Savoy Theatre- Stephen Mear & Nigel Lilley: Stagebox Open Audition Call

[pizzalover]

Just signed up dd for this- looks amaaaaazing! We think their videos are fantastic quality Is anyone else going?

http://screenterrier.blogspot.co.uk (more info on their fb page)

***CHILDREN’S OPEN AUDITION CALL, ON STAGE AT THE SAVOY THEATRE WITH DOUBLE OLIVIER AWARD WINNING WEST END & BROADWAY CHOREOGRAPHER STEPHEN MEAR AND LEADING MUSICAL DIRECTOR NIGEL LILLEY, LONDON, 3rd JULY 2016***

A children’s open audition call will be held on stage at The Savoy Theatre on 3rd July 2016 to find 25 of the UK’s most talented musical theatre performers! The audition workshop day will be led by the Stagebox Resident Team alongside double Olivier award winning West End & Broadway Choreographer STEPHEN MEAR (Gypsy, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and leading West End Musical Director NIGEL LILLEY (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bend It Like Beckham, Spring Awakening). Stagebox Artistic Director SAMMY MURRAY is also a leading television and film choreographer and is currently working with Jenna Coleman on new primetime ITV Drama "Victoria". Sammy is also known for her choreography on BBC’s “That Day We Sang” (starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton), “Ballet Shoes” (starring Emma Watson) Dickensian (BBC), Endeavour (ITV) and Mr. Selfridge (ITV).

For children aged 7-18 years old this is a fantastic opportunity to audition and work with some of the biggest creatives in showbusiness and a once in a lifetime opportunity for all aspiring performers to take a workshop on stage at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End!

Following huge success in Leeds and Manchester, Stagebox is launching in London. The successful 25 auditionees will form a new London Elite Team to train during the school holidays with the industry’s finest professionals in London, Mayfair commencing October 2016.

Stagebox is an innovative training and showcasing concept. It is designed to showcase young performers talent with professionally filmed video workshops and training led exclusively by the country’s leading industry professionals.

Register for limited workshop places at: www.stageboxmusicaltheatre.co.uk

[Julie]

This looks a very similar formula to Spirit Young Performers.
Anyone know how much their elite training programme actually costs? Couldn't see it on the website
Thanks
X

[lotsolaffs]

So much information yet so little!
How much is the audition fee for one thing! ?
I lost interest when I saw the word "fee".

[pizzalover]

Their training is £7 an hour it says on the site. Yes we've seen spirit but the difference I think is all SB training is led by top industry professionals who direct and cast the shows in town. Their videos are amazing- my dd loves watching them. Their Elite Team is capped at 25- when my DD auditioned competition was fierce and that was in manchester! Think we will give it a go thuogh as she loved it. The audition workshop day is £40 but it is a workshop with Stephen Mear and Nigel Lilley and DD desperate to stand on the Savoy stage too.

[Tck72]

http://www.uniontheatre.biz/unionyouththeatre/

Anyone interested give this place call or email.
My daughter is joining in September having worked with both Michael and Lisa previously.
They are incredibly talented and well respected performers in their own right.
A summer school is taking place in September and it looks incredible.

[newgirl]

This does look great - but - 7 x 150 hours is over 1000 pounds. It might compare well to stagecoach etc but eek it is a lot of money.

[VPM]

Fee to audition and and then over a £1000 in tuition I am sure someone will pay it !!! #moremoneythansense

[lyndahill]

I registered interest and a lady phoned me - it's £40 for the workshop (2 hours), there will be recalls the same day from 6.00pm for a further 2 hours. Then if you get chosen to be in the team she said it's actually one day during each school holiday, from about 10am to 4.00pm, so actually only 5 days of tuition. Unless I heard her wrong!! My DD is going to do the workshop and take it from there as she wants to work with Stephen Mears on The Savoy Theatre stage.

[pizzalover]

It is definitely 5 days per holiday so 25 days a year as I asked and it is on their site....It is money but everywhere is and for £7 per hour at that level with the staff they bring in and videos etc it seems to be one of the cheapest options around. With pricing my friends DS has a full scholarship and they give bursaries too apparently, he has done so well there so my DD is desperate to get in this time hope she isn't dissappointed- have booked now so fingers crossed. napm mums let me know if anyone else is going? We saw gypsy there and so it'll be really exciting for DD anyway and a nice day out

[pg]

I don't like the way it's marketed.

They're not really looking for "25 of the most talented. .." in their "open audition" , they're looking for 25 talented children whose families want to pay for this opportunity /training.

No doubt it will be a wonderful experience, but I wish the reality of it was made crystal clear in the publicity.

[Victorious]

I think it looks absolutely brilliant! We live too far away unfortunately but would be there otherwise! DD did workshop before they did their elite team format and had the BEST time and the staff were utterly fabulous. PG they give bursaries & scholarships (full ones) so I'm not sure if i'm with you on that one but get how it could seem like that

[TotallycluelessMum]

I think with many of these things there's a fee for the audition workshop and a fee for the training, NYMT and NYT being good examples. the same goes for drama schools, they're still looking for the most talented.

DISCLAIMER I have couple of pupils that are with Stagebox and love it, and know the people who run it and have been very impressed, they seem to be generally on the side of the members and are looking to do a good job. They're also pretty well connected and proactive with castings and auditions, they got in touch with my DD for a TV casting even though she's not a stage box member (she's 17)

[pg]

Good to see there are scholarships.

I've perhaps jumped too quickly to criticism - I just thought it looked too much like advertising an audition to be "in" something , rather than auditioning for a training opportunity.

I always like to see the cost details featured prominently for such things.

I'm aware that there are plenty of other culprits in that regard!

[jenniecalum]

I just wanted to express my opinion of Stagebox from experience. My DD went to a one day audition workshop in Harrogate last Spring as we were in the area visiting family and thought she would really enjoy it. I wasn't expecting her to actually get offered a place, it was just for something for her to do -then, to my surprise, she was given a full scholarship, all I have bought have been the branded leotard and a hairbow - sometimes you have to help with costumes but it is usually something you have in your wardrobe anyway and sometimes they bring the clothes in, like for Oliver video. Half the time other kids have brought stuff in for her to borrow as we didn't have it with us - and she leant her tutu out for the recent Billy Elliott video.

She absolutely loves it, we travel quite a way to attend the workshops, as do many of the other friends she has made there. I know of at least 3 other kids who have a scholarship as well.

My dd also attends one other well known weekly stageschool where we live - for this I pay around £100 a month term time and the their summer workshop is nearly £200 - and to be frank, it isn't that great, just good fun. So all in for that I must be paying around £1000 a year and in no way does it come anywhere close to what she gets out of 5 workshops a year at Stagebox. She also goes to a local theatre school who I pay another £120 a month for for 4 hours a week - this one is quite good but again, nothing like Stagebox.

The first day of the workshops is generally sorting out parts/solos and their guest directors/vocal coaches/choreographers do this to alleviate any favoritism. And yet everyone manages to get featured in some way even if they don't have a solo. The week is so full on - it is as heavy going as professional rehearsals. And then there is the fact they sometimes shoot on location. They record the track in a professional recording studio, the filming day on the last day is incredible - those kids get up there time and time again, go back to their positions and do another take - and they do it with a smile on their face. The friendships my dd has made and the experience the workshops have given to her are invaluable. If she hadn't been given a scholarship I would find a way to pay for this for her because it is a million miles ahead of the other places she goes to weekly. Some might say I am saying this because she has a scholarship but if she hadn't been offered one, I would be dropping the other two for her to do Stagebox 5 times a year. We do pay for travel though and living expenses whilst she is there so I guess that should be factored in as it costs us around £200 a time to get there/expenses.

I think, overall, I would say Stagebox is as near as my child gets to "living the dream" 5 times a year - she has been lucky enough to be in a couple of professional touring shows in the last year but we all know how few and far between these lucky breaks are - but the fact that she knows she will get to see her friends and create an amazing video 5 times a year keeps her going as she feels it is just like the "real thing".

Please don't be put off by the £40 audition fee - this is a full day workshop with Stephen Mear and Nigel Lilly - a JH workshop costs more than that so even if your child doesn't get in surely the experience of working with them, the directors of Stagebox, a brilliant workshop and amazing fun meeting other kids is worth it?

One last point - this is not a cliquey, showy, I love me type of theatre school - the kids all get on and stay in touch with each other. The directors love them all. They are there because they love what they do and know they are with like minded kids - sometimes at school because of what they do they can be a little ostracised - but here they are like a big family and I love that. For that one week they are in heaven and there is usually "post workshop blues" for a couple of days - just like after a show. If anything of what I have said rings true or sparks your interest then give it a go - it's the best one day workshop I ever took her to and hope she continues to do it for years to come. If anyone has any questions please feel free to pm me - don't know how that works but sure I will figure it out!

[Bbzoom]

Could not agree more. We are only just beginning our Stagebox journey but have found everything you have said to be true so far. The only thing is.... It's so good we don't want everyone finding out about it! The cost is comparable to other courses. There is nothing hidden as far as I am aware. Nothing at all like this for children in the north. But like I said, don't tell everyone!