For Young People

Drama classes build confidence, voice, movement, team and performance skills through theatre games, character work, scene work and story telling. You can also learn technical theatre skills in stage lighting, sound, marketing and more. Opportunities to perform, or to be part of the crew at a performance, allow you to put your new-found skills into practice!

StageFlight is a registered employer with the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian. We are currently applying to be a NSW Creative Kids Provider from Term 2 2024 under the new scheme.

After School Classes

Our after-school classes return in Term 2 2024!

Venue

The new venue will be The Twyford in Merimbula. The Main Entrance is located in Market St between Coast Property and Twyford Hall. Most classes will be held in the Hall, but some classes will be in the new Theatre. There is a lift and stairs from the Main Entrance to the Foyer and Theatre on Level 1. Toilet facilities – including a unisex accessible toilet – are located on the ground floor inside the Main Entrance.

 Structure

  • Regular classes run once a week for 1 hour during NSW school terms. There are no classes on public holidays or during the school holidays. Extra workshops or rehearsals may be scheduled at other times including weekends. Your tutor will let you know when these are. Performances are held on a weekend so that friends and family can attend.
  • Minimum size of class: 6 students. Maximum is generally 8-10 students.
  • If a class does not reach the minimum number of students, the class will not go ahead. If you have friends interested in drama, please let them know about our classes.
  • Students can move into the next level class depending on confidence/skill level or age, or choose to stay with friends/siblings in the same class, with the permission of the Director. Contact us to discuss which class would best suit your student if you are unsure.
  • The class begins with a series of games and warmups for voice, body and breathing that focus the student for the rest of the class activities. Each class will introduce a new technique, genre, style of acting or technical aspect of making theatre. Students will mostly work in groups or pairs with some solo work. The final part of the class will reflect on the skills learned and a team exercise or game.

Current Classes Available

DRAMA for Years 7 – 10
Starts 1 May 2024
4 – 5 PM on Wednesdays during school terms
Cost: $125 per term

Develop your confidence, voice & movement skills! Weekly 1 hour after-school drama class for young people in Years 7 to 10 using improvised & scripted scenes. Our drama games approach allows you to develop acting and directing skills at your own pace in a fun & supportive environment. We also learn how to perform or improvise short scenes and characters. Find out how stage lighting, sound, video, stage management, marketing & more come together to make a performance, with guest tutors from the theatre industry during the year. Opportunity to perform and/or be part of the crew for a theatre performance at the end of Term 4.
EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST

DRAMA for Years 10 – 12
Starts 1 May 2024
5 – 6 PM Wednesdays during school terms
Cost: $125 per term
Develop your confidence, voice & movement skills using a number of professional acting techniques. Weekly 1 hour after-school drama classes for young people in Years 10 to 12 using improvised & scripted scenes in groups as well as solo work development. Develop acting and directing skills at your own pace in a fun & supportive environment. Hands-on classes in stage lighting, sound, video, stage management, marketing & more come with guest tutors from the theatre industry during the year, in a professional theatre venue. Opportunity to perform and/or be part of the crew for a theatre performance at the end of Term 4.
EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST

How to Enrol

    • Find your Class above and click the EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST link to enter your contact details and whether you will be paying per term or per year.
    • We’ll send you an email with a link to enter full enrolment details and payment for your enrolment. Enrolment is only confirmed once you’ve paid your fees.
    • All communications are via email to parents/carers – please ensure you check your emails regularly and pass on details to your student.

Payment Methods Accepted

    • CREATIVE KIDS VOUCHER from Service NSW (coming soon) Enter the full voucher details including voucher number, date of birth and name of the student as recorded on the voucher when you enrol. Any remaining fee balance is to be paid by direct credit or Credit/Debit card.
    • CREDIT/DEBIT CARD Mastercard/Visa through Trybooking – 50c + 2.5% credit card processing fee applies
    • DIRECT CREDIT to our bank account (details on the invoice)

Cancellation Policy

  • No refunds can be given once term classes begin unless StageFlight cancels a class. If you know before the start of term that you will be away for a class, please contact us before the start of a term to request an adjustment to your invoice.
  • In the event that StageFlight cancels a class you will be offered a credit for the cancelled class for the following term. If you do not enrol the following term this amount will be refunded to you.
  • Please be aware that participation in performances as a cast or crew member requires a commitment by both students and their parents/guardians to ensure attendance at all rehearsals and performances – a missing performer or crew member can mean a performance cannot go ahead and affects other students. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not elect to take part in a performance.

Coming to Class – General Information

  • Wear comfortable clothes and closed-in flat shoes with soft soles (no thongs, sandals or heels) OR bare feet (socks alone are too slippery).

  • Bring a filled water bottle and make sure you’ve eaten a healthy snack before class – if you’re hungry and thirsty straight after school you’ll quickly run out of energy! Please do not bring lollies into class or share food with other students as they may have allergies you are unaware of.

  • From time to time, the tutor may ask you to bring some props or costume items or ask you to do some work before the next class (such as learning lines or researching online). Details will be sent home via email – please ensure you read emails regularly.

  • Absences/Running Late Please text the tutor if you know you are not coming to class on a given day or are going to be more than 5 minutes late. This is good manners. Unexplained absences will be recorded. Students who attend an average of 7 classes or more per term will receive an Attendance Certificate from StageFlight at the end of Term 4 that you can add to your CV for tertiary drama school.
  • Illness/Injury Please don’t come to class if you are feeling sick or injured. Some of our activities involve physical movement and you risk making your illness/injury worse or passing on your illness to others. Please text the tutor if you can’t come to class. Absences explained before class begins will not affect your attendance record.
  • What NOT to bring Pets, smoking, vapes and drug consumption are not permitted anywhere or any time within the venue or within 10 metres of any entrance to the venue. The fire alarm system WILL go off if you smoke or vape in the building and the $1500 fire brigade attendance fee will be charged back to you. Do not bring alcohol into the venue.
  • Mobile phones, cameras and other mobile devices can be brought in bags in case students need to contact parents before/after class, but they are not permitted to be used during class unless specifically allowed by the tutor (eg for script reading or note taking). If a student continues to use a device without permission during class, the tutor will ask the student to leave the device on the tutor’s table and to collect it at the end of class. If a student does not have a phone but needs to call a parent, the tutor has a mobile phone available.
  • Before Class Starts Please go to the toilet before class starts, or let the tutor know if you need to be excused during class.
  • Parents & Other Family Members Parents/carers are always welcome in our classroom, particularly when students are coming to class for the first time and may be feeling anxious. Generally students settle in very quickly to the class routine however. If you have any concerns, please discuss with the tutor. If you’re waiting for your student’s class to finish, please wait quietly in the foyer rather than in the class room. We encourage all families to attend performances later in the year. StageFlight also offers separate workshops for adults if you are interested!
  • Unfortunately we cannot provide supervision for children other than those who are enrolled as students – siblings or friends of students must not be left in class without carer/parental supervision. We are NOT an “after school care” service.

Safety

  • Students aged 15 and under will be supervised in the venue until collected by a parent/guardian after class, UNLESS a parent/guardian has provided written permission for a student who lives/works close enough to the venue to walk or ride directly home or to a parent’s place of work. Please be aware that, in winter, it is dark by the time classes finish.
  • Name(s) and contact detail(s) for other authorised carers/collectors – such as other parents, grandparents or parents of other students – MUST be listed on the enrolment form or otherwise notified to the tutor in writing. Please ENSURE that your student clearly understands their after-class collection arrangements for every class, particularly if there is a change in routine.
  • Students aged 16-17 who are old enough to drive/walk/ride themselves must still have parental/guardian permission to do so indicated on their enrolment form.
  • Name(s) and contact detail(s) for other authorised carers/collectors MUST be listed on the enrolment form or otherwise notified to the tutor in writing. Please ENSURE that your student clearly understands their after-class collection arrangements for every class, particularly if there is a change in routine.
  • StageFlight requires all tutors to have a current verified Working With Children Check and Child Safe induction training. Parents/carers are encouraged to verify tutor details at: https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-organisations/information-for-parents
    Tutor details are provided to you when you enrol.
  • Should the situation ever arise when only one student has turned up for a session by 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, the tutor will contact the parent/guardian of that student to collect them, and cancel the session.
  • We welcome input from parents, carers and students on how we can improve our classes and policies to ensure a safe environment for our young people.
  • Our first class of the year includes a discussion with students around safety in class and who to talk to or seek support from. Please contact the Director at any time if you have any concerns. You can also find other resources on the Office of the Children’s Guardian website:
    https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers
  • Bullying or harrassment will not be tolerated in our classes and parents/carers will be contacted if such a situation arises.

Parent/Guardian Volunteers

  • We welcome the help of volunteers on dress rehearsal and performance days. Tasks may include selling or checking tickets, ushering audience to seats, filming the show for archive purposes or backstage assistance.
  • Parents/guardians who have a current verified Working with Children Check and a Child Safe induction may be asked to help backstage by supervising children waiting to go on stage.

Costume Changes

  • Should costume changes be required as part of a rehearsal or performance, appropriate facilities will be provided to students
  • Students are expected to be responsible for, take care of and put on their own costumes themselves
  • All students, tutors and helpers must respect an individual student’s right to privacy. A single-person change tent is provided in a group change room for student privacy.  Alternatively, the student may use the lockable dressing room bathroom to change.
  • If a student requests help, a tutor or parent supervisor may assist a student with minor adjustments only – such as pinning/zipping costume or fixing hair or makeup – once a costume is on, and only when another adult is present in the room.

Photos, videos, sound recordings

As a performing arts school, digital images/recordings are sometimes used in class activities for providing feedback to students, recording costume or makeup designs, recording dialogue for line-learning purposes, tutor-supervised student filmmaking activities or for marketing/archival purposes. Performances are usually recorded on video for families. When you enrol, you give permission for StageFlight to make and use these recordings. This does not mean that students are permitted to photograph or film other students or the tutor in class for their own purposes – privacy considerations, appropriate consent and respect for others is to apply at all times.

Please contact the Director if you have any concerns.

Safety Online

  • StageFlight will only ever communicate to students in class or via a parent/guardian’s email or mobile phone.
  • Tutors may occasionally ask students to research aspects of theatre at home. We encourage parents to read the following tips on keeping kids safe online: https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-01/FS_CSS_OnlineSafetyforChildren.pdf

References/Recommendations

If you are auditioning for roles at theatre companies, for film or for tertiary entrance, we are happy to provide a reference based on your participation in class activities and performances. A solid attendance and participation record at drama school will work in your favour!

StageFlight is sometimes asked for recommendations for young actors for theatre/TV/film/ad work. We never give out student or parent/guardian contact details to agents. If the agent provides appropriate business credentials, we will pass the agent’s contact details to parents/carers who can then decide whether to proceed after doing their own appropriate checks as to the bona fides of the agent and the job in question. We take no responsibility for third party offers.