Costume sheet for Alice's Adventures in Www.land

I have noticed a serge in the number of views of past costume sheets on the Blog and thought maybe families are looking for some information on 'Alice's Adventures in Www.land'
So here is the costume sheet and some more hints and tips will follow on Saturday 

Stage2 Autumn Term Intro

We had a great day yesterday with 53 new members enrolled for this term. Lots of our new parents took the opportunity to go for Coffee with other parents and really enjoyed the friendly, sportive atmosphere of Stage2. 

Several people from our Artsfest Taster Sessions have signed up for Stage2 and so we are planning to do some other taster events in the future.

If any one else would like to join Stage2 this term then please come along this Saturday at 9.30am or 1.30pm at Millennium Point.

21 of our new members will be taking part in Alice's Adventures in Www.land. 

'Thank you to everyone who made me feel welcome at Stage2 yesterday, I really enjoyed it. Cant wait till next week now' New Member

All new members will receive an email or phone call from their Mentor Buddy this week. Any questions they have about our busy exciting company can be answered so they can make the most of their first terms in Stage2.

These should help you get to grips with the events this term.

Stage2 Costume Policy

Stage2 Costume Policy

Some hints and tips and ways Stage2 try to help its members and their families find costume

Ways Stage2 will help you

1.  Stage2 direct and set our costumes very much according to things that are cheap and readily  available/ ’ borrowable’ from family friends.

2.  If there are more complex or specific costume required Stage2 buy/hire/make costumes.

3.  We give out the costume sheet at the introductory session and talk through it in detail and answer questions the following week.

4.  We give the chorus double the rehearsal time on the first week specifically to explain and go through costume sheets, set plans, concepts of the play so they have a very clear idea of what is needed and can ask questions to confirm anything.

5.  We then give members 4 weeks to ‘find’ costume

6.  During this time

·    We have a store of Stage2 costume which we offer to everyone in the show

·    We buy additional fabric to jazz up people’s costumes or for them to make whole items.

·    We buy items in bulk and sell off when we want everyone to wear the same thing.

·    We ask cast and chorus members to bring in anything suitable and spare for a big swap session.

·    We remind members of the costume deadline both in  rehearsals and in the public marketplace.

·    We have question sessions where members can ask about their costume specifically or show items they have found for approval.

7    We then ask everyone to wear their costumes in the run of the show on the 5^th week so we can see all costumes together and give people extra help where needed. This is also useful as we point out good costumes and share tips on how to achieve these results.

8    At the end of every show we allocate time for members to give back anything they have borrowed and collect in lent items. We then collect in any unwanted costume and also ‘recycle’ the unclaimed lost property so please make sure your child is clear about what your family want back!

Ways you can help yourself

1.  Tell your family what you need as soon as you know.

2.  Ask your friends and family to lend you things - make sure you look after/return them.

3.  Get everything together and try it on – adding details as a finishing touch.

You need to feel confident onstage wearing this costume - it should look like it is yours!

4.  Keep old school uniform -  this may come in useful.

5.  Label your items as other people will have similar things

6.  Look in charity shops - Harborne, Kings Heath, Cotteridge, Shirley and West Brom are good areas.

Birmingham Mail Wish Campaign

Stage2 has entered The Tempest as a project to be supported by the Wish Campaign. Over the next few months we will be asking you to collect tokens from the Birmingham Mail to help us increase our Donation towards The Tempest. 

This article was Printed in the Birmingham Mail earlier this month about Stage2 to start drumming up that support.

The Stage2 Year: Dates for your Diary

Autumn Term 2012
Intro Sessions	Stage2: Saturday 22nd September Stage1: Saturday 29th September
Half Term	Saturday 27th October
Priority Discount Booking Closes for Spring Term 2013 (Deadline for Current Members’ Subsidy Applications for term fees)	Thursday 1st November
End of Term (and Sharings)                    Alice's Adventures in Www.land                      Production Week	Saturday 15th December Monday 7th - Saturday 12th Jan
Spring Term 2013
Intro Sessions	Stage2: Saturday 26th January Stage1: Saturday 2nd February
Half Term	NONE
Priority Discount Booking Closes for Summer Term 2013 (Deadline for Current Members’ Subsidy Applications for term fees)	Friday 1st March
End of Term (and Sharings)                   The Tempest                    Production week	Saturday 13th April Monday 15th - Sat  20th April
Summer Term 2013
Intro Sessions	Stage2: Saturday 27th April Stage1: Saturday 4th May
Half Term	NONE
Priority Discount Booking Closes for Autumn Term 2013 (Deadline for Current Members’ Subsidy Applications for term fees)	Monday 1st July
End of Term (and Sharings)                      Show TBC Production Week	Saturday 13th July Mon 15th - Sat 20th July

     Summer Schools x2:                                                         Mon 26th - Fri 30th August
         1 General Acting for 7 -21 year olds 
         1 tbc probably Shakespeare/ text based

Stage2 Taster Workshop

Click the red link for a review of the Stage2 Taster Workshop at Artsfest on 9th September 

#Artsfest

We had an excellent weekend at Artsfest!
 On Saturday we spoke to hundreds of people about Stage2's upcoming activities, how to get involved, our history, the success of our ex members and the skills and qualities you can gain from being a member of Stage2. People were very impressed and some people even booked there and then to make sure of a place in our Autumn Term. 

We handed out thousands of flyers about  Stage2 and established a presence in all Artsfest and non Artsfest venues across the city centre. All weekend The Crescent gave us a stall in their Theatre and we really kickstarted the promotion Alice's Adventures in Www.land 

On Sunday we cranked it up a notch kicking off at 11.30am with our final performance of 'Us and Them' in BrindleyPlace; we had a very supportive audience and despite a big and very loud screening of the final day of the paralympics just a few meters away, the kids did great.

Then at 1.30pm and 3.30pm we hosted 2 workshops with Stage2 members and members of the public they were open to all ages. We had toddlers and parents and every age in between all joining in together in 2 fun taster workshops. There was lots of interest and I have a feeling Stage1 will be getting lots of new members this term. 

Thank you to all the kids and parents who volunteered on our stalls, out in the field leafleting, taking part in workshops and getting the message out about our company. You make us proud!

Stage2 starts on 22/9/12 @ 9.30am 
Stage1 starts on 29/9/12 @ 1.30pm

Stage2 and all it's staff feel strongly that arts activities should be open and accessible to all. We are trying to do everything we can to ensure that any young people wanting drama activities or to be part of a positive friendly and exciting youth project have heard about Stage2, if you have any ideas that you think we could utilise to spread the word further let us know info@stage2.org 

So if you want to get yourself a place in Stage2 for the Autumn Term then book now!
http://www.stage2.org/bookingform.html

Stage2 Update September 2012

Stage2 Update                 September 2012                       No 39 

Dear Stage2 supporter,

We hope you have enjoyed a lovely (sometimes sunny) Summer and are as excited as we are about the next year of Stage2. We have just finished a really productive week at the Summer Schools and are ready for some fabulous performances and workshops at this year’s ArtsFest.

If you know somebody who would like to receive these updates, please email us at info@stage2.org with their email address and we will add them immediately.
Likewise, if you wish to be taken off our list, please contact us via the same email. If we don’t hear anything, we will assume you want to continue to get these updates.

For more information about Stage2 please visit our website www.stage2.org or for more news and updates visit out new Stage2 Blog: www.stage2news.blogspot.org

---

Autumn Term

We have a fantastic set of options in the Autumn, with rehearsals underway for three stunning productions as well as our usual brilliant General Drama and Stage1 groups.
If you still haven’t booked for the Autumn Term then please post a cheque for £130 per person (£90 for extra siblings). with your name on the reverse to:Stage2 Company Office, 12 Valentine Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7AN.
 Stage2 Intro: 22nd September, 9.30am – 2.30pm (until 4.30pm for LAMDA or Arts Award)Stage1 Intro: 29th September, 1.30 – 5pm (Parents must stay until 2.30pm for the Intro chat)
Next term has a wide variety of options, and is an Autumn not to be missed.Stage2: Autumn 2012 - Options We have many great options to choose from this term:

• Production – Alice’s Adventures in Www.land (Cast all day, Chorus am + some pm). 9th – 12th January 2013 at The Crescent Studio, Birmingham
• Alice is a 15 year old girl from Birmingham who has always identified herself with Alice in Wonderland. She enjoys being in her own world and
• has recently created an online wonderland of her own. Through Social Networking and internet searches, she immerses herself in Alice’s adventures.
• The Tempest : Workshops (am) – Explaining the text, experimenting more with characters, creating effects for the show and making costumes – the start of a big project leading up to a huge production in The Crescent Theatre in 17th – 20th April, 2013.
• General Drama (pm) - Get familiar with or revise the basic principles of acting, drama and theatre.
• Skills Workshop: Graft (pm) - 2 of the monologues from this book (Audition and Free Associate) to be performed at the end of Autumn Term Sharings (15th December), as well as entering for the BDTG BFAME One Act Play Festival 2013.
• Stage1 (pm) - a smaller, informal group for the under 10s.

**If there is anyone else you know who might be interested in joining and taking part in Alice’s Adventures in Www.land, The Tempest, General Drama or Stage1, then please pass on our details so that they can get in touch or book through the Stage2 website!**

---

ArtsFest

This coming weekend - Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September Various Locations, Birmingham City Centre, all day.
ArtsFest is a major arts festival in the UK and Europe that takes place in Birmingham every year and once again, Stage2 will have a big presence with all of the following happening over the weekend:
 

• Stall on New Street 11am – 6pm Saturday & Sunday
• Stall at The Crescent Theatre: 10am – 6pm Sat & Sun
• Street Performance 11.30am – 12pm Sunday Brindleyplace Square
• Workshop 1.30 – 2.30pm Sunday at The Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire
• Workshop 3.30 – 4.30pm Sunday at Room 1, Council House

Please feel welcome to come and watch our performance (created by our very own General Drama Group during The Summer Schools) or to take part in our open drama workshops to get a flavour of what goes on during Stage2 sessions. If you don't get chance to catch us there, why not drop by our stall on New Street to say hello.

---

i-Spy Alumni

Stage2 has had many members go onto be successful professionals in a whole host of industries. Some members decide to take their acting careers further and with the help of Stage2, many go on to get into drama schools and from there go on to become professional actors. You may have noticed:
 John Light  - currently in Holby City and about to take the leading role in “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” at The Print Room 15th September – 13th October.Arthur Darvill – currently Rory in Doctor Who – about to take a lead in “Our Boys” at The Duchess Theatre in the West End running from 3rd October alongside fellow ex-member Cian Barry.Yolanda Kettle – Just finished performing in “The Doll’s House” at The New Vic, London.

For those members who are thinking about careers in acting – you are clearly in the right place!! 

---

We can’t wait to see everyone at ArtsFest and then again at the beginning of a new and exciting Autumn Term – if anyone has got any questions about our new options or would like to introduce new members to Stage1 or Stage2 then please don’t hesitate to get in touch! Also, tickets for Alice’s Adventures in Www.land are now on sale from www.crescent-theatre.co.uk <http://www.crescent-theatre.co.uk/Y2013/stage2-alice.html>  – please book soon to avoid disappointment!!

Take care and see you soon,

Ethan Hudson