MT professionals.

If your child is just excited about the experience of performing in a WE theatre, then West End Stage might be worth considering if you can afford it.

However, if your child is keen on the couse because they hope they'll be spotted by agents or casting directors, it's definitely not worth the money. Despite the hype on the West End Stage website, casting directors very rarely use these sorts of courses for serious scouting, and a child is more likely to get noticed by an agent and offered rep from a summer course run by a performing arts school with an affiliated agency. Stagebox would fit the bill there, or if you're anywhere near North London, I can recommend New London Performing Arts Centre in Muswell Hill.

Thanks it's a mixture of the first 2 reasons really. I'm not under any illusions about being spotted. We are SW London so some of those places are a bit further away for us or don't obviously have a summer camp when I've looked at their websites. Thanks for the Intel!

OP posts:
TheatreTaxi · 26/04/2023 18:21

If you are SW London, then Arts Ed in Chiswick or Italia Conti in Woking might be worth looking into as well. Both run summer courses.

NotEvenSlightlyReasonable · 29/04/2023 19:48

DD13 is doing it this year, first time. She has done the one week 'start from nothing on Monday, perform a musical on Friday' for about 6 years and wanted something more challenging so we're hoping this is. It needs to be residential for us due to location. We'll see how it goes this year, and might look at this again, or NYMT/BYMT camp for next year. Fingers crossed!

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