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Latest News...

 

Following our lovely Summer showcase concerts by each Stage we are excited to announce the Christmas edition to give everyone the chance to shine in the spotlight!

 

In addition to the show, there will be few little Christmas drinks and surprises for all our guests!

 

 

 

 

We had the most fantastic week with the cast of this year's Summer School show.

 

The Lion King was full of great scenes and dances, and the singing was absolutely stunning, including many of the original chants from the West End show.

We had such a great time with our series of showcase concerts by each Stage with a mixture of songs, dances and monologues to give everyone the chance to shine in the spotlight!

 

This will become an annual tradition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make our week at the Exeter Northcott with THE LITTLE MERMAID such a success.

This was a fully staged, lavishly costumed and beautifully lit Broadway style musical- not a concert in simple black outfits. The work (and expense) was massive!

We are especially grateful to our chaperones and backstage crew who helped this talented, energetic, hard-working and (very importantly) supportive and considerate cast of 75 young people to great such a memorable 30th anniversary show!

What a fantastic weekend at our new home!

 

Stage Starters, Debut, |Two, Three and Seniors all worked together on an amazing show and we learned how fantastic the new Stage Studios will be for performances in the future!

 

Here are a few highlights.

 

 

We are thrilled that 30 of our young performers appeared alongside this top professional cast at Christmas in SLEEPING BEAUTY at the Exeter Corn Exchange!

 

 

 

 

AWARDS GALA 2023

THE DRY VERSION!

 

We hoped to enjoy our open air venue, but the September weather wasn't kind and fortunately we managed to transfer to the Exeter Gym Club just in time!

We enjoyed a whole range of performances from 'The Greatest Show' to 'Spelling Bee' plus a host of prizes following another year of great performances!

 

Winners of trophies included:

 

BEST SENIOR PERFORMANCE

Abigail Baptist (Spelling Bee)

 

BEST JUNIOR PERFORMANCE

Ellis Connor Fortune (The Greatest Show)

 

BEST JUNIOR IMPROVEMENT

Isla Charles

 

BEST SENIOR IMPROVEMENT

Tallulah Hadden

 

BEST BREAK-OUT DRAMA PERFORMANCE

Nate Poyner

 

COMEDY CUP

Luke Westley

 

DANCE AWARD

Amelia Cheffers-Lily

 

GOLDEN VOICE AWARD

Archie Benham

 

KICKLINE PANTO AWARDS

Charlie Williams & Frankie Vialls

 

TEAM PLAYER

Matilda Ivory

YES, IT'S TRUE!

OUR MASSIVE 30TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW !

 

Check out our new Instagram!

WE WILL SHORTLY ANNOUNCE A MASSIVE 30TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW FOR 2024!

 

Amazing! We've just been wowed by Fletcher Dobinson in MUOLIN ROUGE in the West End!  Seems like only yesterday he was playing Judas in our production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and a Lion-dancer in 'The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe'!

 

Don't miss his incredible dancing if you can catch this spectacular show!

 

PS Also congratulations to Chris Jones- also in the picture above- who currently appears in the international tour of SUMMER- THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL!

A Huge Achievement

It was colossal, stunning and enormous fun!  At long last, we took on the challenge of one of the most difficult shows to stage: CATS at the Northcott Theatre!

 

Audiences roared their approval for a show with a cast of 66, aged 7 to 18 years of age.  Andrew Lloyd Webber insists that each new production of CATS is different, and we are immensely proud of the new vision of a show which will live in the memory for many years!

 

Consider Yourselves Stars!

At long last we are on stage indoors (we managed some open air shows last Summer).  Now Oliver! has dodged all the obstacles to get to the stage of the Corn Exchange!

With a cast of 60, directed by Chris Jones and Will Trafford, the musical favourite is proving to be a lovely Easter treat- especially for audiences who have been waiting for one of our shows since 2019- Annie had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the pandemic and we've been waiting ever since.  Well, now we're back, LIVE ON STAGE, where we belong!

 

 

The Junior Academy scored a massive success with THE HOBBIT at Orchard Open Air Theatre this weekend.

 

With dragons, spiders, dwarves and wizards, the story was as magical as the glorious garden setting!

It's been a long time coming, but we've done it!

 

GRIMM TALES as we learn at the charming open-air Orchard Theatre in the Teign Valley.

 

The shows were socially distanced, and were totally sold out!

 

News Archive...

 

 

 

 

  

   

A few snaps of Summer School 

SPLURGE-TASTIC FUN!!!

 

Audiences at the Corn Exchange were delighted by outrageously messy pie-fights and great songs and dances in our Junior Production of BUGSY MALONE!

 

A cast of over 80 filled the show with crazy energy and great comic timing and entertained the full houses who thrilled the the climactic huge splurge fight!

 

The next Junior Production will be JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT!

 

 

AWARDS GALA DELIGHT

 

Another year passes and once again we celebrated twelve months of performances and learning at the Exeter Corn Exchange on Sun 29 September.

We enjoyed a whole range of performances from 'The Wizard of Oz' to 'Headless Horseman' plus a host of prizes were awarded by our special guest, Christopher Edward, who starred in 'Aladdin' last Christmas.

 

Winners of trophies included:

 

BEST SENIOR PERFORMANCE

Mia Davies

 

BEST JUNIOR PERFORMANCE

Jim Sheen

 

BEST BREAK-OUT SENIOR PERFORMANCE

Tom Currie

 

BEST BREAK-OUT JUNIOR PERFORMANCE

BRIANNA ZEPEDA

 

BEST JUNIOR IMPROVEMENT

Emma Jinks

 

BEST SENIOR IMPROVEMENT

SAM MARRIOTT

 

BEST COMEDY

Darcy Hedden

 

GOLDEN VOICE

Jena Bentley

 

DANCE AWARD

Archie Benham

 

TEAM PLAYER

Cerys Wiliams & Grace Broderick

 

    

 

 

What an honour! Ian & Tanya have been awarded the Lord Mayor's Commendation for services to individuals and the wider community on behalf of STAGE BY STAGE's 25 years as Exeter's theatre school. We felt very humble to stand alongside some amazing people who work hard to make life great for the people of Exeter!

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTORS

 

So many thank you's after the epic CHILDREN OF EDEN 25th anniversary. Firstly, thank you to everyone who came to the show: a show without an audience is just a rehearsal. Secondly thank you to the magnificent chaperone team: so well-organized and so kind, especially with a huge age range to deal with. Also many many thanks to a production team who are at the very top of their game, including Dominic Jeffery who lit the show, Mike Reddaway who production managed, Jon Matanle who mixed sound, Riannon Cheffers-Heard who designed and painted the set including the rainbow floor for the fifth time! And of course, huge congratulations to the entire cast, all working at a phenomenal, no, a truly exceptional level. CHILDREN OF EDEN is an ensemble musical about the fact we have to live and work together in harmony to truly prosper: all the members of Stage by Stage brilliantly demonstrated this truth live on stage. We feel very proud of you all!

 

All the Production Team

 

SEE MORE PHOTOS IN OUR GALLERY

 

     

AWARD WINNERS

 

Our production of 'Liar Liar' won three awards at the All England One Act Play Festival in Dawlish! 

 

We scooped trophies for:

BEST ACTOR

BEST SOUNG & LIGHTING

BEST DIRECTOR

- gave our cast and creative team an unequalled success!

 

That was the training- live on stage!!!

 

Wow!

 

What an amazing run in '42nd Street' at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane!

 

Kirsty Fuller has just finished a year as cover 'Anytime Annie' in the fabulous tap show that is playing to huge acclaim in London's West End.

 

We wish Kirsty huge success with her next projects- she is such an amazing performer we know she will be a hit!!!

 

 

TWELFTH NIGHT Shakespearean Acting!

Huge congratulations to the senior students who formed the retinue in the Exeter Rep production of 'Twelfth Night', starring Dani Harmer (Tracy Beaker), Derek Frood ('Poldark') and Graham Seed ('The Archers')  What an experience to work alongside such expert professionals!

WORKING WITH TOP WEST END PROFESSIONALS!

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CINDERELLA has now completed a record-breaking run at the Exeter Corn Exchange, featuring a youth chorus from Stage by Stage.

 

The show starred top West End performers from such shows as 42nd Street, Billy Elliot, The Color Purple and The Lion KIng- offering a great opportunity for our students to learn from the best!

 

FUN AT THE FRINGE! 

 

For the 20th year we return to the Edinburgh Festival with a brand new production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS! 

 

Shakespearean comedy meets Madness... and other Ska and Two-Tone bands in a high energy show that has the audience clapping along at the finale!

Review

The Comedy of Errors is one of those Shakespeare plays that does just what it says on the tin – produces confusion by the truckload and almost unbounded potential for comedy and clowning.  And this production from Exeter based Stage By Stage, this year celebrating twenty years at the Fringe, exploits every nuance in the script (as well as several of their own) in delivering a pulsating hour of high quality theatre.

Think Madness (and a plethora of other Ska and two tone bands) meets mayhem and you’ll have some idea of what these guys got up to.  With the ten strong cast bursting onto the stage dancing, miming and moving, the eye was immediately drawn to the superb costumes, strong on black and white but using every conceivable pattern and the odd splash of colour to aid character identification.

An imaginative setting of the boating disaster that defines much of the subsequent capering was the prelude to a whirlwind of music, dialogue and exquisitely presented clowning and physical theatre.  Using every inch of theSpaceUK Niddry Street stage, this production in the round also lost no opportunity to break through that famed fourth wall and engage the small but uniformly appreciative audience.

Acting was pretty much top drawer across the piece but particular credit goes to Will Pearce for his portrayal of Antipholus of Syracuse (great accent and physicality) and Caitlin Tyrell for delivering both Dromios with such dexterity.  I particularly enjoyed the catty interplay between the sisters and “It” girls Adriana and Luciana (Josie Tapp and Leah James respectively) and special mention must be made of Benjamin-Jack Charles for his contrasting delivery of the urbane Egeus and, rather memorably, the flirtatious Courtesan.

And sound techies are generally an unrecognised force in most theatre shows but whoever put together this soundscape deserves a small medal, or a large beer.  Amusing and appropriate as well, at times, nostalgic, it supported the cast during dialogue as well as providing backing for the singing and physical theatre.  Whoever was responsible, please take a bow!

This production had just about everything; pace, energy, clarity, humour, dance, movement and a cast that were clearly having the time of their lives.  It’s something I would highly recommend to any Shakespeare buff, indeed to anyone who appreciates good all-round theatre.  Given its early slot time, it counts as a real hidden gem, something that it’s well worth getting out of bed for.

http://fringereview.co.uk/review/edinburgh-fringe/2017/the-comedy-of-errors-4/

 

 

 

We can't express how proud we feel of the entire cast, crew, backstage helpers, chaperones and front of house volunteers who made this show a highlight- even with our incredible history of shows.  

 

Sixty-five Stage by Stage members were involved in the show, working as one brilliant team to create a very special production.  A new legend is born! 

 

STARLIGHT EXPRESS has arrived at the Exeter Corn Exchange!  Tickets are still available via :

 

www.exetercornexchange.co.uk!!!

 

 

 

Once again we produced one of the biggest shows Exeter has ever seen with the UK youth theatre premiere of 'SPAMALOT'.  The audience were on their feet cheering for all six performances and the whole show was a fantastic testament to the company spirit, teamwork and superb professional approach of every member of the cast and crew!

 

We are proud to say that no other youth group in the South West stages shows with such elaborate physical productions, which enable our students to really learn how to perform at a professional level and with full professional technical teams; no franchise school would ever dream of budgeting their so-called "showcases" on the scale of our full stage shows!  

 

One of our junior members, Archie Benham, has just had an amazing experience- he was selected to play Benji in the national tour of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT opposite Duncan James!

 

 

According to all the reviews, he was sensational!  Well done Archie!

 

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Exeter-schoolboy-sings-Blue-singer-Duncan-James/story-29110570-detail/story.html

 

Stage by Stage does not run an agency, charging fees to our members- and yet top national theatre and TV companies come to us for great young performers!

 

 

Congratulations to former SbS member Will Trafford who has just completed a Christmas season at the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton playing King Arthur in 'Merlin's Apprentice'.  

 

He earned fantastic reviews, too, from the Mid Devon Gazette, Somerset County Gazette and Western Morning News!

 

 
ANOTHER MEGA-SHOW AT EXETER'S NORTHCOTT THEATRE!

 

  

 

 

FULFILLING THE DREAM!

 

 

Amazing!  We wish former student Fletcher Dobinson the best of luck and a wonderful time as he achieves his dream, playing Coricopat in 'CATS'!

 

Fletcher is on the far left in this picture.

 

MORE AWARDS!

 

Congratulations to the cast of CANDIDE, winners of

 

Best Youth Production at the Exmouth Drama Festival and

 

Audience Choice at the Teignmouth Drama Festival!

TWO HITS IN EDINBURGH!

Our annual trip to the Edinburgh Festival created two hit shows: 'She Loves Me' and 'Candide'!  Broadwaybaby praised our 4-star musical with 'the young actors handling the show with such warmth and grace' * * * *, whilst Edinburgh Spotlight hailed 'Candide', with 'no weak links in this talented cast of young people'!  * * * *  

DANCE FESTIVAL SUCCESS!

STOP PRESS: STAGE BY STAGE also won the Performance Award- the overall top prize for the whole Festival- usually given to an individual, but now awarded to our group for the second time!!! 

 

'LES MISERABLES' TRIUMPHS!

'Les Miserables (School Edition)' ran at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre for a week in June!

 

What can we say?  Seven shows and seven huge standing ovations!!!

 

Don't miss next year's show: 'GREASE'!

 

A DREAM OF A DREAMCOAT!

SWEET AS HONEY!

Stage Debut performed their charming and hilarious production of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ to packed houses at the start of February.  Lots of singing, lots of dancing… and lots of honey!

‘Little Shop’ booms in Edinburgh!

Senior Academy presented its "exuberant" (Broadwaybaby) production of 'Little Shop of Horrors' at sweet International as part of the Edinburgh Festival 2013 this August.  singled out for special praise were Will Trafford as Seymour, Laura Porter as Audrey 2 (the plant) and Bryony Buckingham as Audrey (the human).

Students also saw a host of shows and Aalysha Power's entire year was made by meeting Miriam Margoyles (Prof Sprout in 'Harry Potter') and having a photo with her!

Stage by Stage has once again been asked to provide junior performers for Exeter's professional pantomime at the Exeter Corn Exchange.  Audition news coming soon...

Address

Stage by Stage

Stage Studios
39 George Street

Exeter

DEVON, EX1 1DA

Call us

+44 1392 211244

 

WE ARE IN THE SUMMER TERM 2024!

 

Our students have progressed to work on such top West End stage shows as:

Moulin Rouge

Cats

Oliver!

Matilda

42nd Street

West Side Story

Mary Poppins

Mamma Mia

Warhorse

Peter Pan

Dirty Dancing

Singing in the Rain

South Pacific

American Psycho

Spring Awakening

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Hair

Big

Sleepless

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

The Mousetrap

Beauty & the Beast

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

42nd Street

Royal Shakespeare Company

- as well as in BBC, ITV and Chanel 4 dramas, The Voice Junior and even Hollywood movies!

 

News flash...

 

New photos are now in the gallery of the Northcott production of THE LITTLE MERMAID!

 

Congratulations to our Stage Acting group- winners of 3 awards at the All England TADDFest Drama Festival!

Senior Academy visited the Edinburgh Festival with TGHE COMEDY OF ERRORS! The show was described as a ''hidden gem' and 'a pulsating hour of high quality theatre'!  Congratulations to the whole cast!

http://fringereview.co.uk/review/edinburgh-fringe/2017/the-comedy-of-errors-4/

Huge congratulations to our 'Cabaret' group who won the Exeter Dance Festival Performance Award (the overall "championship"), beating 40 other trophy winners in the biggest dance event of the Devon dance calendar!!!

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