Franchise Theatre School’s Home-Grown Talent

By: Razzamataz Theatre Schools | 0 Shares

November 28, 2022 // Franchising.com // It’s a proud moment when as a business you realise that your growth can come from the very people that have been a crucial part of your journey from day one. Razzamataz Theatre Schools is coming up to celebrating 23 years of business and at recent Team Celebration Day in Pineapple dance studios in London, many of the attendees were former students and some of these students are now current staff members and teachers.

The aim of the day was to provide former students, teachers and staff at any of the 60 schools up and down the country the opportunity to attend the inspirational training session free of charge to fully support them as teachers. Every attendee was invited to join the Training Platform, an online training tool that will enhance their learning activities to engage, develop and enhance their abilities. After successful completion, the teacher will be awarded with a diploma, giving them additional opportunity to take on further responsibilities and build their career.

Highlights of the day included masterclasses with Kerry Ellis, a leading lady of the West End and Broadway and learning a dance routine from smash hit show Hamilton with Peter Reid, who was a former cast member and former Razzamataz student.

Brittany Arthur is one of many Razzamataz students who now find themselves working for the theatre school franchise. She attended the Dumfries school from the age of five to 17 where she progressed to becoming a teaching assistant. She then went to work for Razzamataz Carlisle and Penrith, where she continues to teach. “Razzamataz helped me to gain confidence not only in performing but valuable life skills that help me daily,” says Brittany. “My best memories are the friendships I made, the summer showcases and performing at Her Majesty’s Theatre. My ambition is to one day be a Principal of my own Razzamataz school.”

Having grown up surrounded by Razzamataz and its family values, Brittany continues to be inspired by them: “I love how family orientated it is, how supported I feel by the Principal at Carlisle (Debbie) and the rest of the team, how inclusive it is for all young people and the opportunities not only for the children but for us as staff too. I found the Team Celebration Day not only informative but fun and exciting. I loved meeting the staff from other schools and getting to know how all the different schools are operated and how everyone has the same goal to make performing arts fun and inclusive for all abilities and backgrounds. It’s so lovely to see how supported each staff member feels within such a great network.”

Having just graduated college, Autumn Gale is already gaining experience as a cover teacher at Razzamataz, knowing the brand well because she was a student from the age of ten to 16 at Razzamataz Maidstone. “Some of my best memories were performing at Disneyland Paris, Her Majesty’s, O2, and just making lifelong friends,” she says. “I learnt so many life skills including confidence, teamwork and dedication, which has really helped me out in my career. I have filmed for a couple of commercials recently which has been fun!”

On being part of the Team Celebration Day, Autumn says: “It was such a great day. The layout was perfect, and the talks were so inspirational. It was amazing to have participated in workshops for all three disciplines and with current industry working professionals. It was a really encouraging and positive atmosphere too which was lovely.”

The day was special for many with Razzamataz Carlisle graduates attending and reminiscing about their time at the school and the life skills that they have gained. Ross Thompson was at the school from the age of 11 to 18 and believes that his confidence was boosted ten-fold through it. He made friends who he is still in touch with now and the high standard of performing arts classes has led him to becoming a full-time actor.

“Since finishing at university and starting to act professionally in 2018, I’ve done numerous types of theatre, short films, feature film, music videos and more,” says Ross. “The Team Celebration day was such a lovely experience for me. Getting to see people I’d not seen in seven plus years was amazing. The cherry on the cake was being able to dance again, especially at Pineapple. Hearing business success stories like Helen who is the Principal of Razzamataz Sheffield is super inspiring and just goes to show with hard work you can pull off something amazing.”

The success of the day has led to the Razzamataz Head Office announcing the next Team Celebration Day on Sunday 19th November 2023.