Stagecoach Theatre Arts
Encyclopedia
Stagecoach Theatre Arts plc is a professional theatre arts school, operating in thousands of locations around the world, with over 600 schools in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Training is offered in singing, dancing and acting.

Stagecoach operates part-time theatre arts schools in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the USA.

Overview

Stagecoach Theatre Arts plc is a national network of part-time theatre schools for children aged 4 to 18 years. Founded by Stephanie Manuel and David Sprigg in 1988 in Surrey, it currently has over 620 centres throughout the UK and a further 52 overseas.

Stagecoach offers young people a basic training in the performance skills of drama, dance and singing which helps build their confidence and develop their character and communication with others. The schools, which restrict class sizes to 15 students, run for three hours at weekends with shorter sessions for the younger children (formally known as the "Early Stages").

Although Stagecoach is open to all young people with an interest in the performing arts whatever their ability, it does provide opportunities to perform professionally and some students have found considerable success in film, television and on the West End stage.

Occasionally Stagecoach schools come together for large national events. These have included performances at The Royal Albert Hall, the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations, The Lord Mayor's Show and Her Majesty's and Drury Lane Theatres in London's West End.

'Young Performer' magazine is circulated to all members of Stagecoach, a magazine devoted to young actors, singers and dancers, and includes information on the entertainment industry, and interviews with young British actors.

World records

In November 1999, 4,568 Stagecoach Theatre Arts students in 56 different schools across the UK, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, USA and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 performed the children's musical "The Rainbow Juggler", setting the world record in Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 for "largest simultaneous performance of one show", and raising £100,000 for charity.

On Saturday 6 December 2008 at 4.15pm GMT, Stagecoach schools throughout the world helped break the record. These formed part of the 500+ performances of a modern myth “Glad Rags”, a piece specially written to celebrate Stagecoach's twentieth anniversary by Stagecoach’s Director of Education Veronica Bennetts, which took place at Stagecoach schools in the UK, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

,and the USA, 66 performances at the official record time.

Three quarters of the €50,000 raised will go towards InterAct, part of the Stagecoach Charitable Trust that provides performing arts education through dedicated schools and workshops for underprivileged and disadvantaged youngsters, the other quarter goes to the charity of choice for each individual school.

John Lucey, the English actor and principal of Stagecoach Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

, said at the time: "The Autumn will be an exciting time for both our schools. Glad Rags, The Musical, is a chance to break the world record but it's also the 20th birthday of Stagecoach and there will be huge celebrations across the network. We are also planning to perform with American singer/songwriter Tom Chapin
Tom Chapin
Tom Chapin is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter and storyteller.-Biography:Chapin attended State University of New York at Plattsburgh and graduated in 1966. From 1971-1976, he hosted a TV show called Make a Wish...

 and the four Dublin centres to give the Irish Stagecoach schools their own unique seal of approval."

RADA Collaboration

In early 2011, Stagecoach Theatre Arts teamed up with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and designed the Vocational Training Preparation course.

This part-time course is specificially constructed to offer students aged 16-19 years the opportunity to train in the performing arts to a high standard of drama, dance and singing, while continuing with school studies or employment. The innovative part-time course allows students to still consider their future options; be it vocational training in the performing arts, university or even a career away from the arts.

Taking place over two academic years, the course consists of three-hour classes each weekend during term time. An additional six intensive one-week workshops will be taken during the holidays at RADA in central London. Sessions will include acting classes, musical theatre training, singing lessons, auditioning for drama school, teacher training, Shakespeare and auditioning for musical theatre.

Entry is by audition only and students will work under the guidance of specialist tutors at the top of their fields to enrich their skills. The first cohort starts in September 2011 and is based at the students choice of either RADA in central London and Stagecoach Head Office in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Stagecoach Agency UK & Ireland

The Stagecoach Agency UK & Ireland is the Europe's largest children’s performers’ agency and represents students, between 4 – 20 years, currently attending the Stagecoach Theatre Arts network of schools across the UK and wishing to be represented by an agent.

The Agency offers Stagecoach students, who choose to become embers of the Agency, opportunities to take part in exciting and worthwhile experiences from a wide range of entertainment platforms.

All members represented by the Agency are included each year in Stagecoach's Spotlight directory, the industry's 'casting bible'. In addition all members' CVs are displayed on the leading internet based casting website service 'Spotlight Interactive', which is only viewable by casting directors, not the general public.

Whenever casting professionals require children for their productions happening anywhere in the UK they call.

The Stagecoach Agency enjoy a high degree of success within the industry and in their 2010, managing director & head of casting Tarquin Shaw-Young reprted that in the directory year they enrolled over 2100 students and won over 5,500 auditions or bookings for their members. Successes have included winning parts, both major and supporting, in TV, Films, Commercials, Radio, Voice-overs, west End Shows, Corporates and Photoshoots.

Child Licensing Petition

On 13 May 2008 Stagecoach, along with 60 students and parents, went to Downing Street to present Gordon Brown with over 10,000 signatures. The petition called Gordon Brown for an immediate reform and overhaul of legislation relating to the Children's performance licence to ensure that children throughout the country are given equal opportunities in a safe and protected environment. Stagecoach publicly announced that they are currently waiting for a response from the government and will, furthermore, publish details as soon as they are received.

Background

Tarquin Shaw-Young the Managing Director & Head of Casting who has lead this campaign says that from its own research and experience Stagecoach and its Agency believes that the current legislation is seriously flawed and that some local authorities are failing in their statutory duties to ensure adequate protection for minors working in the entertainment sector. Stagecoach believes that misunderstanding of the current legislation, results in differing standards across the country and a paperwork burden on local authorities preventing them from providing the protection that the current legislation intends.

Stagecoach calls on Government to amend existing legislation, or to implement new legislation in order to ensure that children throughout the country are given equal opportunities in a safe and protected environment. The undersigned agree and support Stagecoach in its call to Government to reform Children’s Performance Licences.

Notable Alumni

  • Jamie Bell
    Jamie Bell
    Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Billy Elliot , King Kong , Hallam Foe , Jumper , Defiance , The Eagle and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn .- Early life :Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of...

    , English actor
  • Esmé Bianco
    Esmé Bianco
    Esmé Bianco is an English model, actress and burlesque/cabaret performer.- Biography :She was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire and spent her adolescence growing up on Merseyside....

    , English model, actress and burlesque/cabaret performer
  • Zoe Birkett
    Zoe Birkett
    Zoe Birkett was one of the youngest contestants on the ITV show, Pop Idol, being only 16 at the time.-Music career:...

    , Pop Idol
    Pop Idol
    Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

     Series one (2001/02) Finalist, English singer and actress
  • Frazer Brown, English producer and actor
  • Jonny Clarke
    Jonny Clarke
    Jonny Clarke, is an English actor. He is best known for playing the character of Bart McQueen in the channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.-Career:...

    , English actor currently Bart McQueen
    Bart McQueen
    Bartholomew "Bart" McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jonny Clarke. He first appeared onscreen at his stepmother's funeral in August 2010, introduced by producer Paul Marquess as a member of the McQueen family...

     in Hollyoaks
    Hollyoaks
    Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

  • John Cummins
    John Cummins
    John Cummins may refer to:*John D. Cummins , U.S. Representative from Ohio*John Stephen Cummins , American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church*John Cummins , Canadian politician...

    , English actor
  • Lorna Fitzgerald
    Lorna Fitzgerald
    Lorna Katie Fitzgerald is a British actress from Northampton. She lives in Hunsbury. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the British soap opera EastEnders.- Personal life :...

    , British child actress
  • Elliot Francis
    Elliot Francis
    Elliott Charles Francis is a British actor. Francis was brought up in northeast England and started acting from a young age. He was a student of Stagecoach Theatre Arts for six years...

    , English actor
  • Matt Johnson, Popstars: The Rivals finalist, One True Voice
    One True Voice
    One True Voice were a British boyband created on the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals, which also produced girl group Girls Aloud. The band was created by the public, who voted for their favourite hopefuls each week...

     member
  • Myleene Klass
    Myleene Klass
    Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...

    , English actress, singer, model, pianist, radio and television presenter
  • Cher Lloyd
    Cher Lloyd
    Cher Lloyd is a British singer and rapper from Malvern, Worcestershire. Lloyd rose to fame in 2010 when she participated in reality TV series The X Factor, to which she finished in fourth place. Shortly afterwards, Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Records subsidary SyCo Music, releasing...

    , The X Factor (UK)
    The X Factor (UK)
    The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

    (2010) finalist
  • Aaron Renfree, S Club 8
    S Club 8
    S Club 8, previously known as S Club Juniors, was a spin-off of the UK pop group S Club 7. The group's members, Jay Asforis, Daisy Evans, Calvin Goldspink, Stacey McClean, Aaron Renfree, Hannah Richings, Rochelle Wiseman and Frankie Sandford, were all in their early teens or younger when they were...

     singer, actor
  • Shannon Saunders
    Shannon Saunders
    Shannon Rebecca Saunders is an English singer-songwriter who won the Disney Channel UK contest "My Camp Rock 2 in September 2010...

    , Singer
  • Diana Vickers
    Diana Vickers
    Diana Vickers is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008...

    , The X Factor (UK)
    The X Factor (UK)
    The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

    (2008) finalist
  • Emma Watson
    Emma Watson
    Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress and model.Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter...

    , English Actress
  • Charlotte Wakefield, Spring Awakening
    Spring Awakening
    Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of...

    actress
  • Myles and Connor
    Myles and Connor
    Myles Antony Ryan and Connor Jerrade Ryan are a British pop and R&B duo from Manchester, England who are best known for appearing on the fourth series of ITV show Britains Got Talent as part of the boyband 'Connected'....

     Britain's Got Talent
    Britain's Got Talent
    Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...

    (2010) finalists (as part of Connected)
  • Tom Fletcher
    Tom Fletcher
    Thomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists and guitarists of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder and principal songwriter...

    , Lead singer and songwriter in Mcfly
    McFly
    McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...


Easy Stages

When a Stagecoach Student has attended for more than 3 years and are aged over 8, they are automatically offered the opportunity to audition to perform in "Easy Stages", an annual production where students from across the UK and the rest of the world rehearse for 3 weeks on the outskirts of London and perform a musical to a professional standard. Performances currently take place at The Leatherhead
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...

 Theatre (Previous venues include the Waterman Theatre and Epsom Playhouse).

Past shows have included:

1998: Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...



1999: Sing Your Story

2000: Fiddler On The Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...



2001: Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...



2002: Barnum
Barnum
-Places:In the United States:*Barnum, Iowa, a small city*Barnum, Minnesota, a small city*Barnum Township, Carlton County, Minnesota*Barnum, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community-People:...



2003: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a 1954 musical film directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer....



2004: The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...



2005: Gypsy Blood (based on Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...

)

2006: Annie
Annie
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...



2007: Oliver
Oliver
The surname Oliver is of several different origins.-Etymology:The surname Oliver is derived from the Old French personal name Olivier. The Oliver surname seems to be French Norman in origin. The Olivers were probably part of William the Conqueror's Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066...



2008: Children of Eden
Children of Eden
Children of Eden is a two-act musical play with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis. Act I tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel, and Act II deals with Noah and the Flood...



2009: Unsinkable (based on Titanic)

2010: My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...



Future Shows:

2011: Secret Garden
Secret Garden
-In literature:* The Secret Garden, a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which spawned several adaptations:** The Secret Garden a movie directed by Gustav von Seyffertitz and starring Lila Lee, Spottiswoode Aitken and Paul Willis...


External links



www.stagecoachagency.co.uk

Tarquin Shaw-Young Managing Director
Head of Casting
The Stagecoach Agency U.k & Ireland
S.T.Arts Management
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK