It’s not about the money (money, money)! Fees in lieu...

The single issue that causes us more stress than anything else at Best is that of fees in lieu of notice. Read on for tales of mysterious line faults, courtroom drama and general stress...

Our notice requirements are clear and simple -  we ask people to give us half a term’s notice, given at half term, of a child’s intention to leave at the end of that term, or half a term’s fees are payable in lieu of notice. We make no secret of this – the terms appear on all our bills, on the initial registration form and in our terms and conditions of business.

Half a term’s notice is absolutely standard in any school like ours – indeed some classes want a full term. Notice enables us to put in place plans to make sure we fill whatever spaces we have left. If we get notice later than that it’s simply too late for us to do anything about it – with schools on holiday we can’t get our message out to the public. Of course we hate losing any of our wonderful students but we much prefer knowing at the earliest possible time that they are going and definitely at or before half term.

Now the vast majority of our parents have fully understood these requirements and have no problem in complying. Of those that are, for whatever reason, unable to give us the required notice most are fully understanding of the requirement for fees in lieu and often, because of their honesty and ‘upfrontness’ we are moved to soften the blow a little...

It is the tiny minority of others who either claim ignorance of the terms or deliberately ignore them, that cause us so much stress and upset.

Let us be absolutely clear - this is NOT a money thing. Fees in lieu do nothing for us, it’s a filled place that we want! But our terms have to have some teeth or our school would be impossible to run. How could we go into a new term not knowing how many children were going to turn up? And the chasing and securing of fees in lieu ends up costing us far more in time and stress than the actual £ amount would ever cover.  But it is only fair that we apply these terms with absolute consistency. If we let some parents off because they complain or simply ignore us it is manifestly unfair on the vast majority who have given proper notice or willingly settled fees in lieu.

So we are left in a bit of a no-win situation. We try and talk to people and again may even make an offer for an early settlement. At this stage again most people will realise that it’s a fair system and the issue will be resolved. But for others...some offer settlement cheques which are then bounced, some put the phone down on us, some pretend not to be there (yes, really!) and some just get cross and threaten us with all manner of potential PR horrors .  In one extreme case a few years ago all four of those things happened and in the worst moment of all a poor child was told by her mother (audibly to me over the phone) to tell me ‘Mum’s gone out!’

Where people decide to be silly about all this we are left with no other course than to see the terms through, even if that means going to court. Now, thankfully although we’ve issued proceedings three times (which I guess isn’t bad in 15 years) we’ve only had to go to court once and in that case the judge ruled in our favour in a matter of seconds. We didn’t even get the chance to shout “The truth? You can’t handle the truth!” The parents concerned had to cover the court costs and only avoided a CCJ by paying a cheque over in front of the judge. But it was a hollow victory for us - we hated every second of the process. It’s not what we are here to do.

So if anyone out there ever has any questions on our notice period – PLEASE DO ASK US!!! Obviously we don’t want tom lose your child, but we definitely don’t want to have to ask for fees in lieu. 

It's not about the money, we just want to make the world dance (act & sing)!

Ejukashun 4 all!

Today the GCSE results are out and with it the scandal of falling grades.  There’s been a huge debate around grade inflation and, in English, the lack of attention paid to spelling and grammar. I’m probably being an old fogey when I admit that seeing people use ‘loose’ when they mean ‘lose’, or incapable of using apostrophes properly really grinds my gears.

Top tip – don’t use apostrophes to indicate a plural, PLEASE, or I may be tempted to take drastic violent action.

Shadow Education Minister, Stephen Twigg was on TV this morning bemoaning the lack of opportunities for assessing spoken English, presentation skills, teamwork and the like. So whilst we aren’t even assessing basics like punctuation, are we to turn our grading machine onto soft skills too? He seems to misunderstand completely how confidence is built, how sociability is enhanced and how creative minds are gradually unleashed.

Here’s our response (start your predictability meter now) - the Government, realising that schools have neither the required skills, resources nor time to take on these kinds of classes,  must recognise the need for these softer skills and bring back some appropriate funding to allow more general access.  

The axing of the Extended Schools Schemes and drastic reduction in partnership funding has hit sports particularly hard, ironic in the light of the success of Team GB and the calls for more participation generally. It has hit organisations like Best too – we were working well with some local schools providing places for children who really needed the kind of support we could offer but otherwise couldn’t access it.

The kinds of skills we enhance don’t need assessing, the effects are completely individual and progress begins and ends at a different point for everyone. Yes, there are certificates available (like LAMDA’s excellent portfolio) but these are based around specific vocational techniques rather than overall confidence building, sociability and general outlook on the world – great for those that want that kind of validation but not suitable or necessary for everyone.

The biggest buzz we get is when a parent tells us the school have noticed a positive difference in a child after spending time with Best – and we are delighted to say this happens frequently. We just wish more children could get this kind of support.  And imagine if this building of confidence, openness and creativity was allowed to continue throughout the education cycle... the benefits to UK plc could be huge!

Anyway before I loose my temper with it's silliness, its time to stop writing blog's, and get on with something more betterer thats got less thing's to get grammatically wrongly. See me afterwards, Ed. 

Our revels now are ended...

"Our revels now are ended. These our actors, 
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and 
Are melted into air, into thin air; 
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, 
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, 
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, 
Leave not a rack behind.” 

The Tempest IV, i, 166-174

Suddenly my days are emptier. The Olympics, which have occupied so much working and sitting on the sofa time, are over. And our summer courses, which have their own wonderful, positive energy, are also over. Both have been huge successes and both share a number of common denominators – some quite surprising!

Getting on with each other

Me outside the Copper Box,
inevitable clipboard in hand

We’ve seen at the Olympics a kind of openness, willingness to co-operate, acceptance of other people’s quirks, teamwork and attitude from spectators and volunteers alike. All of this has created a warm, happy, secure and entirely memorable atmosphere. We’re lucky because that’s just the kind of atmosphere we always get at Best for our summer courses.

Hard work producing fantastic results

Our Olympic results have shown that there is no substitute for effort and that sometimes consequent results are spectacular. In our summer courses the children (and teachers) do work incredibly hard and we think the results speak for themselves in the shows. But there is also a fulfilment which means that at the end of each day our students, like athletes in training, feel they have achieved something – delivered a ‘Personal Best’.

Copper Box Team saying goodbye
as the Games end

Teamwork is crucial

In so many events, teamwork is absolutely crucial. Even individual athletes rely on a support team of trainers, physios, sponsors etc. Medals cannot be won without the contribution of (often less celebrated) colleagues (Chris Froome for example). Our summer courses are totally reliant on the group gelling to tell a story that they have all invented – they all contribute.

People are mostly quite nice!

A strange one, this, but as I wrote in my previous blog I think the Olympics have unearthed a hidden seam of warmth and openness in the erstwhile reserved British nation. We see the same thing happening at Best as children get to know each other over the week.

Planning is everything

The delivery of the games has been a logistical masterpiece. Our cynical expectations of transport nightmares, disorganised venues, queues and embarrassment have failed to materialise. Instead everything is so well organised that it appears effortless. There is (I can personally attest) a massive, multi-agency effort going on behind the scenes so that what the public sees is a calm, coordinated and confident delivery – Games with a smile. The atmosphere in the Park and at all the venues is testament to this triumph of organisation. And on a much smaller scale, but just as importantly, it’s like that at Best too. The children experience the result of huge amounts of planning and experience which starts as soon as the previous year is over (in fact planning for next year is already under way). We (Annette and I and the teachers) can seem relaxed and confident only because we know we’ve planned for virtually every eventuality, based on many years of experience so we too never stop smiling. Mind you, just getting my diary co-ordinated to be in the right place at the right time over the past few weeks has been a miracle of planning in itself!

In every aspect, from the electric opening ceremony to the wonderfully cheesy finale, the Games have shown Britain, and its people, at their Best. (sorry – couldn’t resist!)

So as the long Olympic/summer course-less weeks stretch ahead, I’ll take comfort from the words that precede the passage quoted above.

“Be cheerful, sir”

and never forgetting the line after...

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.”

Go TeamGB!

I DO ACT

Purple is so my colour!

I DO ACT- this is the mantra of the Gamesmaker – the acronym standing for:-

• Be Inspirational
• Be Distinctive
• Be Open
• Be Alert
• Be Consistent
• Be Teamworky-ish (I think they had trouble finding a team related adjective that also began with a T)

When I put on my fetching uniform on Saturday I have to say I felt very proud and on arriving at the Park (after taking fully 29 minutes to travel through the 'transport chaos' from St Albans to Stratford) I felt immediately comfortable in smiling, offering help (how many photos have I offered to take?) and in assuming the role of a host.

I think we’ve got this whole Olympics thing about right:-

• We (Team GB) aren’t winning anything yet and as I write things going from bad to worse. As a host it would be bad form. Perhaps we can allow ourselves an extra helping of something a little later. But we seem to have taken the more relaxed attitude so ‘those two impostors’ that did so well for us in the European Championships.
• The Olympic Park is outstanding – fantastic buildings, loads of space, beautiful planting (shout out to the gardeners)
• The transport system is (and was always going to) cope – 29 minutes to Stratford from St Albans for goodness sake
• The opening ceremony showed all that is great about GB
• The Gamesmaking volunteers are simply superb

On the final point I think the organisers have tapped into an all-too-often hidden stream of openness and welcome that exists, often buried, beneath layers of British reserve. Here is the humanity that enables our country to be genuinely and comfortably multi-cultural despite the odd glitch. Here is the warmth that is often to be found in the meeting of strangers who realise that their paths may never cross again and so have no fear in honesty. Here are the smiles and little acknowledgements that are so trapped behind our commuter masks.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my role as a Events Team Leader at the Copper Box, although I’ve never walked as much in an 11 hour period as I did last Saturday. Wow, my feet hurt despite the excellent Adidas trainers we are issued with. I’m looking forward to my next shift.

But what has this brought to Best? I guess it has reaffirmed that the approach Annette & I have always taken is the right one – you get more by smiling, trusting people and helpfulness. The welcome we try and give is the same as that at London 2012 – we are genuinely pleased to see you! And wherever there may be problems to solve, we start from a basis of warmth and trust and a commitment to reaching a solution which makes everyone happy. All sound a bit cheesy? Maybe. But it works for us and it works at the Olympics.

Now, let’s start a campaign to get the empty seats filled by Gamesmakers...

Best of British

I’ve just been to the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony of London 2012 so whilst I fully intend to #savethesurprise I can tell you that it’s simply awesome. Only the British (and Danny Boyle) could have come up with something so witty, self-deprecating and ironic. There’s a refreshing absence of the portentous pomp and circumstance – so Britain at its very best.

It's thrilling, touching, silly, subtle at times and even, dare I say it, political! It was truly, truly awesome - do not miss it on Friday night!!!

We can do these things well despite our nation’s natural pessimistic tendencies. When first awarded, people pointed to the Opening ceremony as being something that we would be ashamed of, as if we could never hope to rival the ‘creativity’ of the Greeks or the mass organisation of the Chinese.  But we have chosen not to take them on in those terms and instead to create something at once entirely unique and yet instantly recognisable.

I’m sure this is a trait borne into the British. When we ask for storylines for our holiday courses at Best, for example, the children come up with some of the most extraordinary (yet unfailingly logical) threads. They find humour in the most odd places. And they make connections which seem at first illogical but which, as you consider things further, become clear and unambiguous. It’s a talent we are right to celebrate and Danny Boyle has done just that.

We’re in the middle of our summer courses now – The Tempest and Lion King are on stage on Friday and Olympic Flames and JuniorGlee come next week. The last week has Futurdrama and the Little Mermaid. Goodness knows what tales we will have told by 10 April! But I’m sure we’ll find the strangest things to laugh about and entertain our audiences thoroughly in the process.

P.S. I’ll be at the handball arena in my Olympic volunteering role in my natty poppy and purple outfit which is NOT a cause for laughter... it’s very fetching!

Best School of Acting - why? what?

Lisa Schulberg writes

I am an actress, presenter, director, teacher, and theatre company owner.  I love drama, imagination, creativity, communication, the world around us and the people in it and I am constantly inspired by those that I meet - and they are all the reasons for launching the Best School of Acting.  The easiest way to let you know what this new concept in theatre training is about is to explain where the idea has come from – a journey both personal and professional.  

I have had a love of performing since I was very young, which was properly ignited into an ambition when I was cast as Alice in the school production of Alice in Wonderland when I was 9 – from this moment on I believed this was what I wanted to do, I loved acting, singing and dancing and I also enjoyed school and studying.  

At 11 I went to a full time stage school then at 14 I returned to a standard school to complete my studies, then A levels, University and then Drama school for a postgraduate Professional Acting Course. I then worked in theatre, film and television during the next few years and whilst not touring or working I began teaching and directing and spent 8 years teaching Acting and voice for a top London stage school.  I learnt more about acting through my years as a teacher and director than all the years previously that I had spent being taught. In the last 14 years through workshops, teaching and directing youth theatres and having worked with over 50,000 young people aged 4-21.   Here is what I have discovered  –

First – a dream, a belief, a love of something, whether it is to grow into a career or not should be encouraged and supported  and most importantly, from an individual perspective, every person is different and their path may not be the same.

The ‘person’ is at the heart of their performance and the performer must be nurtured.  Confidence, imagination, team work, energy, belief – all wrapped up in a relaxed and natural persona make the most watchable and engaging actors.

Bad habits set in fast and many actors spend a great deal of time adjusting the negative ways they learnt  to perform when they were young – and yet many young people I have worked with grasp the skills and ideas that I didn’t learn until much later…there is so much time and energy that can be saved!

Essential vocal and physical skills let many young performers down, holding back their versatility and cutting down their options– the ideas, creativity and imagination are there but they need help in putting it into practice.  It is possible to make this disciplined part of performance fun and appropriate for young people and if learnt when young will become second nature.

There are so many different styles and approaches to acting and the more you learn the more you find what suits you and where you fit in – especially in a modern world where most of the acting we experience is through TV and film…it’s time to move on – embrace all the elements of drama and theatre from the past but to create the actors of the future.

The Need for a new way

There are schools that offer fun drama, a bit of everything, an exploration of performance in enjoyable and nurturing ways – I teach at them, I direct at them , and they are brilliant at what they do, especially at including everyone and making sure that everyone has a fantastic time.  But what happens when you are that little bit more serious, when you want to focus on acting, when you have talent and potential that needs nurturing – but you don’t want to give up everything else or head off to a London based or full time drama school?  When I looked – I couldn’t find the answer…and that’s when this new idea of training was formed.  Let’s create a new school, with a new format, that is going to help develop a new generation of performers.  The focus is on acting, however the school wants to support and develop talent and potential across the board for young people and there are further classes that we offer alongside these, recognising the need for these  disciplines for all round performers.

Many groups focus on performances – which are great fun, but rehearsals sometimes take so much time out from the  learning and development in a session  –  a bit like football teams that only play matches and don’t learn the skills, flair, or stamina that make them truly winning teams.  The Best School of Acting will share their work and deliver performances but the main focus of each class and term will be on the building of skills and talent that can be used in performances and life.

The course will be brilliant for those that love performing and acting, who want to get better at what they do, who study drama or don’t, who want to be actors or who just want to act!

Our faculty work as a team and every class and term is carefully put together and co-ordinated so that there is a clear structure in order that the students grow throughout every class, and that all elements of the course support each other.  From previous experience often teacher’s have individual targets for their sessions or a course structure for a term, but we feel that meetings and early planning with our staff will prevent students being pulled in different directions and the sessions not combining together. 

It is also important to note that this school is also not just about becoming an actor –it’s much more…I was  fascinated and inspired when a couple of years ago I worked with an educator who pointed out that in 10 years time there would be approximately 15 equally qualified people for every job – so it’s not just about qualifications –it’s about the person, the way someone puts themselves across, their ability to communicate well, be quick minded, a team player, a well rounded person – and essentially that is at the heart of the ethos at Best School of Acting.

We are creating a school which we would have wanted to go to – and it’s amazing the amount of professional performers who I have spoken to about it who have said – I wished there was something like that when I was younger…well now there is!

The show must go on!

Recently we've been putting together plans for a new venture (of which news very very shortly - watch this space!!! - in fact subscribe to this Blog or like our Facebook page to get the news first ) and in doing this I've really been enjoying working with people with similar work ethics. You kind of lose faith sometimes that there are people who will do what needs to be done, no matter what the hours or how tired you might be feeling. These kinds of people were certainly more common in my younger days, touring round schools in vans. You met with all kinds of obstacles and just got on with it. But they were good times, like...

• Lying on a school floor having been up all night with gastric flu desperately trying to summon the energy to perform without throwing up again when a teacher observed "Just doing your relaxation are you? Nice life..."
• Performing to a school in Birmingham where the teachers had been out for a hefty Christmas beverage at lunchtime and had forgotten we were turning up. they'd told the kids they were getting a movie. Instead three actors in stupid cossies turned up. Mayhem ensued
• Speaking to a 10 year old child in Godmanchester after a performance of 'Animal Farm' who questioned whether Hegel would have needed a windmill had he written the original story. Turns out she was a traveller girl who constantly ran away to the library - her parents burned any book they found her with. I often wonder what happened to her
• Chasing a kid across a Salford housing estate as he made off with our keyboard
• Chasing a kid across a Kilburn estate as he made off with a microphone
• Concussing myself on a low beam at a school in Wiltshire and the look of horror on the faces of the children as blood trickled from under my mask - I acted on without realising. And then a pyro set off the school fire alarm and I was saved
• Dressing up as a polar bear, a pig (2 pigs in fact), an oak tree, a devil, a firefly, a recorder - great cossies

Happy days. Actually, they were. Three shows a day and no money but an absolute determination to do the very best job we could.  And we saw places in the UK we'd never have seen otherwise.