In The Paper

In this week’s issue of The Stage, we have a guide to part-time performing arts courses around the UK. Whether it’s onstage or backstage, from backstage to professional, there are part-time courses available to suit your needs.

Also this week:

• In the Eighties, we were slaves to the album, but these days new CD releases are being given away with newspapers. As artists look to maximise their exposure while customers download their preferences for a fraction of the price of a CD, Fred Dellar explains how the music empire is fighting back

• As plays in the West End battle the mighty musicals, Mark Shenton looks at the crisis they face and what hope they have of succeeding

• He may be best known as a former Blue Peter presenter, but Peter Duncan has an Olivier nomination under his belt. This year he returns to the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park in two productions, playing the title role in Fantastic Mr Fox and Macduff in Macbeth.

• Playwright David Storey, whose In Celebration starring Orlando Bloom is enjoying a revival at the Duke of York’s, talks to Al Senter about his creative days at the Royal Court and his collaborations with director Lindsay Anderson

• Liz Thomas talks to TV institution David Jason about his career, from supporting roles to national institution

• As the Edinburgh International Festival gears up for its 60th anniversary, Francis Reid recalls the exciting times he spent working backstage at the EIF and fringe

• Patrick Newley helps mark Danny La Rue’s 80th birthday with a look back over the entertainer’s career

Columnists this week include:

• Ian Herbert on the different approaches to designing theatres taken by two Portuguese towns — and why hiring a big name architect doesn’t guarantee the biggest success

• Maria Hodson on the military precision needed for planning a visit to Edinburgh in August

• Dear John deals with performing at outdoor festivals away from the ‘safety’ of a theatre

• Liz Thomas looks at how TV dramas are expanding onto the internet

• Exclusive to The Stage, Dance X vocal coach CeCe Sammy gives her reactions to last week’s first live show

• Howard Bird wades his way through proposed EU health and safety regulations on artificial lighting

• Patrick Newley on the perils of miscasting

PLUS, we have the first of five weekly competitions to win an exclusive Stage-branded iPod nano.

And Chit Chat this week looks at the Facebook usage of leading DCMS politicians. If you’re on Facebook, why not join The Stage group?

The Stage is available in most newsagents for £1.30, or you can subscribe by going to http://www.thestage.co.uk/subscribe/

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This week’s edition of The Stage sees the first exclusive column from vocal coach CeCe Sammy, who will be part of choreographer Bruno Tonioli’s team of experts in BBC1’s new Saturday evening entertainment talent show, DanceX. Throughout the summer, CeCe will be sharing her thoughts and experiences exclusively with Stage readers.

Also this week:

• Alistair Smith meets Jonathan Kent and Arnold Crook, the driving forces behind the Theatre Royal Haymarket’s plans to rejuvenate the West End

• AK Bennett-Hunter looks at the recent agreement between the and Equity which, he argues, shows management contracts evolving from a focus on set figures to a more even-handed approach

• TV executive Charlie Parsons talks to Nuala Calvi about Never Forget, the Take That musical he is producing and which starts its UK tour on July 20.

• Disneyland Resort Paris, now in its 15th year, starts its UK auditions process this week. We offer a complete 8 page guide to working for the House of Mouse, from parade work to theatre shows.

• As Channel 4 prepares to show a series of programmes celebrating 40 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, Mary Comerford talks to actor Paul Nicholls and playwright Kevin Elyot, star and writer respectively of Clapham Common, the one-off drama at the heart of the season.

• To UK audiences he’s still best known for his Carry On appearances, but to millions of Americans veteran actor Jim Dale is the voice of the Harry Potter audiobooks. He talks to Tony Cooke as he prepares to publish his recording of the seventh, and final, book in the series.

• Backstage Focus looks at the many and varied challenges in working on open-air theatre, from dealing with insect bits and food poisoning to coping with fast costume changes and even faster changes in the weather

• We celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bromley’s Churchill Theatre, which was rebuilt after the original theatre was destoryed by fire in 1971.

This week’s columnists include Maggie Brown on the fate of BBC1 Controller Peter Fincham in the wake of the RDF/Queen documentary affair; Dillie Keane on the dullness of historical reconstructions for tourists; Dear John on standing out in auditions where everyone is given the same songs; and Flyman takes a sideswipe at the lengths to which venues go to be seen as ‘environmentally friendly’.

The Stage is available in most branches of WH Smiths and many other leading newsagents every Thursday, priced £1.30. Subscription packages are also available.

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 10:38 AM | Permalink

In this week’s issue of The Stage:

• Susan Elkin examines theatre for children, as companies begin to aim productions specifically at the under-fives

• As England’s workplaces went smoke-free from July 1, solicitors Kiersten Lucas and Leonora Twynam advise on how the ban affects performers and arts festivals

• Pegasus and Oxford Youth Theatre received planning permission to build a new theatre last month. Susan Elkin finds out how the project is progressing

• Mentalist Marc Salem talks about the secret behind his tricks — and why they let him down in a very painful way on his last visit to London

• TV presenter Ben Shephard trained as a dancer, so it’s little surprise to see him defect from ITV2’s The Xtra Factor to present BBC1’s new Saturday night dance show, Dance X. Mary Comerford talks to him about live TV and his move to prime time

• Former Ballet Boyz Michael Nunn and William Trevitt formed George Piper Dances in 2001, working together ever since. The pair talk to Katie Colombus about producing, partnerships and being the poster boys of dance

• Diminutive stuntman Riky Ash has carved out a successful career doubling up for both adults and children on TV. He talks to Matthew Hemly about how kung fu started his career and the highs and lows of his extraordinary work

• Backstage: Geoffrey Joyce meets the team behind Collectif Acrobatique de Tangier, who performed at Camden’s Roundhouse as part of the Circus Front Festival

• As Procul Harum’s classic hit A Whiter Shade of Pale celebrates its 40th year, the groups’ singer and pianist Douglas McPherson shares his memories

Columnists this week include Ian Herbert on why he thinks Sir John Tusa could save the Theatre Museum; Richard Jordan on the long term effects of theatre recruitment by TV talent show; Dear John on reviving a local theatre; Barbara Eifler on why it’s more important to recognise current backstage staff than worry about training more and more; and Patrick Newley on the dangers of over-analysing variety.

We also carry reviews of several student showcases:

• Spotlight Student Showcase, June 10-11
• Mountview Postgraduate musical theatre, July 5
• CSSD BA (Hons) Acting, May 2-3
• Cygnet Training Theatre, June 26
• Birmingham School of Acting - Red Company BA (Hons) Acting and Graduate Diploma in Acting, May 15
• Birmingham School of Acting - Blue Company BA (Hons) Acting and Graduate Diploma in Acting, May 22
• The Arts Institute Bournemouth - BA (Hons) Acting
• The Stephen Sondheim Society Prize for Student Performer of the Year, May 13

So if you or your friends were in one of those showcases, make sure you grab your copy today!

The Stage is available in most branches of WH Smiths and many other leading newsagents every Thursday, priced £1.30. Subscription packages are also available.

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 4:33 PM | Permalink

In this week’s edition of The Stage, we include our annual complete guide to UK Holiday Centres. This sector of the leisure industry, argues Mark Ritchie, is the natural successor to the traditional resort summer season. In the guide, Steve Donnelly, MD of The Production Associates, talks about the company and what they look for in performers. And we have our A-Z of leisure resorts, and reviews of the big holiday centre shows.

Also this week:

• News Editor Alistair Smith monitors industry reactions to Gordon Brown’s overhaul of the ministerial team at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

• After the reaction to the 2012 London Olympics logo, Sofie Mason looks at the factors that can make or break a brand

• Frances Anderson considers the implications of a possible extension to copyright on musical performance recordings

• Dear John helps a performer interested in moving into the holiday centre market

• Susan Elkin meets West End regular Gavin Wilkinson, who has established the successful part-time training academy, West End Workshops

• Novelist, character actor, scriptwriter and co-creator of the League of Gentleman, Mark Gatiss talks to Nick Smurthwaite

• Channel 4’s new psychological thriller, Cape Wrath, hits British screens next week after debuting in America (where it is broadcast as Meadowlands). Lead actress Lucy Cohu talks to Matthew Hemley about her role. Plus, we get some background to the show from Ecosse Films’ executive producer Douglas Rae.

• When the script is by David Mamet, based on his own stage play, and William H Macy is the lead, why would a film have trouble attracting financing? Jeremy Austin talks to director Stuart Gordon about the difficulties of transferring Edmond to the screen

• As the industry gears up for the annual trip to Edinburgh, we look at the heritage — and future — of the Gilded Balloon’s Cowgate site. The venue burned down in 2002, but is now set to be replaced by the seven-storey SoCo project. C Venues will be managing a series of performance spaces throughout the complex during the Festival.

• Kevin Berry meets John Burgess, the man behind Nuffield Theatre, Southampton’s highly successful writers group, which has generated plays that have been performed around the world

• In Backstage, we find out just what preparation has been necessary as Birmingham Rep create a production where the audience is in a canal boat, and the cast runs alongside…

• Playwright Peter Nichols, approaching his 80th birthday, talks about his work and the way in which academic endorsement can make or break a career

And of course, there are our columnists (this week, Maggie Brown, Arthur Smith and Clive Barnes), as well Showpeople interviews with Pierre Marc Diennet, who has played detective dog Scooby-Doo live on stage for the last six years and stan-up comedian Shappi Korsandi.

The Stage is available in most branches of WH Smiths and many other leading newsagents every Thursday, priced £1.30. Subscription packages are also available

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 2:09 PM | Permalink