Meet our Members: Dillan McKeever

I joined Stage2, a shy, nervous 9 year old…So I decided to do a show! Not just a show though, I decided to do a Shakespeare, The Tempest.

When I first joined Stage2,  all I expected it to be was a nice out of school activity at the weekend, until I spent about 10 minutes there that is. I really understood what people meant by it being the Busiest Youth Theatre Company in Birmingham. Now I have done LAMDA twice, performed at BDTG, been on the Marketing committee where I got to market the company and get new people to try and join the company. I am also now a mentor, someone that helped me settle into to Stage2 in my first term.

Meet our Members: Teigan Jones

My name is Teigan Jones. I have been in Stage2 for just over four years and have had many brilliant opportunities during my time here. I have been in the cast of nine completely different (but all equally brilliant!) productions. Last year alone I was cast in ‘Private Peaceful’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Girls Like That’ – I don’t think you could get any more diversity in one year!

Meet our Members: Mark James

I first joined Stage2 because I’d been having a hard time at secondary school and the little acting I’d done I had really enjoyed. One of my sister’s friends was a member at the time and apparently always talked about how great it was, and I wasn’t looking for much so that was enough to seem worth a try. I was amazed that as a new member you could go straight into a show and to me that seemed like a no-brainer so I joined the chorus in my first term. I’ve been involved in 14 shows with Stage2 since then, in small roles, main roles, sound, lighting, and even in a live band.

Meet our Members: Emma Watson

Hi, my name is Emma and I have been in the company for nearly 10 terms after joining in Autumn Term 2012. I had been in another drama company for a long time before Stage2 but I got too old to attend.  However,I still wanted to do drama. One of my friends from primary school was a member at the time suggested I join. On my first day I was super nervous as I was going from a group of 8 to a company of 150. However, the Mentors were so lovely and helpful throughout the day.

Meet our Members: Kloe Vincent

Hi I’m Kloe Vincent and I joined Stage2 in the Summer of 2012. I joined Stage2 because my close friends joined and they recommended that I join too. I started Stage2 doing General Drama in the morning. I also decided to do Front of House for the show Our Town. The next term I also did General Drama. After 2 terms of doing General Drama I decided to do a show, so I was in the morning chorus of The Tempest. I also joined the Marketing Committee for a term. The term after this I went back to doing General Drama in the morning. That term was the last term that I only stayed for half of the day. The next term I was an all day chorus member of A Chorus Of Disapproval.

Meet our Members: Laura Dowsett

I remember my first ever day of Stage1 very clearly. I was 6 years old and very nervous about finally being able to join the company. I looked over at the mentor boards which had loads of smiling people on it and I thought to myself “I’m gonna be one of those smiling people one day”. I’m happy to say that I did become a smiling person and managed to achieve much more as well!

Meet our Members: Roni Mevorach

I first joined Stage2 at the age of 7, and began my journey in Stage1, a fun, energetic group that taught me the basis of acting techniques but also started to teach me more about myself. At age 9, I decided to audition for a show (Arsehammers). Of course, I was extremely nervous as this was my first ever audition and I knew about Stage2’s extremely high standards. However, I soon realized that I had nothing to worry about because everyone was so nice and understanding. A week later, I found out that I had got cast!

Meet our Members: Meg Luesley

I always had an interest in drama as a child, and in my younger years used to take classes at the MAC until it closed for refurbishment. Flash forward to a ten-year-old me, who heard about Stage2 from her sister’s best friend and immediately jumped on the opportunity to pursue drama once again.

Stage2 was not what I expected it to be, but in all of the right ways. I was told from the very outset that I had joined a company and not a class, but yet it took me some time to realise the true meaning of this. Just how extraordinary Stage2 was flew over my head during my first term. It never really struck me just how busy the company really was.

I did, however, note one outstanding aspect – from the very moment I joined, I felt like I was part of something. Every member I saw and talked to on my first day was kind and welcoming in a way that I didn’t see coming from a company of teenagers. Stage2 not only made me feel valued, but taught me to do the same for others. It is this company-wide attitude that really drew me in.