Stagecoach

Staff, Students and Parents all agree that this summer`s workshop week for Early stages students (aged 4 - 8years) was very successful  - I believe the most successful we have ever had. 

Below I have posted some of the photos as souvenirs for the parents

Here are some of the craft sessions that

Kira and Alex are brother and sister and when asked to draw a family portrait were obsessed with drawing their big brother`s hairy legs. By the time they had finished giggling about it, the whole family had hairy legs!!

Here we are in Singing

Dancing…….

Doing their drama ….

And action shots in the mini-shows

And posing for photos after the show!!!…….

Our Stagecoach choir performing with Keith Jack on Saturday night got an extra treat when Andrew Castle - a presenter on GMTV arrived to watch his daughter Georgina perform in her first ever show, at the start of her career. Georgina was a featured singer with Keith Jack in the show and did have a lovely, and a very strong voice - very well suited to the songs that she had been given in the show from “Dirty Dancing” and “Grease” in particular.

Whilst researching Andrew Castle on the Internet I came across an article about his challenging a visitor to the GMTV show, about the routine distribution of Tamiflu in the current outbreak of swine flu. He had said that his daughter had a very nasty reaction to the drug and had nearly died. So we are very pleased to see her looking so well and happy in the show.

The cast and management were lovely with our children and posed for photos and signed autographs endlessly. Andrew Castle was signing autographs with a Stagecoach pen and asked who it belonged to. He then said he was going to keep it because he could write well with it.

There were a few technical problems with the mics - particularly on a ”High School Musical” number which featured our children. Poor Keith did not have a working mic for all of the number virtually despite changing several times so our kids had to carry the song by themselves.

Here are some photos of the gig - firstly on stage at the end of rehearsals:-

Here we are having a breather in the park

back stage waiting to go on stage:-

cast photos after the show

Northallerton Stagecoach

Bishop Auckland Stagecoach

Hartlepool Stagecoach

Students from the 7 schools of Yarm and Darlington

The arrival of Andrew Castle backstage

Andrew Castle with his daughter Georgina

Andrew and his daughter Georgina pose for the cameras

The Stagecoach pen!!!!

And here are some other random shots from backstage:-

And here is Oliver Allinson looking much happier after the show after his bout of stage fright. Well done Oliver!

Well done also to Jamie Lock who was taken poorly just before the show and still managed to perform in all but one of the songs. I missed Jamie for a photo but if he sees this, he might e mail me one?

All the Stagecoach choir involved in “Stardust” last night are to be commended for their excellent performance after the minimum of rehearsals. In under an hour they were taken through their moves and introduced to songs that some did not know (the organisers insisted that we did not need any prior rehearsals or briefing for the performance). The Boys Only dance class got one single run-through before they had to leave the stage. AND YET the audience loved our contribution to the show and all the children had a great time on - and backstage!  

I don`t think adults could have bettered your professionalism and performance, given the same conditions, so I am immensely proud of you all. Well done! Below are some photos taken as the curtain came down at the interval.

The cast of “Stardust” gave me a signed poster after the performance on Friday night. With no other way of sharing it between 45, than by the web site, I have scanned in the relevant part so that all choir members  can all print it off for your scrapbooks.  The first choir member to e mail me on publishstuff@gmail.com can have the large original for their bedroom wall.

What A Night!!

I am pleased to report to anyone that could not join us on Saturday 14th July, that our main school 10th Anniversary Show was magnificent. I was so proud of everyone`s achievements. The rehearsal schedule was tight but the behaviour and professionalism were impressive. There are so many people to thank:-

STAFF

Thank you to the Staff (Deborah, Sue, Kate, Emma and Catherine) who extended their terms to take part in the preparations for the show. Claire was also hoping to be there but was taken ill and had to stay in bed instead. Janie and Phil were on holiday. Special mention must go to Kate for covering for her own and Janie`s AND in an emergency Claire`s Dance routines in rehearsal. This was at a time when she had just finished her own show on Friday with another following on Sunday and Monday. Poor Kate was on her knees!

My Admin Assistant Gill must get special mention for press-ganging her husband Phil and daughter Charlotte into helping her all day and evening in chaperone and security roles. I awarded Phil the title of “Logistics and Security Tzar” - but I think he saw through it! This was at a very difficult personal time for the family and I really appreciate such selflessness.

CHAPERONES

Without the 30+ chaperones that agreed to help out on the day with the supervision of everyone else`s children, there would simply have been no show. It wasn`t an easy job and yet they did it calmly, professionally and efficiently. Thanks a million to you all!

I hope the lady who badly grazed her leg is better now.

VENUE

As ever, the help and organisation from the venue was outstanding. We had technical help all day and night and wonderful rehearsal and performance spaces to work in. Thank you to all at The Oakwood Centre.

STUDENTS

All our current students were co-operative, uncomplaining and brilliant in performance. What more could I ask for?

Some of our key ex-students turned up, worked hard on new material, encouraged the younger students and performed for us. Together with our own current Further Stages students, they gave our schools the most marvellous role models to emulate. They were confident, eloquent and adaptable. Fantastic young people

PARENTS

Parents shipped children to and from rehearsals and performances all day and still smiled. They bought tickets, volunteered to chaperone and act as general helpers AND made a most magnificent audience. Well done to you all - what stars!

COMPERES

Despite my best intentions, I was still writing the compere`s script throughout the night before the show( hence my total lack of sleep). Three of the six that compered had never done it before and had the script thrust at them on the day. Well done for holding it all together, through the slight technical hitches. Thank you Joyce, Matthew, Daniel, Louise, Rachael and Susie and - Robin

Well - do you get the impression that I enjoyed it? I loved the opportunity to get all the schools together and the finale song was a definite highlight for me - to hear 250+ voices all Singing together was magical.

THE FUTURE

WEBSITE

In time, this web site will be posting bits of footage/ photos / memories of the show so stay with us! Visit regularly and don`t miss anything. The lasting legacy of the anniversary will be this web site which will be a safe forum for the students and an information source for parents.

KEEP CHECKING AUDITIONS, WHAT`S ON and OPPORTUNITIES throughout the Summer so that you do not miss anything.

Have a wonderful Summer - stop doing all those rain dances and see you in September.

Trudy

Below is a receipt from Stagecoach`s charity Interact for money received from collections held during the “Gladrags” performances and the end of term performances in March. We are waiting for a receipt also from the Hands of Love charity for their share in the collection money. Thank you very mich to you all.

We have had more shows this last term than in any other previous term. I will have overseen 13 shows in ten days. Every main school, Early Stages group, Further Stages group and the Boys Only Dance class were performing. And what a high standard they all achieved. They all made me very proud.

IF YOU HAVE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOWS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THEM TO SEND IN, THEN PLEASE E MAIL publishstuff@gmail.com

To start you off, here are DA5 (11.00am on Saturday during their version of “Happy Hat Land” 

I’d just like to compliment everyone on the wonderful Yarm, Sunday morning end of term show, Cabaret. It was excellent. In the 9 years that Bethany has been attending Stagecoach, I think that this was one of the best shows I’ve seen. Standards were very high. It was really good to see the entire main school in the one show, and the performance flowed exremely well. All of the different age groups had obviously worked very hard and they all deserve to be congratulated on the fabulous performance.
Alison Taylor

Paul Harbron - a teacher at Middleton St George Primary School helps us by manning the light and sound when we do our performances there with the Thursday School. He took time out to e mail me across the holidays to say that in his opinion, it was the best performance of all the ones he has seen. We will have to treat him as an impartial critic as he does not have any children with us at Stagecoach - so well done Thursday school you didn`t have an easy ride into that performance but you pulled it off!