Moving forwards

There's a truism that we must adapt to survive (or perhaps a scientific fact as my Biology student son might advise) - and it's no different in theatre schools.

We started Best nearly 16 years ago using the model that was then (and still is now) prevalent amongst art-time / weekend theatre schools - an hour of acting, singing and dancing. It's a model that has worked well for us for a long time but if you simply sit back and say ' there it is' there's a danger that such complacency can lead to inertia.

To be honest, we've always tried to find new things to move Best onwards - youth theatre, adults' classes and even toddlers classes, but from time to time you need to bring in some radical change, which is what we've been doing for the past year.

Launching Best School of Acting was a natural, even overdue, step. Focusing purely on acting, and aimed specifically at those who had already made the decision that they wanted to be the best actor they could be, we have mirrored the classes of a 'full time' drama school, to give the students a real taste of what life is like. In fact I've been taken back to my old drama school days at (the now merged into Central) Webber Douglas by some of the exercises - it all makes me want to act again!

We seem to have struck a chord with a fantastic group of young actors, some of whom are already now auditioning for full-time drama schools, and we even have a first success at Tring Park (well done FH!)

And now we have established a link with an agency. This has require a real shift in thinking from us as it's something we hold strong views on. But we have to accept that the world is changing rapidly. Children are growing up with all kinds of choices that weren't available 10 or 15 years ago and our approach has to adapt to reflect this. So our chosen agency, Daisy and Dukes, we think stands for many of the values through which we operate.

Next term we launch a class specifically for those considering auditions, or preparing speeches for exams (whether in school or LAMDA).

And there will be more...so watch this space.

The same founding principle holds firm though - it must be FUN!

David's 10 M's of Mega-success

You know, I’ve lost count of the number of people who haven’t asked me for my secrets of success in business. Well, I follow my own mantra which I like to call ‘The 10 M’s of Mega-success!’

1.       Mea culpa

Always say “It’s my fault.”  Don’t try and blame others for things that go wrong. And let’s face it even if the issue is nothing to do with you, there is probably something that you’ve done badly that has led to this. So accept blame for everything! You’ll be popular with colleagues and they are sure to involve you in every project.

2.       Misery

It is only through abject misery that we appreciate the good times. So make sure you are as miserable as you can be for as long as possible. Your successes (if they ever arrive) will be so much sweeter. 

3.       Must I?

Question everything you are doing. Constantly. And if anyone asks you to do anything, especially your boss at work, just say to your self, “Must I?” In fact, it’s even more effective to say it out loud. In this way you will develop a deep understanding of not only what is important to you, but also what is important to everyone else.

4.       Manage upwards

A natural follow-on from “Must I?”  Question every decision your management make, to their faces as well as behind their backs. They’ll quickly identify you as someone worth watching! 

5.       Manipulate

Use people around you to get what you want. Lie, cheat, subvert, anything to position yuourself ahead of your rivals.  The more you are able to force people to do things for you without their realising, the happier and more popular you will be. And the greater their surprise when, having achieved your goals, you then reveal exactly what you did to get there. This will earn you respect and sometime legendary status in the office. You’ll be the talking point at every desk.

6.       Moan

Don’t hold it in where it will just fester. If there’s something that you don’t like, say it. Every time. Expressing yourself like this is cathartic and gives your colleagues a real sense of the true you. What better way to make friends?

7.       Machiavelli

Don’t believe the press, the guy was a genius. Put succinctly (and despite what I said about blame above) if a colleague says or does anything that might even remotely be considered to be not in your best interests, crush them. Mercilessly. Totally. Respect through fear is a gift.

8.       Mediate

Get involved in each and every dispute around you. Make sure you strongly and publically take a side so that the issue can be quickly resolved. 

9.       Meditate

It’s not all hustle and bustle in business. Take time out to relax and shut out the cares of the day. The best time to do this is in a management or board meeting, during an appraisal, or even in front of an important customer. Plugging in your headphones will help to keep out unwelcome distractions. After a good 15 minutes downtime you’ll feel refreshed and ready for action.

10.   Move

Change your job as often as you can. It’s usually advisable to let your latest employer and all your colleagues know exactly what you think of them when you leave so as to avoid those annoying ‘buy back’ conversations, awkward leaving do’s and attempted superficial friendships.

Just follow these top tips and your future career is assured. In my next article I’ll focus on management style.

The Minotaur Returns...

Back in 1979 I was a fresh-faced (well a bit spotty) 18 year old making the long car journey in my Mini from Cumbria to Norwich to begin my Drama degree course at UEA. I’d really fouled up my A levels so was very grateful to UEA for ‘seeing the potential’ behind the poor grades (wouldn’t happen today – warning note to all our students – study hard!)

We were to be the first intake ever at UEA on the Drama degree course so the whole thing was new to everyone and we’d been invited to arrive a couple of days early for a project.

On arrival we met our tutors, and were introduced to a brand new, purpose built studio space which was to be our home for the next three years. We were given the theme ‘The Minotaur’ and no other guidance and asked to produce something over the next two days.

Well, we did – it was a fantastic way to get to know everyone and we bonded very quickly and very closely as a group. The project also made sure we tested out the new facilities and got rid of any nerves. I honestly can’t remember exactly what we did with the theme, but we reckoned it was pretty good. But the experience was invaluable and we suggested to the faculty that from then on, every Drama intake should do the same project.

We formed our own theatre group, Minotaur Student Theatre Company, to put on self-funded shows as a result which worked very well – averaging a couple of productions a term and always making money.

And I heard yesterday that one of Best’s long-standing students, Michael Bird, was going up to UEA to begin his Drama degree course – and that he’d been asked to go up early to take part in a project – called ‘Minotaur’.

I was at once proud, thrilled for Michael and overcome with a wave of nostalgia – and fair amount of jealousy! It’s great to see our ex-students really take flight and Michael has so much to look forward to.

So on the subject of ex-students, we have a 15 year anniversary coming up soon and soon there will be news of a Best alumni project to track our ex-students down. No-one is safe...

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...