Watch this space!

Put these dates on your calendar! Full details to follow soon!

A week-long special!
The Academy's Summer School
The Sinden Theatre
Monday 29th July – Friday 2nd August 2013

Our summer show : The Senses
The Sinden Theatre
7pm Saturday 22nd & 3pm Sunday 23rd June

A two-hour performance in the park!
Tentertainment
Saturday 6th July

OffYourBox

Our winter showcase, OffYourBox, was on Saturday 2nd February at The Sinden Theatre, Tenterden. A lively 3-hour show, bursting with songs, dances and some original drama work.

The theme for this show was simply, television. Every item was related to TV one way or another. From the Acting dept, we had Midwinter Murders, SouthEastenders, Dragon's Den, Britain's Had Talent, Gardener's Question Time and Report SouthEast – a news, sport and weather bulletin.

From Singing, we had the title songs of Only Fools & Horses, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Happy Days, Friends and Glee-style classics, Don't Stop Believing and We Are Young.

Dancing was inspired by 'Strictly' and old TV shows like Hawaii 5-0, Dallas, Are You being Served, SpongeBob, Thunderbirds and The Pink Panther! Old TV movies were also prominent, with West Side Story, Harry Potter, James Bond and Ghostbusters.

Highlight was our youngest group, Topaz who presented a short version of The Wizard of Oz, featuring The Merry Old Land of Oz, If I only Had a Brain, Follow the Yellow Brick Road and Over the Rainbow!

It was a marathon show and the audience seemed to love it! So did we – and so did our cast. A few weeks later, we presented highlights at a charity show organised by the Tenterden Lions. With the other acts we helped raise over £2000 for local charities.

Who's Got Talent?

Our Lola waited all afternoon and evening for her first audition for Britain's Got Talent in London this week. Her comic character, Stella Budge now has to wait patiently to find out whether they want her back. We certainly hope so!

Go Lola!! Sorry – Stella!

The Academy presents Off Your Box

7pm : Sat 2nd Feb 2013
Venue : The Sinden Theatre
Rehearsal : same day 9am –1pm

Tickets : £8 / £6.50 conc.
Box Office : 01580 715831
theacademystageschool
@gmail.com

Our first venture in the new year is ‘Off Your Box’ on Sat 2nd February; a full two-hour showcase featuring the best of our singing, dancing and acting – all inspired by the world of Television. Soaps, TV ads, news-reports and a murder mystery – plus songs and dances from the movies and your favourite TV shows! 

Topaz are on our classic movie channel with a brilliant extract from The Wizard of Oz! They’ll need to stay all morning for the Dress Rehearsal – which will be during our normal Saturday morning, with a one-off performance at 7pm the same day – 2nd Feb. Good news is the remote will be on-hand, so we can live-pause, fast-forward, rewind, or go ‘mute’ anytime we like! 

Extra show!
We’ve accepted an invitation to take part in a charity show presented by the Tenterden Lions at 7.30pm on Frid 1st March – where we’ll present highlights from our February show. (Sorry, this one’s not for Topaz!)

Recruiting for 2012/13

Info for anyone thinking of joining the academy

Main school : Ages 8–16
>  The Academy is open from 9.30am – 1pm, every Saturday in term time.
>  Students have 3 one-hour classes – Singing, Dancing and Acting – and time for socialising.
>  The fees for next year are £126 per term, 6 terms per year/40 weeks total.
>  This is payable at the start of each term by cheque or as an online payment. 

>  Alternatively you can arrange a Standing Order and pay £63 for 12 months.

Topaz : Ages 6–8
>  Our Topaz group runs from 9.30 – 11.30am with a joint assembly, so younger children can warm-up with older ones.
>  They have 3 half-hour classes – singing, acting and dancing – with time for resting.
>  The fees for Topaz are £63 per term, 6 terms per year/40 weeks total.
>  This is payable at the start of each term by cheque or as an online payment. 

>  Alternatively you can arrange a Standing Order and pay £31.50 for 12 months.

>  The Academy has no extra ‘hidden’ costs, like uniforms or scripts etc; when we go into production, we ask parents to contribute towards costumes and staging, usually about £25. There is a 12.5% discount on fees for siblings.

Term dates for The Academy's school year 2012/13

T1     01 September   –  20 October      8 wks
T2     03 November    –  15 December   7 wks
T3     05 January        –  09 February      6 wks
T4     23 February      –  23 March           5 wks
T5     13 April             –  18 May              6 wks
T6     01 June            –  20 July               8 wks

We’re closed the day after Kent schools break up, and open the weekend before they go back.

The Academy Team for 2012/13

Singing : Helen Garrod + Tarn Hall
Dancing : Jack Davidson + Chloe Swan
Acting : Sadie Hurley + Pinny White
Topaz : Vicki Tinkler + Jill Waters

Venue 

The Sinden Theatre Studios
Homewood School, Ashford Road
Tenterden, Kent TN30 6LT

Opening times

Start at 9.30am. Topaz finish at 11.30am; main school 1pm.

Stanley’s Victory

It's 1945: a sleepy village, a million miles from the carnage of London’s East End. Evacuees have arrived by the trainload; all allocated to the nice countryfolk – but not welcome by the village gang. Outside of the village is a boarding school for posh girls – and an Orphanage, full of young victims of the German onslaught. These four groups share the same green fields for their play, and the same dream;  that one day the War will end. They can’t wait; they want to celebrate NOW! 

The Academy’s End-of-Year show brings comedy and drama together with modern, exciting songs and dances – with a massive cast of energetic young performers!

The Sinden Theatre, Tenterden

3.30pm & 7pm Sat 7th July

Midday Matinees

Last winter we staged three simple showcases called the Midday Matinees (because they were at 12 noon!) They were at The Sinden Theatre, each about an hour long; they included a song and a dance from each of our four groups – and some of our best acting!

SHOWCASE No.1 : Sat 17th December 12noon
SHOWCASE No.2 : Sat 28th January 12noon
SHOWCASE No.3 : Sat 3rd March 12noon

The Academy's Topaz Group

The Academy is pleased to tell you that we've now started Topaz – our new group for 6 to 8 year olds. They'll be singing, dancing and acting – but in three half-hour classes.

Topaz meet from 9.30 – 11.30am every Saturday in term time – and they'll be featured in all The Academy shows!

Looking after Topaz is local singer/dancer Vicki Tinkler and Jill Waters; they'll make sure there's two hours of fun every week!

We're always pleased to welcome newcomers to a free taster session, so come along and see for yourself!

Call us anytime – on 01580 715831 to arrange this, or to talk about any aspect of Topaz or The Academy!

OUR END-OF-YEAR SHOW

OUR END-OF-YEAR SHOW

The Academy's End-of-Year Show



under the RAINBOW

Friday 15th and Saturday 16th July 2011
The Sinden Theatre, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6LT

Our summer show this year was another original musical – this time featuring some of the best music from three of the most successful movie musicals. In just one show, we're doing Jungle Book, Bugsy Malone and Hairspray!

The storyline was set at a stage school summer camp; the kids turned up all keen to work on their musical, but strangely – the teachers had all gone missing! So the kids just decided to get on with it – and do it without them!

Some of the Stars of Moving On!

MOVING ON : FRIDAY 11 AND SATURDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2011

Moving On
The evening revealed some excellent drama pieces, fascinating dances and brilliant songs! Just look what you may have missed!

Topaz singing 'Fascination' (by Alphabeat) and dancing to 'Timshel' (by Mumford & Sons) Their play was 'The Orphans' – adapted from our 2007 musical ‘Stanley’s War’.
A bittersweet story about orphans and evacuees at play in the English countryside during the Second World War.

Amber singing KT Tunstall's 'Black Horse & the Cherry Tree, dancing to '2012 It aint the end of the world' by Jay Sean and performing an unusual piece of theatre called 'The Grownups'.
A cynical study of ordinary grown-up couples in everyday situations.

Crimson opening the show with the title song ' Moving On' – from Swedish star Sarah Dawn Finer. Their dance was 'Let it Go' by Brit & Alex. Their drama was the most serious work they've undertaken in a play about a bright young woman who travels abroad – and leaves behind, her husband,her friends and her family.

There was also some great new songs from the whole ensemble : 'Hey Soul Sister' by Train, 'Pack Up' by Eliza Doolittle, 'Just the Way you Are' by Bruno Mars and a brilliant finale with Mika's 'Happy Ending'.

MOVING ON

Our next show is our winter showcase: 'Moving On'.
It's at The Sinden Theatre in Tenterden on Saturday
12 February 2011


Why call it ‘Moving On’?

It’s mostly about the drama we’ve chosen. We decided this year to move on from the sillyness of our last show and the simplicity of earlier productions – with some work that is truly challenging, whatever the student’s acting experience. However the plays turn out, we know they are the result of a strong commitment from everyone.

In dance, we’re moving on to imaginitive, innovative dances and routines – giving us the opportunity to explore new ideas. Our students vary from having two left feet and zero experience – to impressively dancing in a variety of styles – and having been dancing since they learnt to walk. We hope you love it as much as we do!

In singing, we have once again moved on, introducing new ways to work with music. This showcase will show versatility – working with modern songs that are more difficult to sing than they might seem.

If you yearn for more stage musicals material, you’re going to love our summer show!

end of year show 2010

Alesha and The Electric Circus!

alesha and the electric circus

the academy’s main event
saturday 24 July : the sinden theatre

The Academy Stage School presents ‘Alesha and the Electric Circus’ – a spectacular, original new musical! Featuring
Amie Penfold, Isabella McKenzie-Sanchez and Freya Kay – with 50 talented young performers – singing and dancing their way through two hours of music and comedy!

The plot
Alesha woke up. Did someone call her? All she knew was, she woke up and she was in some weird place where people keep bursting into song or doing a dance. Some sort of Circus. But it wasn’t a proper Circus – not according to Alesha. A proper circus would have acrobats and those trapeze artistes and lion-tamers and cute baby elephants! And where are the clowns?
Alesha tried to get out of this weird nightmare – but whichever way she turned, she got mixed up in something new – and worse – she kept shrinking smaller! Or growing bigger! Just like that Alice – getting stuck in Wonderland. But this wasn’t Wonderland – oh no! This was The Electric Circus apparently. But it wasn’t a proper Circus – not according to our Alesha. So, does anyone know how you get to the other side?


‘Alesha and the Electric Circus’ is a totally original all-singing, all-dancing and all comedy show – featuring great dance music from Slumdog Millionnaire, Paolo Nuttini and Eva Cassidy. Songs from Lenka, Paloma Faith, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Owl City, Adele, Coldplay, Katrina, Mika, James Morrison, Nelly Furtado, Girls Aloud – and many more! All this – plus comedy from Monty Python and Spike Milligan!

box office
call 01580 715831 or email :
theacademystageschool@googlemail.com
Adults : £8.00 / Concessions : £6.50

Saturday 24 July 2010
3pm and 7pm only

The Sinden Theatre Tenterden

our drama showcase

Saturday 6th February. We presented four short plays – giving our Academy stars a unique opportunity to show what they can do. A two and a half hour show, performed twice in one day – are we crazy? Oh yes we are!

As if that wasn't enough, we also did a preview from our summer show – The Electric Circus. If you missed it, or if you'd like to see it again, it's on YouTube! Look for 'jatlat' and you'll see The Circle of Life, Just can't Wait to be King – and a brilliant dance from our youngest group Topaz, using music from Slumdog Millionaire!

Samm's adventures in Madagascar

If you'd like to keep in touch with Samm, she has a great blog where you can get a vivid idea of what life's like for her, living in a small hut on the Madagascar coast. Find her at :
www.sammmadagascar.blogspot.com

the electric circus is coming!

Our spectacular summer musical is scheduled for Saturday 24 July 2010. Two amazing performances in one day : 3pm and 7pm. It's 'electric'!

ACTING UP! Four great little plays

topaz
the musicians of bremen

The story, based on the fairytale by The Brothers Grimm, is about a donkey,a dog, a cat, and a rooster – all past their prime and usefulness on the farms where they live, and soon to be discarded or mistreated by their masters. One by one they leave their homes and set out together to go to Bremen, a city known for its freedom – where they can live without any owners ­– and become musicians.

Alexandra McKenzie-Sanchez*Arabella Fryzer*Bettina Morrison*Caitlin Allison*Danny Greenwood*David Fleming* Ella Payne*Ella Young*Elsa Doig*Gregory Jennings* Isabella McKenzie-Sanchez*Jake Lillywhite*Jenni Tilson*Jessica Greenwood*Lola Purdie*Mollie Tuppen*Vincent Finch*

amber
rainbow’s ending

A demanding piece of storytelling theatre, with the entire cast taking the role of the Storytellers! It’s a story of new life and revived hope; it tells of two insatiable giants who take a rest after devouring all the world’s resources. The remaining humans struggle to survive, living off what they can – wherever they can. Over the centuries their fear turns to faith – but right now the Giants are stirring . . .

Alfie Dewdney*Bronte Sandwell*Caitlin Parker*Cassie Dickson*Claudia Monger*Ebony Taylor*Ellen Curry*Ellie Gumbrell*Ellie Hume*Emily Laver*Emily Ross-Smith*Francesca Bennett*Freya Kay*Hannah Ridgway*Jazmyn Oldridge*Jessica Norman*Lottie Relph*Megan Griffiths*Ruby Thorpe

crimson
living with lady macbeth

The girls in Drama all think they’re so cool, but little do they know that the dull, boring and unattractive Lily has her own ideas about who’s getting the lead in Macbeth. No one believes she can do it – not even her boyfriend and certainly not her teacher. Just one special friend sticks by her a she plans her revenge. The question is : Can Lily do it?

my mother said i never should

This second play from Crimson is unusual and stylish; it explores the ever-changing roles, hopes and expectations of mothers and daughters, through the lives of four generations of women in one family.

Alex Blincow*Alice Smith*Amie Penfold*Carissa Morley*Chloe Swan*Chris Dray*Hannah Pilkington*Hetty Gracie* Sasha Howard*Shannon Allen*Sophie Dengate*Sylvia Penfold*Tarn Hall

The Academy's Azafady Summer School

Congratulations to everyone involved! After a week of singing, dancing and acting, Samm managed to produce an excellent mini-musical called simply 'The Theatre'. It looked good, it sounded good – and the surprisingly large audience – loved it! The week-long school was great fun and apart from Lola falling off the stage, was a great success and we managed to raise £1639 towards Samm's volunteer work in Madagscar. The brilliant photos were taken by Jenni's Mum!

FAERIES!

Our summer show was a great success – thanks to all our amazing performers who somehow managed to sort out the Friday muddle, and came back on Saturday with incredible enthusiasm and pulled together a memorable show! The only complaint we've had was we didn't find out who won The 'Y' Factor! The pictures here are not so good as they come straight from a DVD of the show. For some reason they get squashed and make every one look like matchstick people!

Uh-Oh. The Faeries are coming!

Come my good people,
to a world often scary.
Of Goblins, WannaBee-Bees
and Firewie-Faerwies.
Faeries are immortal –
and do liveth forever;
But one thing eludes them
in their endeavour;
To do what they want –
from Monday to Friday.
To never be sensible –
or keep their rooms tidy.

Faeries ­– our new musical

Our last musical, Stanley’s War was quite sad really; the orphans who’d lost their families; the posh girls who weren’t wanted at home – and the evacuees who were hated by the village gang. Their lives were dull and boring.

In our Faeryland it’s a lot different! Everyone is extremely silly – with funny voices, and funny habits! They all wear very colourful weird costumes and even some of the songs and dances are funny.

Our Faeryland is not a pretty place; it’s black – with flimsy cobwebs, hanging everywhere and strange striped poles with lines of fairylights. We’ll have an extra performing area in the front – with secret hiding places. This’ll make the acting area bigger and bring the audience nearer.

There’ll be lots of noise – with bells, drums, kazoos and whistles! You probably won’t know much of the music – as a lot of it’s from 40 years ago. This is a new challenge, as in the past, we’ve chosen songs you already know from the charts.

Our dances will be energetic, sometimes with a ‘wacky’ feel – bringing comedy into the dance as well just in the dialogue. There’ll also be a chance to do some more contemporary dance – making a stark contrast to the surrounding madness.

All in all, faeries will be a lot of fun – and a lot of very hard work for everyone. There’s 10 dances, about 15 songs and 60 pages of script to learn – and a great deal of running about!

Please don’t tell your friends and families too much about the show; if everyone tells them something funny’s going to happen – then most of the audience won’t have a surprise!

THE FAERIES CHARACTERS

The OggleBoggle Goblins behave like Meercats, scurrying around nervously. They dress like Pirates, wear Harry Potter glasses, and are always shivering with cold!

The FiewieFaerwies are like butterflies, and flutter and cartwheel about with no rhyme or reason. They look very pretty, but they’re very rude and bad-tempered!

The WannaBee-Bees are ‘glamorous’ faeries. They’re two very beautiful Girl-bands, with exotic hair and make-up – but they’re always fighting!

The Mystic Boagles are two special magical Faeries who each have two Assistants. They are the principal players and they’ll have the most to do in the show.

The Faeries Storyline

THE FAERIES STORYLINE
Forget the dainty little creatures at the bottom of your garden. Our Faeries only grow up to be about 15 – and then, an infinity as a teenager – never getting any more sensible, and never keeping their rooms tidy.

MaHargareen announces a Quest to find The Magic Stone of The Farhooqua. Whoever finds it will inherit the magical power to have ‘whatever they want’. The WannaBee-Bees seek fame and fortune; The Goblins prefer world domination and The FiewyFaerwies choose never to grow up.

After a series of silly adventures in dance – under the sea, on the moon and at a circus, it all seems hopeless. Clumsideous says he knows where the Magic Stone is and he’ll tell the winner of competition he’s organised – The ‘Y’ Factor.

This all goes wrong and the continue their quest; The Goblins eventually find the Magic Stone in someone’s handbag in the audience. The Stone gets passed around during the celebration and ends up with Norman, The King of The Fiewies.

The Magic doesn’t work so Norman gives it to Mahargareen, who admits she lost it and couldn’t be bothered to look for it.

In the best traditions of fairy stories, the Faeries realise they are actually quite happy as they are; The Fiewies decide they’d like to grow up after all, The WannaBees stop fighting and The chilly Goblins get warm at last. Ahhhh!

AMAZING SONGS!
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Daydream Believer
Land of Make Believe
One Vision
One Way or Another
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Give it 2 Me
Short People
Green Tambourine
The Tide is High
Dream a Little Dream
Immortality
Windmills of your Mind
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Starman

FANTASTIC DANCES!
Come Follow the Band
FireStarter
Octopus’s Garden
Stilt Faeries
I Love to Boogie
Little Green Bag
Paint it Black
Because
Voodoo Child
A Whiter Shade of Pale

INTRODUCTIONS (in case you don't already know us!)

If you're already at The Academy you know us all well by now! But for the newer students (and Mums & Dads) - here's who we are!

DIRECTORS David & Jill Waters
We've done the lot! Writing, directing, acting, set-design, set-building, lighting, sound, props, costume, stage management and the sweeping up!

In the 80’s, we started our own Youth Theatre – based around our 3 kids and their friends – and let it grow into an award-winning youth theatre.

In the 90’s we bought an old bus and took a cabaret show on tours of the West Country with a 9-strong team of performers and 4 backstagers.

The Youth Theatre became Masquerade. We specialised in modern contemporary theatre and won quite a few trophies including Runner Up in the All-England Theatre Festival ­– but that was quite a while ago!

Stanley’s War is over!

Stanley’s War
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE! WHAT A FANTASTIC SHOW! THE AUDIENCE LOVED IT, WE LOVED IT! AND WE THINK YOU DID TOO!!

Well done - and can't wait to see you all next week to share some exciting new ideas! Thank you all so much for such a great performance!

what do YOU need to do to become a better performer?

Acting is a sport. Just like an athlete, you have to be really dedicated.
You have to be fighting fit – and determined to be the very best.

You have to train for the big event. You have to go over the same thing over and over again. Practising all the time – at every opportunity!

Then, on the big day – you get just one shot at it. And if you win the
Gold Medal – you feel GREAT!

If you can remember all of the following you’ll be a winner!

> Supporting role or a Principal – the team isn’t complete without you.

> The Director is the Team Manager – and therefore is the Boss!

> Do whatever they ask – even if you don’t understand why.

> Develop good projection and make yourself heard!

> Learn the script fully and accurately – and as soon as possible.

> Use your imagination to create convincing characters. Don’t be just YOU!

> Use the stage in a dynamic, confident way. Don't just wander on, say a few lines and wander off again.

Look dynamic and strong – not limp, half-hearted, and weak! Show effort and energy – finish the dance sweating and out of breath!

> Understand the importance of props and costume and look after them properly.

> Have expressions suitable for the mood of the music – smile when you’re happy!

> Work on the show at home, practising your lines, songs and dances.

> If you’re absent, you mess everything up for everyone else!

> Watch your friends, watch TV, DVDs or go to the theatre.

Then say: I can do that better!

say goodbye to our stanley

Although ‘Stanley’s War’ is set during World War II, the music was modern pop and dance music – so it’d be as exciting to us now – as 1940’s music was to the kids then!

‘Stanley’s War’ had 13 great songs and 11 dances and told a story about children playing in the countryside – with a mix of comedy and drama.

Everyone had a ‘named’ character, all playing their own ages. They had the challenge of speaking with an accent – and being on stage throughout the show – so even when they didn't have any lines, they were acting quietly in the background!

There were four groups of children in the story; the youngest were the orphans, living together in a children’s home. Then, there was the ‘Posh Lot’ - boarding school girls from ‘St Dustbins’!

The main characters were a group of kids who'd been evacuated from London during The Blitz. The oldest group were the Village Gang - the local farm kids – and they didn’t like the evacuees!

The Stage wasn't big enough for such an ambitious show, so we extended it into the auditorium. This’ll brought the cast closer to the audience, and gave them a great opportunity to use up some energy!

We’re really hoped this would be a very special show for all of us – and we weren't disappointed!

Stanley's War was presented at The Sinden Theatre on 4th and 5th JULY 2008

stanley's story

It’s 1942: Stanley is an evacuee, sent away from the East End of London to avoid the bombing of The Blitz.

His only friends are a few other evacuees; a couple of the local girls like him – but the Village Gang are far from welcoming. And Stanley wants everyone to like him!

The Gang make his life a misery, by taunting and bullying him, simply because he’s ‘different’. However, Stanley’s upbringing in London has given him a cockney cheerfulness and worldliness to face almost anything.

Stanley hears about some children ‘couped up’ in a local orphanage – which he feels can’t be right. He comes up with a plan to set them free, but of course, he has no idea what to do with them! Fired up by his own frustration, he makes a stand against the bullies.

He takes on Sidney their leader, and challenges his authority. Although Sidney has lost his enthusiasm for the Gang, a fight ensues and Stanley is knocked unconscious and thrown into a lake. The Gang believe they have killed him; they’re scared and blame each other for what has happened.

Stanley has the last laugh when he frightens the life out of them – when he ‘rises’ from the dead! After this, they accept him and all the children are united into one big gang – ‘the best gang in the world!’.

World War II and Hitler's activities in Europe are the obvious undertone; the messages about prejudice, and bullying are clear – but the play is not just about morals and behaviour – it’s a light comedy showing children at play in the simplistic lifestyle of the early 1940’s.

WE'RE CERTAINLY HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS DIDN'T WE!!

just over a year ago...

It's hard to believe that just over a year ago we did our unique version of 'Mr Scrooge'! The picture shows an untidy line up for the finale!

We have certainly progressed from then with massive improvements in all aspects of theatre! Now we're just starting to get it's down to work on a major musical show 'Stanley's War'.

last day of our last school year

summer stars pix

we met gemma arterton!

We had a great day out at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where we met Gemma Arterton – star of ‘Love Labour’s Lost’. Our Crimson group asked questions, had their photo taken and of course - got her autograph!

We spotted Gemma at her local youth theatre in Gravesend about five years ago. We recruited her into our amateur theatre where she starred in her first full-length adult play.

She went on to RADA – and now she’s had a whirlwind start to her career, with a TV play – with Maggie Smith and David Walliams; then came the new St Trinian’s movie with Rupert Everett and Russell Brand ­– who escorted her to the Cannes Film Festival!

We promised we’d expand our students experience with special happenings, and was a great start. And we’ll try and keep the surprises coming! (Gemma is now The Academy’s Patron)