Stagecoach?

[Fruitbatlings]

Worth the money? We are thinking of enrolling our 4 year old in January.....

It s expensive and takes up at least half your day at a weekend from what I gather. Hwever apparently the children who go tend to enjoy it.

We decided to find a local independent drama school instead, which DD adores. It is much much cheaper and the children are so much more involved in the actual production of any performances. The shows are not polished big affairs, but the children develop them froms cratch fromt he characters, the pplot, the script, the clothes, everything. Fab!

What Hulababy said. It seems to be good for children who are very into outgoing singing/dancing but less so for a child who doesn't obviously possess those talents. (ime) Depends on your dc.

Local arts theatres usually do a range of classes, very reasonable price and you get to do a range of activities, backstage as well as the obvious front stage stuff. I really recommend trying something like these first to get a feel for what your dc really likes.

Think it depends what you want to get out of it. As a general performing arts vehicle it is fine, if pricey, but you won't get the same focus on skills as specific dance classes or a drama group. Teachers can be hit and miss in terms of qualification and experience.

I'm not actually sure what we want from it tbh. DS1 seems to be keen to perform and is quite, how should I say, loud!

Just a bit of fun for now I think.
I have tried googling local drama classes but not coming up with much.
We're in Wimbledon/Colliers Wood

I've found 'Perform' in Wimbledon. Does anyone know it?

Friend used Perform for her dd's and they really liked it . Less "stage schooly" than Stagecoach and I think is specifically aimed at a younger age range.

Theres a stagecoach principal on MN she will likely be alone soon to explain how it works. I have no connections with it other than I went as a child myself and I sing their praises, it did wonders for me.

Have copied and pasted what I have written before on here about it -

I still have all my stage coach report cards, photos and song lyric sheets. I am almost 25. Thats how much it meant to me. I only threw out my tshirt 6 months ago...because I was moving house and something had to go.

I have been to various things like it and none touched me as much as SC did. Its the emphasis that is put on enjoyment and confidence rather than strit cramming of rehearsals for a big show. If you want your child dressed up in glitter and pink and performing identical routines in a huge flashing light show...stage couch isnt for you. If you want an emphasis on confidence, exploration in a safe space, improvisation and a chance to give lots of input then SC is for you. The "shows" are more demonstrations of class work, they show you what has been learned and is just a taster, thats why they do reports too.

Ive been to a copy of staecoach - MAD i think it was, not sure if it still exists and it just wasnt anywhere like it. All the motions were there but it wasnt the same. A key difference IMO is MAD didnt have a principal onsite each week, SC does (did when I went anyway) this means staff are kept motivated, and working together, the principal drops in to all the classes and watches/inputs so is really involved.

other threads on stage coach here and here

Can't really add much else to what giraffe has said other than to confirm that there is still a principal onsite each week and it is more about classwork and confidence than bog shows.

There are opportunities for some students to do larger scale shows occasionally.

A 4 year old would be in Early Stages which is 90 minutes long, half an hour of dance, drama & singing.

I get more of a kick out of bringing the less confident children out of their shells than I do about the more naturally talented (though I have great pride when a naturally talented child does well due to hard work)

(pssst) Babies and toddlers welcome at presentations too (well at least at ours!!!)

Well, I've just spoken to a friend today who's little girl goes to Stagecoach. She is really pleased with it (I had no idea she went!)
We've just got to wait for DH to start his new job. After a couple of months (paying off debts) then we should be able to enroll DS.
Thank you everyone for all your advise

DS does it, wanting to copy one of his cousins who is real stage school material. He enjoys it, the school is good, very enthusiastic, but I can see it all depends on who runs your particular one. He's just moving up to the 3 hour job, which is going to be a pain on Sat mornings but at least finishes at 1.

He's yr3 and it was noticeable at their Xmas show that he and a girl in his class who also goes to (a different) SC were by far the loudest, clearest articulating in the show, for what that's worth. Not the best actors though!

All 5 of mine did this and 4 still do - 2 travelling independently for several hours each Saturday just to do it. Oldest child is now a music teacher. All are very confident and really love to perfrom. Real value for money. Many professional shows between them despite their varying degrees of talent.

By way of an update, DS had his first 3 hour session yesterday - resounding success and what seemed like a lot of concentration and discipline. He talked about it all day and v keen to go back next week. Also very good for making friends completely out of school or your area - our stagecoach is 15 miles from home so children are from wide area and much more diverse backgrounds than DS's small rural school.

My DD 6 and DS 5 go to Perform in WImbledon and love it. It is lots of fun and really focuses on the children finding their voice, and gaining confidence in body language as well as oral communication.

They put on a show termly, but the learning is not geared entirely to the show which I like.

We have also attended drama courses at the Polka theatre, which are great but chaotic. Not all the teachers have great control!

A friend of mine DD does stagecoach and adores it, but she is very precocious (in the true meaning of the word rather than insulting) and the "stage school" all singing/all dancing thing really suits her. I think my dc would be intimidated by it.