Theatre School News | Razzamataz Theatre School

Razzamataz Theatre Schools opens its doors to students

07.08.2020

We are delighted to have welcomed our first students back to the classroom in a hugely successful summer school reopening. After completing a new COVID-aware audit, the Razzamataz Rickmansworth was able to welcome back children and put a huge smile on their faces.

The summer schools have been a staple part of Razzamataz Theatre Schools’ curriculum, providing children with a fun environment where they can delve into the many aspects of performing arts. It has also been hugely appreciated by parents wanting to find an activity that can keep their children entertained over the long summer holiday.

As per Government guidelines, there were fifteen children per studio with social distancing measures in place. Although a traditional singing class was not allowed, that did not stop the school from offering dance, drama, outdoor play and many other fun activities. In fact, there was no shortage of imaginative ideas from the team who have been preparing for a long time and were used to being creative, having offered online classes since schools closed.

“We worked closely with our venue and Razzamataz Head Office to make sure we were putting thorough plans in place to adhere to the Government COVID guidelines,” says Amy Lewis, Principal of Razzamataz Rickmansworth. “We made sure we had all the PPE and cleaning equipment needed, including a strict cleaning regime for the rooms, staff and students. Everyone was briefed and constantly reminded each day to keep their distance and keep themselves safe and clean. With children it is always going to be a challenge so we tried to keep it fun and light despite having to have these rules in place. We filmed lots of the work and will be putting together some footage for the parents to keep watching as we couldn’t hold a live performance for them at the end of the week. The children worked really hard and produced some amazing work and we could see how much they flourished over the course of a few days.”

Hear from parents about the reopening

There were many words of thanks from parents for not only helping to bring back some fun for their children but also for the safe and secure way that the team managed the reopening process.

“We were so pleased when we heard that Amy and the Razzamataz Rickmansworth team were putting on a Summer School despite all the challenges of the current climate. Our little girl has always loved the school holiday weeks, but this time it was more beneficial than ever. Amy and the team delivered a fantastic week of high energy, positivity, and good old-fashioned fun. We’re very grateful and especially at this time, when our children are stuck at home lacking social interaction and engagement,” Julie (mum to Sophie aged 8).

“Thank you so much for your hard work arranging a Summer School for the kids. My two were excited and happy and would come home full of enthusiasm telling us of the new things they’d be doing that day. They came home yesterday (the last day) and set up a Razzamataz class for themselves complete with a sign in sheet and some awesome moves. You and your team have done an amazing job during these strange/challenging times and made the kids feel happy and energized,” Leyla.

“Thanks Amy and team for a wonderful week of Razz-ing. Anna thoroughly enjoyed herself and felt safe and comfortable throughout. It felt like a slice of normality at a strange time. It also got her moving and grooving! Fun times!”

“My granddaughter has been attending Razzamataz for a number of years now and there has never been a time when she has not wanted to go. She loves it. She also loves the staff too. They are so, so enthusiast and understanding of all the age groups they teach. This summer has been very challenging for all the health and safety issues, but the procedures were meticulously followed which enabled everyone attending to relax and thoroughly enjoy the week,” Christine Watson.

“I loved it because I got to make new friends. I enjoyed the dancing and drama. Zoe and Katie were great teachers. I hope to go again,” Gracie.

Supporting Principals

During the pandemic, Razzamataz Head Office has done everything possible to help their franchisees through this challenging process. Classes were put online to continue to provide families with performing arts fun and every school offered multiple free activities from online storytelling, kitchen discos and Zoom night’s in where students got a chance to reconnect with their friends and teachers and talk through any worries they had. The Head Office put on a number of free training events for franchisees to help guide them through this unique situation in business and also support them emotionally.

Before Razzamataz Rickmansworth reopened, the Head Office helped Amy to create a COVID-aware environment for the protection of students, families, staff and the wider community.

“The support we received from Head Office has been amazing, they worked so hard and fast for solutions making it possible for us to transition our business online and reopen safely once we were allowed to do so,” adds Amy.

Due to the overwhelming success of the summer school, Amy and her team have announced a second date on the 17^th to 21^st August. The summer school is expected to book up quickly and is open to current and non Razzamataz students. Amy is also taking booking for taster days when the main school reopens in September.

Gearing up for reopening across the UK

Currently, all schools in the network are gearing up for reopening for either a summer school or when term starts. There are five new Principals who have joined the network during the pandemic and have completed their training and are being fully mentored and guided by a dedicated Support Manager.

Exciting offer to join award-winning network

Furthermore, Razzamataz is currently offering a very special offer to those working in the theatre industry who have lost their job due to the pandemic. This is an exceptional offer to join the award-winning network without paying a joining fee and no management fee until 2021. The same offer also extends to those in the education and airline sector.

Over August, Head Office is also running a number of online sessions to share with performers and teachers everything they have leant through the pandemic about increasing your online presence, how to engage students remotely and how performers can utilise all of their skills and take control of their careers.

To speak to our Head Office about how to join our network including information on our online Discovery Dens and theatre arts training sessions email:

franchise@razzamataz.co.uk or visit https://www.razzamataz.co.uk/franchise-opps/introduction/

#MoreThanJustATheatreSchool

Razzamataz Theatre Schools responds to arts crises with unique opportunity

03.08.2020

The world has changed and the impact the pandemic has had on theatre schools has been huge. However, the ones that are quickly rebuilding are the ones that never stopped communicating with families and students, providing them with much needed stability during this challenging time.

With more than twenty years’ experience, Razzamataz Theatre Schools quickly and diligently responded and helped each of the Principals within the network to pivot their business and become much more visible online. The small, interactive online classes proved to be such a hit, that many of the Principals will continue even after schools reopen in September.

No-fee franchise

With everything that the Head Office learnt, they wanted to reach out to people who have lost their jobs in the theatre because of COVID-19 with an exceptional offer to join the award-winning network by offering a unique opportunity to own and run their own theatre school franchise without paying a joining fee and no MMF until 2021.

Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz, finalist in the EWIF Awards — Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz

“We acknowledge that we are all in unchartered waters right now and there are many highly talented and motivated individuals who would make fantastic franchisees but who don’t necessarily have the funds,” explains MD and Founder Denise Hutton-Gosney. “Furthermore, if performers want to go back to the theatre and perform, we have a management option available. Our beloved performing arts industry has been so badly affected by lockdown, we are looking at all ways in which we can help.”

Free online training events

To reach out further to those working in the arts that have lost their jobs, Razzamataz will be running a number of live events speaking about everything they have learnt as a business and the skills that you need to work in the arts going forwards.

“We have learnt so much that we wanted to share our top tips and success stories about how to engage students and why we believe that an online offering will actually enhance your dance or theatre school, even after COVID-19,” adds Denise. “If you are a teacher, being able to say that you can successfully run online performing arts classes will be increasingly important in the future and we are happy to share our learnings with others working in the arts.”

Other interactive sessions with the team at Razzamataz include speaking to our current franchisees about how they have carved out a career in the performing arts while having a steady income running a theatre school.

“Performers and theatre arts teachers also have so many skills that they probably don’t even know that they have and with our training and support, they can turn this into a rewarding new career,” adds Denise. “Our online sessions will help them to understand the skills they have and take back control over their life so they are not always waiting for their next job. Our network of theatre school franchisees is made up of people who have a positive mindset and the desire to inspire the next generation of young performers. We teach the business skills and give them access to our twenty years of experience and they bring the drive and enthusiasm to create theatre schools that are truly special places for children to learn performing arts, build their confidence and make new friends.”

Growing the network

Throughout the pandemic, Razzamataz has actually welcomed five new franchisees to the network. “If you’re considering starting a franchise then I would highly recommend Razzamataz,” explains Heather Hurd-Sinclair, Principal Razzamataz Wimbledon. “I took over as a Principal in April in the midst of the COVID lockdown and I have not regretted my decision. The support and encouragement I have received has been second to none. Head Office has provided us with training, updated resources and also one to one support to ensure that our businesses adapt and thrive. Nothing is too much trouble and I feel fortunate that during these challenging times I am part of a network that has such a passion for what it does.”

Register for your free session

The four online sessions are free to access and cover lots of different elements of working in the performing arts industry. For those that want to learn more about opening their own Razzamataz Theatre School without having to pay a joining fee, there is an opportunity to be invited to an online Discovery Den where attendees will learn more about Razzamataz and franchising in general.

To speak to our Head Office about how to join our network including information on our online Discovery Dens and theatre arts training sessions email: franchise@razzamataz.co.uk or visit https://www.razzamataz.co.uk/franchise-opps/introduction/

#MoreThanJustATheatreSchool

The Future of the Children’s Activities Sector

26.07.2020

Words: Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz Theatre Schools LTD

Razzamataz Theatre Schools is a BBC’s Dragons’ Den backed theatre school franchise with more than twenty years’ experience in the industry. Along with her team, MD and Founder Denise Hutton-Gosney has helped her franchisees to pivot their businesses online during the COVID-19 outbreak. The transition has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, leading to heartfelt testimonials of thanks from parents struggling to motivate their children at home and also franchisees who have felt supported and inspired during school closures.

“If this pandemic has taught us anything, I believe it is that we now value experiences over physical things. We have always known and spoken about how important performing arts is for confidence and well-being, but now we have seen first-hand how it can really lift people. Although the closure of theatres has obviously had a huge financial impact on the performing arts industry, it has also reminded us the joy that it brings so we really believe it will come back stronger than before.

“There is already a lot of talk about how school closures have affected children’s mental health and well-being. Even within our own Razzamataz community, we have reached out to parents and students who have shared the worries that they have. Many of our schools have also hosted Seniors Night’s In, this is something that we have always encouraged because it gives our older students the opportunity to connect with their teachers and friends, speak out about any concerns and generally have an input into what they would like from their performing arts classes. During lockdown, these sessions took place over Zoom and have proved vital for our young people, many of whom have felt a loss of confidence and are worried about their future.

“Parents are concerned about the impact that isolation has had on their children and can now clearly see the benefits of belonging to a performing arts school, even for those children who don’t want to pursue it as a career. Investing in your children will be more important than ever before and we believe it is something parents will prioritise over material objects. We have had so many testimonials from families saying that although their children enjoyed Razzamataz before, it is only now that they really understand how much it gives them in terms of their mental well-being and happiness.

“With parents across the world having to become teachers overnight, it has also become very apparent what a unique skill teaching is. Our teachers very quickly pivoted to teach inspiring classes online, a skill that we believe will serve them well in the future. In fact, many of our schools have had such success with their online classes, that demand enabled them to offer a number of private online classes. This is something that is very cost effective to do online, rather than face to face, so we will continue to offer this in the future. We have also held many online master classes and talks with performers from the West End, including musical theatre and Broadway star Kerry Ellis. In the past, we have had performers come into our schools to teach but we will continue to look at offering online master classes, especially for our more rural schools that struggle to find professional performers willing to travel.

“In terms of business, even during the pandemic, we had five new Principals join our network. I believe that parents and families will be looking for exceptional quality and reassurance from their theatre schools. We have worked with experts and other franchisors to ensure that we can offer a COVID secure reopening, which includes ensuring that each school Principal passes our new health and safety audit. Customers are going to want to know that their children are in safe hands and that there are systems and procedures in place to deal with whatever the future throws at us.”

Typical customer testimonials:

“Shortly after enrolling at Razzamataz, COVID-19 arrived to challenge us all further but Razzamataz rose to the occasion proving themselves and all their teachers to be thoroughly resourceful and utterly determined that the children continue to feel part of something special and that there was still fun and learning to be had. I couldn’t have been happier with their resilience and uncrushable positivity to not only survive these crazy times but to thrive and to also keep our children feeling good about themselves,” parent Willow Nash.

“Loving this Razzamataz community more and more. From excellent online classes, additional activities and the cherry on the cake – a little postcard to know we are missed. This has been one of the most positive experiences of our lockdown existence,” Kirsty Morrison

Typical franchisee testimonials:

“Razzamataz are the most supportive franchisor, constantly seeking to learn, grow our brand and provide us with the very best and most up to date advice. We have been so lucky to have them during COVID-19, they have been there constantly to offer guidance and help us to look after our customers,”

Helen Bell, Principal Razzamataz Sheffield.