October Update

Stage2 Youth Theatre Monthly Update      October 2012       No. 40 Hello Stage2 members, supporters, parents, carers, taxis and audience members! We hope you are all making the most of the Autumn sunshine and are as excited as we are about our upcoming events this term! We have welcomed over sixty new members to Stage2 this term and are having a Mentorvent Party Disco on Friday to give everyone a proper welcome. If you know anyone who might be interested in joining Stage2 in the future, then please forward this message to them, refer them to our website www.stage2.org or let them know about our Questions & Queries Evening (5.30 - 7.30pm on Saturday 3rd November at Millennium Point) which is open toanyone, to come down and ask any question they like, to any Staff Member, Trainee Tutor or Mentor. Good News We are very lucky to have several successful ex-members on television and in the West End and lots of our members have been proudly going down to see them! Arthur Darvill and Cian Barry  are currently co-starring in the rapidly-selling, four star Our Boys "storms the West End in a brilliantly cast and superbly acted revival" whatsonstage.com  John Light  is receiving stunning reviews for his one-man performance in Thom Pain (based on nothing) at The Print Room in Notting Hill. "John Light delivers a masterclass in being at ease on stage..." thegoodreview.co.uk Also, Maya Sondhi is starring in the new television series Citizen Khan on BBC One. Very exciting and encouraging for current Stage2 members and families!! Alice in Www.land Our next production is Alice's Adventures in Www.land - a modern (social-media based) interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic. We explore with Alice as she follows the White Rabbit hopping from tweet to tweet, comments on the Dodo's confused status, tumbles in the the Caterpillar's blog and finds a Tea Party Chatroom. This will be a fabulous production for all family members, whether they regularly use social media or wouldn’t know how to turn on a computer! 7.45pm 9th - 12th January 2013 (with 2pm Saturday Matinee) at The Crescent Studio Sheepcote Street, BrindleyPlace, Birmingham B16 8AE   Birmingham Mail Wish Campaign Stage2 has been shortlisted as one of the charities in theBirmingham Mail Wish Campaign, a community fundraiser taking place across Birmingham between now and 17th November. All you need to do to help us out is collect tokens from the Birmigham Mail (only 47p), and send them to the Stage2 Office, 12 Valentine Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7AN or give them to a Stage2member to bring in. The more tokens we get, the larger a share of £25,000 we will receive. This would make a hugely positive impact onStage2 so, please collect tokens for us and encourage anyone you know to do so as well - every token counts!  forward to a friend  Copyright © *|2012|* *|Stage2 Youth Theatre|*, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Stage2 Youth Theatre, 12 Valentine Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7AN

Tempest Project

Stage2, Birmingham’s biggest and busiest youth theatre are renowned for producing high quality theatre with young people (aged7-21) from mixed backgrounds, ages and experiences from across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Stage2 has now been running for 25 years and takes place every Saturday during term time.

Apart from producing 3-4 critically acclaimed shows a year with casts of up to 100, Stage2 also offers workshops every term and a unique range of work experience opportunities to its members including technical/backstage training, a nationally accredited Peer Mentor Scheme and the chance to manage Stage2’s marketing and fundraising (all done by members).

This year, Stage2 is about to embark on an extended project around Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a text we know is on multiple syllabuses.  The project will involve a “pre-text” Summer School were members will be able to have every word of the play decoded for them, a term-long interpretation workshop in the Autumn, examining different characters, relationships, concepts and styles of performance and finally rehearsals in the Spring Term, leading up to a performance in The Crescent Theatre, 17^th – 20^th April.

Anybody aged 9 – 21 can participate in take part in this project at any stage, with no audition necessary to perform in the final production. There is also a Subsidy Fund available to any potential members with financial difficulty which can partially or fully fund their place.

We hope you agree that this will be an invaluable opportunity for young people in Birmingham, especially pupils with a real passion for Drama or English and will feed positively into schoolwork.

Help Stage2 Raise Funds!

Birmingham Mail Wish 2012
The Birmingham Mail are giving not-for-profit groups the chance to receive a share of £25,000

Wish tokens will be printed in the Birmingham Mail every day from Tuesday 2 October 2012 to Saturday 17 November 2012. All you have to do is cut them out to send them to the group you are supporting!

Stage2 tokens can be handed in to Ethan on on a Saturday or sent to Stage2 C/O 12 Valentine Road Kings Heath Birmingham B14 7AN

Every token counts and gets us a bigger share of the £25,000 towards our huge Tempest project working with hundreds of Birmingham's young people to understand and access Shakespeare and be part of something they can really be proud of.