News and Events
'Her Majesty's' Gala Evening
Thirty students from the Stagecoach schools in Cheam & Worcester Park had the chance to perform on a West End stage when they took part in a spectacular musical celebration in May at one of London's most famous theatres, 'Her Majesty's'. Dance schools from around the country entertained the audience in a variety of lively musical and dance presentations of familiar and original work. Students representing Cheam & Worcester Park, whose ages ranged from 9 to 16, rehearsed together for weeks beforehand on their own particular contribution, a dance routine to 'You Can't Stop the Beat' from award winning show 'Hairspray' and an edgy modern routine to 'Aint No Stressin' which raised deafening applause from the audience and proved a hard act to follow. The day provided a wonderful opportunity for the students taking part and, despite the nerves before going on stage, all agreed they would love to do it again.
Performances and Auditions
The past 18 months have seen plenty of activity at Stagecoach Cheam and Worcester Park, including some of our students taking part in a gala performance at ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre’ in the West End. There have been lots of exciting opportunities for students at Stagecoach Cheam and Stagecoach Worcester Park recently. Some of our younger students appeared on 'Cbeebies', another student had a part in TV drama 'Perfect Parent' with Christopher Eccleston, one appeared in ‘Little Britain’, and several have appeared in ‘Bugsy Malone’, ‘Dick Whittington’ and ‘Oliver’ at ‘The Epsom Playhouse’. We have some Early Stages students currently modelling for ‘Marks & Spencer’ and several students reached the last round of auditions for ‘Oliver’ in the West End with a big congratulations going to Joe McManus who won a part as one of Fagin's gang appearing alongside Jodie Prenger and Rowan Atkinson. Well done to all those involved.
The 2010 annual production saw students perform ‘Forbidden Planet’ which was a huge success. Even our Early Stages students got involved, introducing the show and performing the opening number! Over 60 students from our schools performed a medley of songs and dances at the ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ in Nonsuch Park, Cheam, on a hot, sunny afternoon last June and the students enjoyed the day so much that we are planning to take part again this June.
Workshops
We have also been running a number of workshops which have included a ‘Les Miserables’ workshop taught by a West End performer and one of the show’s cast, ‘Stage Combat’ which was great fun and ‘Audition Technique’ to prepare students for forthcoming auditions.
The Institute of Contemporary Music came in to run a 'pop vocal workshop' so students had a chance to learn new techniques in singing and dancing with microphones.
Two members of the award-winning West End musical 'Joseph' came in to Stagecoach Cheam during the summer term to hold a 'Joseph' workshop for our students. This coincided with a theatre trip to see the same show.
Early Stages
Our Early Stages classes have been so popular that we have now opened a second class in Cheam which also runs from 4.15 to 5.45pm on a Friday.
LAMDA
Other activities include LAMDA examinations which students are able to take as an optional extra each term.
Stagecoach Cheam offers students who have been attending a Stagecoach School for one or more years an opportunity to train towards a recognised drama award with our specialised LAMDA coach Kate Ashmead.
LAMDA is the largest Speech and Drama Board in the U.K. and has a reputation for excellence worldwide. LAMDA training is a wonderful way to build confidence, improve acting and communication skills, whilst preparing students for their individual exams.
Since entering students for LAMDA, we are proud to have achieved a 100% success rate.
Theatre trips
Theatre trips are a plenty at Stagecoach Cheam as we're fortunate to get some excellent deals on top price seats. We try to organise at least one trip per term. In the last year we have been to see 'The Sound of Music', 'Billy Elliot ', 'We Will Rock You', 'Joseph', 'Wicked' and 'Hairspray'.
We are now planning next term's theatre trips and any new students will have the opportunity to join us too.
