.

The Big Give 

Part 2: “THE CHALLENGE”

                                                                                                

As you may know Stage2 are raising awareness & funds for our
Mentor Scheme via The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge.

Stage2’s Mentor Scheme was set up 8 years ago to enable us to welcome new members and nurture current members. Our excellent work in this field has been acknowledged by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation, who awarded us their Approved Provider Standard - and we were the first (and are currently still the only) youth theatre in the UK with this status!

This Scheme (including all related overheads and subsidies) costs Stage2 in excess of £11,000 per year and we have been extremely lucky to have been supported by Four Acre Trust for the past 4 years, but this funding has come to an end, hence we are searching elsewhere.

In the first stage of this process Stage2 had generous pledges amounting to £3,800. This is matched by The Cabinet Office, so we get a potential maximum of £7.600. The final stage is THE CHALLENGE. Stage2 needs to raise as much money as we can to match all our pledges. If we raise the full amount of £7,600 we could get £15,200 for Stage2’s Mentor Scheme and we don’t want to miss this amazing opportunity. Can you help by either donating or passing the message onto others?

Anyone who hasn’t already pledged can donate anything from £1 upwards via our page on the Big Give Website:  thebiggive.org.uk/charity/view/4162/stage2 All you need to do is click on “Donate Now” on the right hand side and follow the on-screen instructions. Stage2 will also be collecting online donations at this term’s Sharings (14th December). If all of this sounds too complicated then just donate via one of our collection tins which will be at our events. . Online Donations will open on Thursday 5th December at 10am and will run until Wednesday 18th December at 5pm. If you find you can’t donate on a certain day then please try the following day as close to 10am as possible.  We are extremely grateful to everyone who has already pledged; anyone who donates in December or anyone who generally raises the awareness about this fundraising effort – Thank you!

STOP PRESS

Stage2 Spring Term

Claire Dowie’s Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt?

The Crescent Theatre Thu 17^th – Sat 19^th April 2014  (Easter Holidays!)

We are delighted to announce a hugely exciting project - happening next Spring (2014) when we will be presenting a brand new adaptation of a full play version of Claire Dowie’s Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? We will be rehearsing and performing our show at exactly the same time as Claire herself tours with a new version of the original monologue  - even more fantastic is that it is the 25^th anniversary of both Stage2 and the script!

To complement the workshop in technique that Claire herself and Colin Watkeys (Producer and Director) took for us this term, they will be returning to take another session directly on the themes of Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? giving members  a unique insight into the piece.

WIJLWAS? is going to be a huge show with a massive set taking over both balconies of the Crescent Main House and with actors spilling out into the auditorium. There will also be a live band playing Beatles songs throughout to add to the spectacle. Last time we did this piece we had an enormous cast and it was outstandingly acclaimed by public and press;

‘What an inspired idea to transform Claire Dowie’s riotous monologue into a comic play

with a cast of one hundred. It’s hard to imagine it would be possible,

until you see how confident and daring the brilliant Stage2 can be.’

The Birmingham Post 2004

We therefore want to have as many people in this production as possible so our show is even better than last time! We need to make the most of such an exciting opportunity.

We can do this in 3 ways

1)    Current company members – everyone in Stage2 should try to be in this show. It will not only be a brilliant and a fun experience, it will be very useful for exams and school work as Claire is a set writer on many syllabuses and a wider reading recommendation on others.

If committed people are interested in Alex Butler’s Skills Workshop in the afternoon, they should be in the chorus in the mornings.

2)    New members – we have a great opportunity to recruit more people for this show and to fill the gaps we will leave in other workshops. Please spread the word to as many people as possible – your contacts, your families’ contacts, people at your school, people in your neighbourhood…..

3)    Ex-members – letting really good and positive ex-members know so they can come back and take part – or pass on the news to their friends if they are still too busy themselves!

Remember we still have more opportunities than any other youth theatre. Next Term;

• Stage1
• General Drama
• Playwriting, Poetry and the Spoken Word
• Marketing Committee
• Fundraising Committee
• Technical Team
• + loads of miscellaneous outings, trips and workshops including

A talk from a BBC Lighting Designer
A session with an Arts Manager in the range of jobs available in the Arts
A Q & A session with Drama School Students
BDTG FAME Festival solo and duo entries…as well as the afore mentioned workshop with Claire Dowie and Colin Watkeys

It is obviously brilliant if people join and stay, but if the other students on your GCSE or A Level Drama courses want to join just for the WIJLWAS? project, then that is fine too.

For further information about the project or how to book please

visit our website: www.stage2.org,

 email us on info@stage2.org 

or phone us on 07961 018841

Technical Workshop

The Autumn Term Technical Workshop has been a jam packed, non-stop roller-coaster of learning, discovery and experimentation in the world of technical theatre. Each week we have tackled a specific area/role in technical theatre. So far we covered Sound Design, Production Management, Stage Management, Set Design, Lighting Practical, Lighting Design and How to apply all of the above to Stage2 shows. (See the gallery bellow for some pics from the workshop). We have learnt invaluable tips and tricks from a plethora of industry professionals who have worked on shows of all shapes and sizes.  Many of the workshop members have already caught the ‘technical bug’ and are eager to be members on the technical team for next terms spectacular show; Why is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt? by Stage2 patron Claire Dowie.

LAMDA Showcase and Certificates Presentation Evening

If you are even half thinking about joining Stage2 (or Stage1) any time in the future we would like to offer you, your friends and family free tickets to our Showcase Evening at The Crescent Theatre, Brindleyplace, Birmingham B16 8AE at 7.30pm on Tuesday 26th November. This will give you the chance to see some of our members perform short LAMDA Exam pieces in Acting as well as watch our Awards Presentation for Attendance, Attitude, Achievement and Long Service. 

It will provide a real insight into our standards, our ethos, our kids, our staff and our performance space! Just phone Lucy on 07961 018841 or email info@stage2.org for further info and to book your free tickets.

November Update

End of Butlins - ten minutes later they were all asleep.... Welcome to our November Update We have just returned from a jam-packed week in Butlins - we can safely say all kids took full advantage of all activities and every waking hour the trip provided! Stage2LAMDAEvening  andCertificates Presentation Tuesday 26th November Crescent Main House £5 in advance £7 on the door 'Stage2's answer to 50 Years at the National Theatre!' See excerpts from over 20 plays performed for you in a range of styles, from a range of performers! Grade 1 to Gold Medal, 9 year olds to Drama School Candidates, this evening is a real feast. We will also be presenting our Certificates for Attendance, Attitude, Achievement and Long Service from last term. Please come along to support and congratulate our members. Facebook Twitter Website Blogspot Towerblock TrioPhoto & Stage2Portfolio Sale, Questions and Queries Evening. Saturday 16th November 5.30-6.30pm Studios Millennium Point Look through and order photos of our last show. (We are also launching a Portfolio Sale -  you can order copies of the Portfolio Pages of the  last 3 years of shows!) If you have any Questions about Stage2past present or future this is a great evening for you to come and get all the answers. This evening is especially advised for anyone taking part in this term's production. Next Term Discount booking forSpring 2014 has now ended places are now £140 (£100 for siblings) the options for next term include a fantastic production of Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? by Stage2's Patron Claire Dowie. For more information and to book go to our Website A Chorus of Disapproval By Alan Ayckbourn  Just a reminder that tickets are on sale now! As it is in the Studio Theatre tickets are limited but unallocated. You can start getting them now and get the rest of your party's tickets later and you can still sit together. Please spread the word (leaflets and posters). Watch  an Amdram Theatre Company as they attempt to stage The Beggars Opera - a great show for thespians, this is a hilarious play suitable for all the family. BOOK TICKETS HERE OR on a Saturday from Lucy in our Marketplace Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the 1st stage of the Big Give Campaign you will all receive an email with the next steps and the progress of theMentor project. Copyright © 2013 Stage2 Youth Theatre, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email after signing up at a Stage2 session or production or online. Our mailing address is: Stage2 Youth Theatre 12 Valentine Road Kings Heath Birmingham, West Midlands B14 6DL United Kingdom Add us to your address book

A Chorus of Disapproval: Update!

Time has flown by over the past few months. The new school year has began, the nights draw in, Christmas will soon be upon us and at Stage2 we find ourselves over half way through what has been another fantastic term.

The rehearsal process for this terms show, A Chours of Disapproval, has been well underway since the end of September. We have now fully blocked the whole show! Director, Liz Light, has given the show a skeleton by directing in all basic moves and voice work. This has given the cast a chance to build on her direction before we plunge into polishing and add the flesh to our skeleton by perfecting the play.


But let’s hear from the people involved!


Assistant Director, Sarah Middlemiss says:
"Aykboure is an exceptional playwright and A Chorus of Dissaproval is beautiful. We have been working hard on characters that make us laugh, characters that make us cry and all the characters between!"

Cast member, Andrew Brown’s thoughts on A Chours of Disapproval:
"I've thoroughly enjoyed rehearsals for A Chorus of Disapproval this term. The play is really rich in so many ways - the characters, relationships, style and mood throughout are fantastically varied. It's been great to see all these different elements come together in to one wonderful production!"

A Chours of Disapproval Promises to be ‘A serious comic masterpiece: brilliantly constriucted, ruthlessly observant, hilarious and hard as nails.’ 

The Show runs from Wednesday 8^th January – Saturday 11^th January 7.45pm (Including a Saturday Matinee 2pm) at The Crescent Studio Theatre, Brindley Place, Birmingham.

Tickets available here

 All Stage2 members were given the chance to be part of this terms show as Stage2 always promises! If you would like to be part of the next Stage2 production (Why Is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt? By critically acclaimed playwright and Stage2 Patron, Claire Dowie) or know someone who would then why not visit our website for more information on how to book – www.stage2.org .