Who’s who at Razzamataz

 

Razzamataz Theatre Schools was established in 2000 in a small theatre space in Penrith in the Lake District. Since then, the franchise theatre school has won multiple awards, been recognised as one of the top five most successful pitches on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, has numerous students perform in musical theatre shows in the West End and given profitable and rewarding careers to many people who have opened their own Razzamataz franchise.

 

Denise Hutton-Gosney – Managing Director

Denise Hutton-Gosney opened the first school and remains a pivotal part of the business as the Managing Director. She regularly appears on podcasts to share her knowledge on franchising and the theatre school industry and has been asked to speak at numerous events to support young entrepreneurs. Today, Denise focusses on strategic partnerships to grow the profile of the schools, which includes collaborations with high-profile entertainment brands to promote films including Sing 2, Barbie, The Kid Who Would Be King and Teen Titans Go! There are also partnerships with The Stage newspaper, Disneyland Paris, and several theatres in the West End.

 

 

While Denise remains very much involved with day-to-day activities, she is supported by a large team of experts. Here’s your guide to who’s who at Razzamataz Theatre Schools.

 

Charlotte, Operations Director  

Charlotte has been part of the Razzamataz family since 2005. Mentoring and supporting franchisees play a large part of Charlotte’s work, although she is also involved in all the new initiatives Razzamataz offers. There is nothing that Charlotte doesn’t know about Razzamataz, and she is a huge support to all franchisees, especially those new to the network.

 

 

Karen, Public relations advisor, and content creator 

We know that what we do for children at Razzamataz is wonderful, but it is important that we share this with the wider world. Therefore, having a dedicated PR advisor and content creator is so valuable for Head Office and franchisees who receive numerous pieces of content to help with local marketing.

 

 

George, Admin & social media assistant 

We are delighted to welcome George to the team, especially because he started with us via the Kickstart UK scheme. George is a huge help ensuring that within such a busy network, everyone’s need can be met.

 

 

Claire, Systems support & Brand compliance 

Razzamataz ensures that franchisees are up to date with current legislation and the best systems to enable them to operate their businesses to the highest quality. Helping support and train franchisees on systems and brand compliance is Claire, who is an experienced franchisee with a keen eye for detail.

 

 

Jason, Health and safety support & brand compliance 

We are in the privileged position of working with children and young people. Parents entrust us with their children’s care, so we take health and safety support incredibly seriously. Having Jason on board is a huge relief to our franchisees who can be confident that they are following best practice.

 

 

Suzie, Franchise support 

We are very privileged to work with Suzie who is a powerhouse in the franchise industry. She works closely with Razzamataz to help support our franchisees grow businesses and smash their goals, as well as hosting our annual Conference and Regional Meetings. Suzie is a multi-award winner, Chairperson for the Scottish Franchise forum and EWIF Scotland, member of the British Franchise Association and is a Chamber of Commerce Business Mentor.

 

 

Hayley, Network coach 

Hayley is the former franchisee of multi-award winning Razzamataz Medway, one of the network’s flagship schools. She was a winner of the British Franchise Association Lifestyle Franchisee of the Year Award and winner of the British Franchise Association Franchise of the Year Award. Hayley is no longer a franchisee but is still very committed to Razzamataz and has taken on a coaching role, something that she is very passionate about. Hayley is also a member of the Leaders Council for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

 

David, Graphic designer 

David has been part of the team since the early days and remains a pivotal part in ensuring the consistency of the Razzamataz brand. David works with Head Office and individual franchisees to create the look and feel to best represent Razzamataz.

 

 

Ian, ICT, and marketing support 

Cool, calm, and collective, Ian is a huge support to the whole team at Razzamataz. With many franchisees coming from creative backgrounds, not all have a natural affinity with IT. Ian is able to support all franchisees with the latest digital marketing techniques.

 

 

Catherine, GDPR support 

For people new to business, understanding the dos and don’ts of GDPR is tricky. It is great to have Catherine, an expert to explain it all simply and ensure that we are complying with all regulations.

 

 

Louise, Child Protection Support

Razzamataz Theatre School is committed to being an inclusive environment for all children and young people to enjoy. We welcome children from a range of backgrounds, so it is important that franchisees are knowledgeable about different provisions. It is also important that franchisees have access to speak to someone for advice on child protection if they need to.

 

Helen, Stage Manager, Razz Tots developer and Franchise advisory council member 

Razzamataz proudly offer children exceptional opportunities to perform at iconic venues including the West End’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, Shaftesbury Theatre and London’s 02. To put on such large-scale shows, we are grateful to have Helen, who is an experienced and organised stage manager.

 

 

Debbie, Event manager and franchise advisory council member 

Razzamataz schools offer so much more than just weekly performing arts classes. There are numerous opportunities including a performing trip to Disneyland Paris that the whole family can enjoy. Now that restrictions have been lifted, we are very excited to introduce more events with the help of Debbie and the Head Office team.

 

 

Emily, Creative coach 

The partnership between Head Office and Emily has created some exceptional new products including Razz Project Intense, a class designed for students looking to take their training to the next level. There are plenty more ideas that Emily and the team are working on, which will be hugely beneficial to local franchisees.

 

 

Michael, Future Fund Charity Ambassador 

Marathon Man Michael is a proud Ambassador for Razzamataz’s Future Fund, a charity which helps to support students going on to train at performing arts college and universities. The network raises money for the charity by taking part in a wide range of events, anything from competing in the Tough Mudder to putting on events such as Strictly Come Razzing. Michael has run many marathons and taken part in triathlons to support the cause.

 

 

Franchise Advisory Committee

It is our people who truly shape the future of Razzamataz. We are delighted that we have such an active FAC including Michaela, Principal of Bristol North and Bristol South, Charlotte, Principal of Maidstone, and Asha, Principal of Razzamataz South Lakes. Our franchisees are passionate about sharing and supporting everything that we do at Razzamataz and creating exciting opportunities for students.

 

 

 

 

Luke, Bookkeeping 

Helping us all to keep those books and spreadsheets in order is Luke. While franchisees are welcome to use their own bookkeepers, as a franchise, we are also able to recommend.