Theatretrain Stevenage

Last month I caught up with one of our new parents as they were leaving.

Before I had chance to ask how the session had gone, their daughter looked up and said,
"Can I come back next week?"

That made me smile.

Parents often spend weeks wondering whether Theatretrain will be right for their child.

Children usually decide much more quickly.

They simply know whether they felt comfortable.
Whether they made a friend.
Whether they had fun.

If you've been following my posts over the last few weeks and wondering whether Theatretrain might be right for your child, there comes a point where reading about it can only tell you so much.

The best way to find out is to let them experience it for themselves.
Book a taster for Sept and see how they get on.

There's never any pressure from me.

I simply want you to decide whether it feels like the right place for your child.

❤️ Book your taster here: https://www.theatretrain.co.uk/stevenage/new-customers

One line in this review really stood out to me:

"The onboarding process was brilliant."

It's not the sort of thing parents normally mention.

Most reviews talk about performances, confidence, friendships or how much their child enjoys coming each week.

But joining something new can feel like a big step for both children and parents.

Especially when you're handing your child over to people you've only just met.

That's why we've always put a lot of thought into those first few weeks.

From the moment someone gets in touch, right through to their first session, we want families to know what's happening, where to go and who to ask if they have questions.
Starting somewhere new can feel daunting.

Our job is to make it feel a little easier.

Thank you Abby for taking the time to leave such a lovely review. ❤️

When parents first look at Theatretrain, they usually ask about the classes.

The singing.
The dance.
The drama.

And of course those things matter.

They're a huge part of what we do.

But if you ask many of our families why they've stayed for years, the answer is often something different.

The friendships.
The confidence.
The feeling of belonging.

The skills children learn in class are important.

But what many parents value most is what starts changing outside the classes too.

The conversation in the car on the way home.
The friend they can't wait to see next Saturday.
The confidence to put their hand up at school.
The independence that slowly grows over time.

Those things don't happen in a single session.

They happen week by week, often so gradually that you almost miss them.

Until one day you realise just how far they've come.

🎭

"How was Theatretrain?"

"Fine."

"What did you do?"

"Stuff."

As a Theatretrain parent myself, this conversation happens in my house all the time.

And I completely understand why parents can find it frustrating.

You've just given up three hours of your Saturday morning.
You know they've been singing, dancing and acting.
You know they've been busy.

Yet somehow all you get is:
"Fine."

Over the years, I've realised that children don't always process experiences in the same way adults do.

Part of it is that they're still processing everything that's happened.
Part of it is that they've already moved on to the next thing.

The funny thing is that the clues often show up later.

For me, it's hearing Oliver singing one of the show songs around the house.

Or suddenly being shown a dance move while I'm trying to do something completely unrelated.

Those little moments tell me far more than anything else.

So if your child doesn't tell you much about their activities, try not to worry too much.

You know your child better than anyone.

If they genuinely weren't enjoying something, you'd probably spot the signs pretty quickly.

Sometimes children open up when they're ready.

And sometimes our endless questions can feel a bit more like an interrogation than an expression of interest!

The good stuff often comes out eventually.

Last term, I had a child arrive who wouldn't even come through the door.

I went outside to meet her and introduced myself.

She was clearly nervous.

So I told her something very simple.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Then I said:
"Why don't you just come in and have a look around? That's all."

No pressure to join in.
No pressure to stay.
Just a chance to see what Theatretrain looked like.

One thing parents don't always see is what happens when a child doesn't settle straight away.

The truth is that there isn't a script.
Every child is different.
Some need a Welcome Ambassador.
Some need to sit and watch for a while.
Some need Mum or Dad nearby for a few minutes.
Some need a tour of the building before they feel comfortable.

What we've learned over the years is that some children need to feel safe before they're ready to engage.

It's our job to help them feel that way.

What we don't do is panic.

And we certainly don't force children to do something they don't want to do.
Especially with younger children.

I'd much rather a child leaves feeling positive and comes back ready to try again next week than push too hard and make the experience feel overwhelming.

Parents often worry about what happens if their child is nervous.

The reality is that we deal with nervous children all the time.

And more often than not, once they feel safe, the rest starts to fall into place.

As parents, it's easy to think the value is contained within those three hours.

But sometimes the biggest impact happens afterwards.

When they're still singing the songs on Tuesday.

When they're showing Grandma a dance routine in the kitchen.

When they're asking how many sleeps there are until Theatretrain.

Those are usually the moments that tell me they've found something they genuinely love.

How do you get children off their screens?

In my experience, the answer isn't usually taking something away.

It's giving them something they genuinely want to do instead.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that children rarely talk about screens when they're busy learning a routine, creating a scene, singing with their friends or laughing about something that happened in class.

They're too busy being involved.

Too busy creating.

Too busy having fun.

I've written a new article about why performing arts can be a great way to help children reconnect with real-world experiences and why the best Saturday mornings are often the ones spent away from a screen.

Read it here: https://theatretrain.co.uk/from-screen-time-to-stage-time-helping-kids-reconnect-with-real-world-fun

🤠 Happy National Day of the Cowboy from TT Ted!

We weren't entirely sure what a cowboy does with singing, dancing and acting...

But Ted seems to think the answer is:

🎵 Sing around the campfire
💃 Two-step across the prairie
🎭 Put on a show in the saloon

To be fair, that sounds quite a lot like Theatretrain.

So if anyone needs him today, he'll be riding off into the sunset in search of his next adventure.

Yee-haw! 🤠🐻

There are certain children who make teaching very easy.

Because they absolutely love what they're doing.

We've got an 8-year-old in one of our groups at the moment who seems to know every word of every show song long before everyone else.

Now, I don't know whether she's practising at home, listening to the tracks in the car or singing them around the house all week.

What I do know is that when we're rehearsing, she nearly always remembers the next line before the rest of the group.

One thing I try to do when I'm teaching is recognise those moments.

A quick "well done."
A bit of eye contact.
Letting them know I've noticed.

And every time, the same thing happens.

This huge smile appears.

For a few seconds you can see how proud they are of themselves.

I think that's one of my favourite things about teaching.

Watching children discover that the effort they've put in has paid off.

Because underneath the singing, dancing and acting, that's a lesson that will serve them well long after the show is over.

"𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀? 𝗜𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴?"

It's probably the question I'm asked most often by parents who are looking at Theatretrain for the first time.

Three hours does sound like a long time.

The funny thing is that when people picture three hours, they often imagine children sitting in the same room doing the same thing all morning.

That's not really what happens.

Children move between singing, dance and drama.

They work with different teachers.

They have a break.

They change groups, activities and focus throughout the morning.

By the end of the session, many parents are surprised by how quickly the time seems to go.

The children usually are too.

Do they get tired?

Sometimes, yes.

Three hours is still three hours.

But it's often the good kind of tired.

The kind that comes from being busy, active, social and fully involved in something.

I think that's why the conversation afterwards is often less about how long it felt and more about everything they managed to fit into one morning.

🎭