Musical Theatre for Kids

Britain has got talent. I have been involved with running summer schools for more than 10 years, working at theatres and concert halls throughout the UK. I set up EduStage with the aim of giving children an original musical theatre experience over the school holidays.

We are pleased at EduStage to be different from other musical theatre holiday schools. We are not doing songs from the shows, shortened versions of standard musicals or large scale holiday schools. These definitely have their place and are always popular among young people. What we offer instead are original musicals that have been conceived specifically for the holiday schools. This means that every participant will be completely involved acting, singing and dancing. Our performances are also fully costumed (with all costumes provided).

On the first day we begin with some ice breaking activities, as many of the children may not know each other and then we move onto some simple dance movement, singing and informal auditions where the children are given the opportunity to show any theatre skills they have. They will then read through the script of the show they are to perform listening to the music and after lunch we will get some of the children to do some more acting, singing or dancing before making our final decisions as to who will play which part. By the end of the day all the children will know what parts they are playing and will go home with their scripts so they know what they have to learn. There then follows three days of intense rehearsals which culminate in a performance at the theatre on the Friday afternoon with sound and lights in front of an invited audience, where we have a policy not to charge for tickets so that as many of children’s family and friends as possible can come.

Every summer school is different. We have a repertoire of shows which we use and even when we do the same one, the children always manage to stamp their personality on the parts. Some of them may have dreams of one day appearing on a West End stage, whilst others just want to do a fun activity in their school holidays. Some may have had a great deal of experience in performance while for others this may be their first time stepping on a stage. All are welcome! The children learn about the importance of working as part of a team, gain new friends and often find out that they have hidden talents which they can go on and develop after the holiday school has ended. Some may never have danced before or been given a solo to sing but one thing is guaranteed: the summer school will always be memorable and full of surprises!

We are delighted with the support we have received from the staff at the Exmouth Pavilion and are excited to be returning there for the sixth time from August 22 to 26 with a brand new musical, The Magician.

Jeffrey Whitton (Holiday school director)

For further details on our summer schools please contact Jeffrey Whitton at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit our website www.edustage.co.uk