A BOROUGH drama school will celebrate its 18th birthday in September.
Since StageAbility opened in 2008, founder Jackie Stuart says it has encouraged thousands of youngsters to step onto the stage with confidence.
She’s enjoying memories of children whose lives have been positively changed by it.
“When StageAbility opened Instagram, WhatsApp and the iPad didn’t exist, and Apple’s new App Store contained just 500 apps,” she said.
“In that time thousands of local children have walked through our doors, building confidence, making friends and discovering a place where they can be themselves.”
Jackie set up the drama school after she was made reduntant during the global financial crisis.
“I had always wanted to run a stage school ‘when I was older’,” she explained.
“Suddenly, it felt like it was now or never.”
Classes began in Tilehurst and Lower Earley, with just a few children.
“I’m delighted that the financial crisis didn’t stop us before we’d really begun,” she said, “and that, years later, we also made it through Covid.
“There are always challenges, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
StageAbility uses drama games and creative activities to help children develop confidence, communication, creativity, teamwork and a sense of belonging.
Students have opportunities to perform, but weekly classes aren’t built around rehearsing shows or producing future stars.
Jackie says that the greatest achievements are found in individual children whose lives have been changed along the way.
Millie was 12 when she joined the cast of the drama school’s first staged musical, Annie, in 2011.
“She was shy, self-conscious and initially very inhibited,” said Jackie.
“But she discovered something she loved, and taking StageAbility drama classes in the years that followed, her confidence grew.
“She developed her performance skills, took on increasingly bold roles and delighted audiences as an outrageous pantomime dame for six years.
“And at 18, she became a teaching assistant, helping younger children find their confidence.”
Now a paramedic Millie still regularly returns to help with auditions, and backstage at productions.
Honey’s StageAbility journey began when she was five.
“A natural performer with an exceptional voice, she went on to play leading roles, including Belle, Annie and Peter Pan, while remaining humble, supportive and kind to the other children around her,” said Jackie.
Pursuing a career in music, as Honey Grace B, she has recently released her own EP, Nothing is Mine and Everything is Possible.
Honey said: “You could hate acting and go into StageAbility and a few weeks later you wouldn’t want to leave because of how supportive people are and how enjoyable the lessons are.”
Jackie believes children need opportunities like these, now more than ever.
“When else do children get to spend this much time playing group games, being creative together and laughing this hard in class?” she said.
“Drama gives them the chance to connect face to face, take risks in a safe environment and discover that their ideas and contributions have value.
“I am proudest of the children who put everything into it and get so much out of it.
“But I’m also incredibly proud of my long-standing team.
“I simply couldn’t have done it without them.
“Millie and Honey represent thousands of individual StageAbility stories.
“Some children arrive bursting to perform, while others barely feel able to speak.
“What matters is that they find somewhere they feel safe, valued and able to grow.”
StageAbility Wokingham, West Berkshire, and Reading.
For information, visit: stageability.co.uk
