FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5TH 2021
Tell us a bit about yourself and your business.
Popcorn Musical Theatre Workshops is an independently owned performing arts school focused on nurturing the creativity and confidence of every child. We started life in North London where we developed a network of classes across multiple counties, however in the recent months we have made the move into Woking, where our Principal Emma grew up. Emma is a BA Musical Theatre Graduate from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Prior to this, she completed a Foundation in Musical Theatre at Guildford School of Acting. She has spent the years after graduation working as a freelance teacher and actor. Emma still works professionally as an actor, however she is excited to focus on using her knowledge to help children of all ages grow in their performance skills and confidence. She is ecstatic to be able to bring Popcorn to her hometown!
Currently classes run on Sunday Mornings at Old Woking Community Centre. Classes are split into three age groups;
Popcorn Minis – 9:00 – 9:45am for children aged 3-6 years old
Popcorn Juniors – 10am – 12pm for children aged 7- 11 years old
Popcorn Seniors – 12 – 2 pm for children aged 12-16 years old (COMING SOON!)
We also offer Private tuition in Singing and Acting for children 5+
We believe in the real life benefits of the arts and how it can positively impact children’s social skills and vocabulary, as well as how performing is a really fun outlet that encourages self-expression. We strive for your child to not only learn skills in performance, but grow in confidence and make life-long friends and memories. At Popcorn, classes are taught in a structured and fun environment. Each child learns to sing, act and dance while our team of professional actors (with a love for working with children) nurture their confidence and creativity. We have a fun and supportive group, where all the students are made to feel very welcome and we incorporate the three elements of musical theatre into a fun weekly workshop. At the end of each term, children will have the opportunity to present what they have been working on to their friends and family. This will be a themed production with songs, scenes and dance routines from a specific musical. It’s really important to us that your child makes friends and has fun. Whether your child wishes to pursue the arts further, or if you just want them to gain confidence, there is a place for you at Popcorn. We are so excited to give every child in Woking the chance to POP!
How has the pandemic changed your business?
The pandemic has changed our business in the biggest way possible – we are opening in a whole new area! When everything went into lockdown in March we were just a week away from our upcoming production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in both Highgate and Southgate. We anticipated at the time to be closed for a few weeks and to hold the production during the Summer term. Obviously, that could not happen and due to the pandemic our Principal and Vice- Principal, Emma and Euan, made the huge life decision to move closer to family in Woking. The structure of the business is roughly the same – we offer workshops in Musical Theatre during term time as well as holiday camps during the school holidays.
What were the new challenges you faced?
A major challenge we have faced is finding an entire new client base. We built up our classes in London and our classes felt much like a family. It was a really hard decision to leave that behind. However, we have been completely overwhelmed with the sense of community we already feel in Woking. We are really looking forward to building our brand new Popcorn family.
How did you adapt to these new challenges?
We are lucky that the area is not new to us. We started by finding a brand new venue, Old Woking Community Centre, who have been so accommodating and helped us feel right at home. We are now on the lookout for anyone who has children who could benefit from our classes!
What does the future hold for both you and your business in Woking?
We are looking to grow our Woking family even bigger than our North London one! We would like to open up additional classes such as LAMDA, Musical Theatre Jazz, Choir and many more.
Contact details:
Email – emma@popcorntheatre.co.uk
Website – www.popcorntheatre.co.uk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PopcornTheatreWorkshop/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/popcorntheatreworkshops/