After a lovely summer break, we were back this week with a whole new fantastic group of talented and committed young performers, who are excited about what the next two years will bring. We kicked off the year with a day at the Everyman Theatre, where the students had not one, but two theatre tours, met some of the key people they will be working with, and got to know the building that will become their second home over the duration of their BTEC course. Things we discovered on Monday at the theatre include that there are more staircases backstage than anyone could ever imagine (there were some concerns that there would be test involving being dropped in an unspecified location and being asked to get back to a starting point!), that the Everyman has its fair share of ghosts, and that Victorian audiences were so concerned about mixing with the wrong sort of people that those wealthy enough to sit in the Dress Circle even had their own entrance and staircase.

On Tuesday, we welcomed back our original gang, who are back for the second year of the course, and both groups joined to spend some time with visiting singing tutor Ria Keen, who, we are delighted to report, is back with us this year. With 24 students in the room, the sound was fabulous – so much so that the roofers across the road (and many storeys up) asked at lunchtime if we do requests.

We are excited that Ria is not going to be our only visiting tutor this year. On Thursday mornings, dance teacher Liz Warner is working with the first year students, and they will be exploring a wide range of dance styles with her, as well as developing and refining their movement skills. We are also welcoming a range of practitioners who will be working on audition preparation and technique with the second year students, many of whom are looking ahead to what they will do when they complete the course with Stagedoor. This week, the very talented Elise Heaven is joining us. Elise is a local performer, director and theatre maker, whose one-person show “She’s A Good Boy” recently received rave reviews at the Camden Fringe. They also directed IKProduction’s hilarious “The Three Musketeers” which toured this summer.

Students had their first theatre trip of the year on Tuesday – both the first and second year students watched SKIN, performed by 201 Dance Company, a hard-hitting dance piece which focused on the story of a transgender person.

There is a lot to look forward to between now and Christmas – first years will be starting to work on their first public performance this week – a variety show, which will be on stage in the Irving Studio at the Everyman on Tuesday 13th November. Second years are already working on Zero For The Young Dudes! by Alistair McDowall, a dystopian play set in what seems to be a holiday camp for kids, but is soon revealed to be something much more sinister. The play will be on stage at the Everyman on Wednesday 14th November.

It’s really exciting to have two groups of students – we will certainly be making the most of this during the year!