LAMDA Evening and Exam Day

I am sitting in the waiting room reflecting on this term's LAMDA teaching and the LAMDA evening. This term has been so quick and I am really proud of the work members have done in such a short space of time.

I am sure that those of you that attended the LAMDA evening would not have noticed that the vast majority of those kids had chosen those pieces just 7 weeks before!

‘I really enjoyed performing my piece at the LAMDA evening because I have worked so hard and it is exciting to show the audience so they can appreciate it too.’ Emily aged 13

LAMDA grades 1-5 are equivalent of GCSE exams and the Medals (grades 6,7 and 8) are an A level equivalent. The members of Stage2 that undertake tuition develop their performance skills at such a fast pace due to the open discussion, research and focus on them as an individual.



'I really value all the different things I have learnt, and the teaching is just so personal, and such a high standard I feel proud to have been taught by Stage2' Jacoba aged 20

Isn’t it great to see so many teenagers being confident enough to not only get up on stage in front of an large audience of family and friends but also to deliver such strong, passionate and emotive pieces.

‘I feel I have improved a lot and I’ve done things I wouldn’t have been able to do beforehand’ 
Meg aged 14

This LAMDA evening really tugged at the heartstrings with lots of serious pieces and performances that made me as a teacher exceptionally proud. We have had such positive feedback about the 2 Steven Berkoff pieces both performed by relatively new and inexperienced members of Stage2 and both totally engaged and involved in the texts. We spoke at the LAMDA evening about doing premiers of Berkoff’s work and with our recent production of GRAFT causing such a positive buzz and excitement in the company, we are strongly considering revising and restaging Requiem for Ground Zero so Berkoff fans look out for that!

‘This term has been really focused, detailed and enjoyable, I have gotten to a point now where I no longer feel nervous at LAMDA evenings but still love the adrenaline of doing a solo piece on stage’ Mark aged 15

We also had loads of Shakespeare at this term’s LAMDA evening which is always nice to see, when you have a 16 year old boy desperate to do Shakespeare and so excited they can’t choose which piece to do next, you know you are doing something right! It is great that all these performers knew exactly what they were saying and brought real life and vitality to these Shakespearian characters.

‘I found it really useful to analyse the text and play around with how it can be performed’ Gabriel aged 16

We finished the evening with an extract from The Tempest, which was really great and fantastic for parents, members of the workshops and members of staff who aren’t in rehearsals. We had such exuberance and skill from our 8 Ariels and a dignified and powerful performance from Chloe our female Prospero.

My pupils are arriving full of excitement and ready to show the examiner all the hard work they have put in.

‘The examiner was really nice and I think I was loud enough because I could hear my echo’ Izzy aged 10

Have you ever thought about taking a LAMDA exam? 

The Tempest Costumes from the RSC

On Monday Liz, Lucy, Jacoba and Sarah went to the RSC costume store in Stratford for a first look and ideas session for The Tempest costumes.

The RSC costume store is a wear house with over 3 floors packed full of exquisitely made costumes from past RSC productions. 

On the ground floor you have Tudor, Elizabethan, Jacobean and old English consumes, on the first floor you have Regency to Victorian and Fantasy (where we spent most of the day) and on the top floor shoes, boots, military, broken down costumes, more modern items and fat suits! 
It is amazing!





We had lots of ideas for The Tempest costumes and got stuck straight in, up and down the familiar aisles spotting costumes we have used in other Stage2 shows. It brings back such fond memories. 

We headed straight for our villains costumes and saw some stunning black dresses and suits for Sebastian and Antonia!

We stayed with the court group and looked at cloaks for Alonso. We looked for opulence and rich tones keeping them very separate from the pale colours in the Islanders costumes.








We also came across a stunning cloak with beautiful plants and leaves embroidered on it, that may make an appearance in 
Act 5...








We then had a great time looking for Prospero and Miranda costumes and we found some great combinations of things, it will be hard to finally choose when we go back for the final choices. (We did have a moment of thinking 'why aren't there more dresses for Prospero?!' then remembered that making her female is yet another adaptation that Stage2 has made!) 

We have decided to go with light fabrics: silks, gossamers, cotton and muslin. We also like the idea of layering disytressed fabrics and washed out colours. 

By the time the play begins Miranda and Prospero have been on the Island for at least 10 years so the sun and sea will have bleached their clothes and they would be using underclothes and other things from around the Island to create their clothes.

 It is very important that for any on stage costumes you think about the way the fabric catches the light and how washed out or vivid you want the fabrics to be. 

It is also so important to link the 

groups of characters together through costumes. 

When we are doing Shakespeare plays at Stage2 we like to show status, morality and relationships through costume.

 We spoke a lot about the groups of characters that are related and on stage together such as Ferdinand who although he needs to look like part of the Kings Family he also spends most of his scenes with Miranda and they need to match and connect through costume.

We then looked for costumes for our Goddesses,   Jesters and Harpy which was so great thinking about how beautiful, funny and scary we can make these characters. 

There are also some fun scenes that require some interesting costumes and the RSC have lots of them too...














We really enjoyed our day and can wait for you to see all the costumes we have chosen in The Tempest by Stage2 Youth Theatre
get your tickets now

March update

Stage2 has been very busy lately and has lots to share with you! Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Keeping you up to date with Stage2!

Check out the Trailer for THE TEMPEST 17th - 20th April 2013 7.30pm (Sat Matinee 2pm) at The Crescent Theatre Lots has been happening in The Tempest rehearsals and in less than 24 hours time we will run the show off script for the first time! It is a hugely exciting production, everyone involved is really enjoying it and cannot wait to share it with you! Click here to get your Tickets Click here to watch it on YouTube We have a excellent reputation for 5* Shakespeare so please spread the word about this accessible and inspiring production! BFAME 2013 Stage2 did very well in the Individual and Duo categories again this year. We were praised for our attitude and our commitment to performance. Stage2 also won the Audience Award for Graft in the One Act Play Festival and was Nominated for Best Cast for Our Town in the Peripatetic Festival for full results see Stage2's blogBFAME 2013 Upcoming Events Fri 15/3 - 7.30- 9.30pm Library Theatre - £6 on the Door LAMDA Evening Certificates Presentation Sat 13/4 - 5.30-7.30pm Millennium Point - FREE ticketed Sharings from General Drama Physical Theatre and Stage1 Good News We are still booking in members for our Summer term for a very exciting range of options and opportunities We are thrilled to be working with Philip Ridley on a new adaptation of 3 of his plays for young people. BOOK HERE Check out the blog for more news, reviews and updates on the company! Stage2 Summer Term starts with an Intro Session Saturday 27th April 2013: 9.30am- 2.30pm Stage1 Summer Term starts with Saturday 4th May 2013: 1.30pm - 5pm (Parent/Guardian Session 1.30-2.30pm)

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Company address: 12 Valentine Road Kings Heath Birmingham B14 7AN Phone: 07961018841 Web: www.stage2.org Keep in touch and spread the word unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

Want to get involved in Towerblock Trio??

Stage2 have been given special permission to adapt and rework 3 of Philip Ridley plays especially for Stage2.

This is a fantastic opportunity and we want to make sure as many young people in Birmingham (and beyond!) get involved as possible. Anyone who has ever been a member of Stage2 and is still under 21 can audition. Absolutely anyone aged 9-21 can be in the Ensemble/Chorus. We have had some productions with excellent roles for chorus in the past but I would say this show will be up there with some of the most exciting ensemble work in a  Stage2 play.

‘I'm very keen on your 'combined' plays idea. Having read your concept I can see how there's so much potential here. I'm very excited about the prospect if us working together and, of course, let's talk more as things develop’ Philip Ridley (to our Director Lucy Bailey-Wright )

'Ridley is the master of modern myth' - Guardian 

Have a look over the Contract to see if you can attend the dates of the rehearsals!

Click to enlarge ----------------->

We are also looking for  a backstage crew made up of young people to be our Assistant Director, Production Assistant, Lighting and Sound Operators and Stage Mangers. 

If you are interested in any of these roles stay after Stage2 on 30th March
 5.15-6pm.

Hope to see lots of people at the Auditions on Saturday 30th March

 6-7.30pm at Millennium Point.

IT IS THIS FRIDAY!

The LAMDA Evening is this week!

That’s right – this Friday is the 

LAMDA Evening

and Certificates Presentation Evening 

at The Library Theatre in Chamberlain Square 

from 7.30pm.

It will be a great evening of performances and congratulations.

Tickets just £6 on the door!

Butlins 2013

Girls  - you’re missing out on Butlins!

Currently the trip is booked up with a vast majority of boys – and lovely boys at that!

It would be great to see more girls signing up for the trip in October Half Term, it is a great fun week away with your friends (of both sexes)! You can book with Liz in the Marketplace!

More lovely boys can also book

Next Term

Booking still open for Summer Term 2013

Places are still available for the Summer Term at the rate of

£140 (£100 for siblings)

We have a great set of options on offer next term, including the unique chance to be in an original piece 

“Towerblock Trio”, with special permission from the playwright himself!

Intros are; 

April 27th for Stage2 

May 4th for Stage1

Press Release The Tempest

PRESS RELEASE

Stage2’s The Tempest

Wed 17th –Sat 20th April 2013 7.30 (+ Sat 2pm)

at The Crescent Theatre, Brindleyplace, Birmingham

After the success of Stage2’s last show, the devised Alice’s Adventures in Www.Land, Birmingham’s busiest youth theatre is now taking on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, a classic tale that will delight all ages.
An endless source of mystery and fascination to audiences, actors, students, poets, philosophers alike, The Tempest has been performed in more different ways and genres than any other work in the canon, if not the world. It is ideal for ‘Stage2 style’ plot twists and changes of characters’ sex, making it not only a perfect first play, but an inspiring production for those studying the text (as it will inspire discussion and debate). Is it a pantomime, a fairy tale, a love story, an adventure, an allegory, a moral tale, or actually an elaborate game of chess? How much do we see mystical magic and how much skilled illusion? Is Prospero an Icarus or a Faustus? Who has the upper hand in this ‘brave new world’ - the native islanders or the educated voyagers? Where are our sympathies and do we know why? Physical action, slapstick routines, elegance, earthiness, deep sadness and conniving manipulation morph the story and drive the characters through a maze of increasing complexity, clashing fantasy and reality.

In our version, Prospero is female, a widow who turns to the ‘liberal arts’ of natural remedies, hypnotism and astrology to distract her in her grief. Antonia, her sister, plays on this distraction and furthers her own advancement; first with help from Alonso, King of Naples, to become a Duchess - later plotting with Sebastian to be his Queen. Echoes of a game of chess…..? Sebastian, the bitter and bolshy illegitimate brother, is (eventually and literally) roused to take action. There is no magic – everything is trickery and illusions - performed by ‘smoke and mirror effects’, cloths on pulleys, hypnotic trances.  All characters are human (though not all humane.)
Stage2 youth theatre has a long established history of presenting clear, accessible (and 5 star) Shakespearian productions with dynamic casts of over 100 young people, and this show will be no exception.
‘A team of talent, sublimely declining to put a foot wrong…. a first night standing ovation, then yet again Stage2 sent its audience home in grateful and heady disbelief, although old hands among the patrons know that this happens every time.’ Behind the Arras. After last year’s deep and dark Romeo and Juliet, here is a comic and colourful show that all ages will enjoy (at least once the storm has settled….!)
Tickets are £9         Box office: 0121 643 5868         Online: www.crescent-theatre.co.uk

PRESS RELEASE ENDS

For further information please contact us via 07961 018841 or info@stage2.org
or visit www.stage2.org or stage2news.blogspot.co.uk   or  @Stage2YT