by Paul Johnson | Jul 6, 2020
By Karen Keeman
Lights! Camera! Action! Students who attend a national theatre school franchise have been given the exciting opportunity to attend a professional photoshoot with esteemed performing arts newspaper, The Stage.
The photoshoot was part of the prize for the youngsters who entered a national competition in association with The Stage to win a year’s scholarship to attend their local Razzamataz Theatre School.
The selected students were (below, l-r) Avah Al-Geradi, age nine from Razzamataz Liverpool South; Harriet Silk, age twelve from Razzamataz Cambridge; Aimee Millward, age fifteen from Razzamataz Derby; Jessica Black, age fifteen from Razzamataz Medway and Georgie Mills, age fourteen from Razzamataz Sheffield.
To enter the children 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.
As a professional performer, a photoshoot will be one of the most glamorous parts of the job. The students were incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to be styled by top make-up artists and hairdressers and then work alongside photographers to achieve a professional finish.
The Stage scholarship opportunity is open to all students within the Razzamataz network as well as anyone who has never had any training. Razzamataz has a number of scholarship opportunities throughout the year and has discovered youngsters who are now working professionally on the West End stage in hit shows such as Hamilton.
The scholarships also look to encourage young people to push beyond boundaries, such as Razzamataz Medway student Eloise Kemlo who has Type 1 Diabetes. This autoimmune disease affects the pancreas meaning that Eloise has to continually monitor her health to allow her to do the things she loves. Her Principal Emily Miller says: “Eloise was awarded The Stage Scholarship in 2018. There are times when Eloise can’t get involved through no fault of her own but she stays in the studio, she listens, she absorbs everything and comes back the next week knowing what she has missed and ready to embrace a new fresh week. She is a shining example of how when we are challenged, the human spirt can be lifted to achieve the impossible.”
The beauty of The Stage scholarships is that the judges are looking for potential so, by entering, it can be the start of a whole new chapter in a child’s life. “Some of our most talented students have come through scholarship auditions,” says Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz. “It doesn’t matter if they have not been to any classes before, we are looking for a spark that we can nurture. Razzamataz offers training in both musical theatre and commercial genres in the disciplines of dance, drama and singing, so the students leave becoming ‘triple-threat’ performers.
any are accepted into prestigious performing arts colleges and are making a career in this highly competitive industry.”
For more info, visit:
www.razzamataz.co.uk
Facebook: @RTSLtd
Instagram: @razzschools
Twitter: @razzschools
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RazzamatazTheatreSchoolsLtd
LinkedIn: Razzamataz Theatre Schools
by Paul Johnson | Jun 17, 2020
A day & night of joyful celebration was the perfect way to welcome Razzamataz Theatre Schools to its twentieth year in business.
The franchise theatre school celebrated turning twenty with a glitzy and glamorous birthday party surrounded by principals, teachers and special guests.
The conference event was held at the spectacular Atmosphere Venues in Millbank, London, which was then followed by an awards ceremony, dinner and dancing onboard a luxury Thames Charter taking in some of the most iconic vistas of the capital.
Founder & MD, Denise Hutton-Gosney, kicked off the event in true party spirit, welcoming guests with party hats and competitions. The rest of the day followed suit by reflecting on an incredible twenty years and the friends made along the way.
Special guest speakers motivated and helped franchisees consider the year ahead in business and how to enjoy this incredible milestone, both personally and professionally. Penny Power (OBE) and her husband built the first social network for business people. It became a global online and offline home for over 650k business owners until it could no longer compete with the giants of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and they lost the business in 2012, after fourteen years.
Penny, awarded an OBE in 2014 for the work done, has gone on to write two business books; Know Me Like Me Follow Me and Business is Personal. She shared her personal journey with Razzamataz franchisees and gave them the tools and mindset to build the life they want in business.
With branding and social media playing a large part in the Razzamataz business, franchisees were delighted to listen to Hannah Power, a personal branding specialist focused on supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs to become powerful online leaders. Hannah’s goal is to inspire and teach as many people as possible to step into their light, share their message and lead their tribe. Her session inspired many franchisees to step out of their comfort zone online and share the Razzamataz ethos even further.
Emma Louise Campbell, Principal of Razzamataz Cambridge, said “The venues were incredible, speakers both informative and motivational, and so many ‘little touches’ throughout that truly made the day special.”
Other conference highlights came from the principals of Razzamataz schools up and down the country. Principal of Razzamataz Carlisle, Debbie Mitchell, has spoken a number of times on how to ‘Put On an Amazing Showcase’. This year she got her message over in an unforgettable way by changing the lyrics to The Lion King’s Be Prepared to offer a hilarious lesson in making sure no stone is left unturned when it comes to prepping for a big show.
Being part of the Razzamataz network enables principals to express their imaginative side. The Creative Awards celebrate all that our principals achieve through their work in their community and creatively. We were delighted that our guest judge Matt Lee Alliston, owner of The Stage and Production House, once again returned from the USA to share his experience and take on the task of sifting through such wonderful entries. “It is a privilege to be a part of these awards and I’m thankful to be working with the amazing team and phenomenally talented children of Razzamataz.”
The evening event on board a luxury Thames Charter was magical and provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate the award winners and their achievements. The awards were set up to highlight franchisees who go above and beyond in everything that they do and look to reward individuals who strive to add value to the Razzamataz brand at whatever stage of business they currently are.
“Thank you so much for the award,” says Michael French, Principal of Razzamataz Barnet and winner of the Future Fund Ambassador Award. “They really do mean so much to everyone and it’s such an amazing feeling knowing you are appreciated within the network.”
The evening event was attended by a host of special guests including Penny & Hannah Power, Richard Davies from What Franchise magazine, Charlotte Rutherford from The Stage newspaper, Sarah Canny and Claire Robinson from The Approved Franchise Association and Tessa Robinson from Club Hub UK.
“This was an incredibly special time for me and my team,” says Denise Hutton-Gosney. “We wanted the event to be memorable and reflect the support and fun that we have as a network. I’m very proud of the community we have created and the opportunities we have given to thousands of children over the last twenty years.”
