Franchise theatre school students head to London for photoshoot

A group of talented young performers from across the UK are travelling to London on the 15th November to one of the most prestigious performing arts publications in the UK. The youngsters are all students at Razzamataz Theatre Schools and will be participating in an exciting photoshoot to feature in The Stage newspaper’s prestigious Christmas double-issue.

The photoshoot will bring together everyone who was lucky enough to win The Stage Scholarship this year. The three students have been chosen from Razzamataz Medway, Razzamataz Sheffield and Razzamataz Newbury, and they will be representing the dozens of other Razzamataz students who were also awarded a scholarship with The Stage.

The event is a great opportunity and a hugely fun day for all. The shoot will take place at the Stockwell Playhouse and students will meet The Stage photographer Alex Brenner and Phil Matthews who will be present to digitally record the day so students can tell The Stage about their training, their goals and dreams for the future and how they feel about winning the scholarship.

To enter the scholarship competition, the participants were asked to film a short demo of no more than two minutes long showing them performing either a musical theatre song and dance, street dance, pop song, drama improvisation or scripted drama piece. The demo did not have to be professionally filmed. Candidates also completed a short application form detailing why they wanted to take this opportunity.

Poppy Bowness, age 17 was the winner for Razzamataz Newbury. Her Principal Debbi Ledwith says her mature audition impressed the judges: “The judges felt that her audition video demonstrated a really confident and comfortable delivery.  She had obviously considered her audience and how she was going to communicate with them and there was a strong sense of storytelling through song.“ Poppy is a loyal and helpful student as Debbi continues: “She worked with us as a support assistant on Summer School, has done some volunteer work in our Minis classes and she is very good at attending outside performance events.  She really is a deserving winner and is so over the moon to have been given the opportunity to take part in the photoshoot.”

The feedback from the judges who awarded Eloise Kemlo, age 15 from Razzamataz Medway a scholarship was equally as exciting. “We thought the tone in your voice throughout the piece was beautiful and individual. We smiled the whole way through listening to your performance and loved the story telling through your voice and in your lifted eye line and open posture. The vocal journey through this piece was well structured and we loved how it continued to grow to the very end. We are so very excited 
by your voice and potential that we hope will continue to grow throughout your training.”

Madeleine Ainscough, age 14 from Razzamataz Sheffield will join the other students in London having been awarded a scholarship thanks to her winning vocals. Her Principal Helen Bell says: “Madeleine won due to a mature performance well beyond her years and showing a real understanding of the song’s context. Her vocals were beautiful and her natural affinity for acting shone through in her interpretation of the song.”
The scholarships have been created to give more children the opportunity to participate in the performing arts and are part of Razzamataz’s dedication to make performance training accessible to young people all over the country.

The scholarships are available to current students and those that do not attend the part-time theatre school. The judges are looking for potential, so even if the children have never had any professional training before, there is a chance that they will be chosen if they have raw talent.

MD and Founder of Razzamataz Denise Hutton-Gosney explains: “It has been a privilege to work with The Stage for the last seven years and during this time we have offered thousands of pounds worth of training for children to attend performing arts classes at their local Razzamataz school.”

The industry contacts that Razzamataz have allow many different people to join the franchise network. Franchisees include retired performers, former teachers, parents who want to work flexibly around their children and young entrepreneurs straight from college. The Stage scholarships are back again for 2019 and Razzamataz is already looking forward to participating.

To celebrate 18 years of successful business, Razzamataz is giving more people the opportunity of joining the network with a range of special offers. To find out if franchising is the right option, Razzamataz holds regular Discovery Den days across the UK where potential franchisees get a chance to meet the Head Office team, find out more about franchising in general and discover what it is like to run a part-time theatre school.

There are currently opportunities to take over existing schools in both Hackney, Wimbledon and Reading. If you would like to find out more about becoming part of our team and attending a Discovery Den, chat to Head of Recruitment Suzie on E:[email protected] or call 07793 054 233.