Cheltenham Children's Festival

First year learners from Stagedoor Cheltenham performed at the Cheltenham Children's Festival on Saturday 24th June. The Children's Festival is an annual free event across the town, run by the No Child Left Behind initiative, which aims to provide opportunities for all children across the area, no matter their financial situation. The theme this year was 'Inclusivity and Togetherness', and Stagedoor learners were asked to create performances which would engage and entertain children, and could be put on at various points throughout the day. In response, the learners worked in two groups, and created two lively and fun performances, which not only enthralled their young audiences, but carried messages which fitted in with the theme of the festival. The first performance - 'School Trip Twist', featured a class of fluffy animals, including a rabbit, a dog, a koala and a duckling, going on a trip to a museum. At the museum, Holly the Hedgehog realised she was the only animal in the class with spikes, and worried about not fitting in. However, by exploring the exhibits at the museum, including the brilliant spikey dinosaurs, the other animals managed to convince her that it doesn't matter how you look - everyone can be friends. The second performance - 'Magical Creatures', was about a group of fantastical characters who lost their powers when their magic stone was accidentally taken, and the quest they had to go on to find the stone and restore their powers. Along the way, they discovered that teamwork is just as effective as magic when it comes to solving problems.

Both groups worked really hard to create their performances, which included original songs and dancing as well as scripts written by the learners for the festival. All four of the performances were full, with audience members as young as two years old! We had some lovely feedback and the learners really enjoyed contributing to such an important community event.