Opening Doors - September 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
Thank You: The Last 5 Months
We know that the last 5 months have presented some very difficult and upsetting times and we hope that this letter finds you safe and well. We have been enormously grateful for the continuing messages of support and the extraordinarily generous donations from parents/carers and other members of the TACT community. It has also been a pleasure to see so many young performers continue their performing arts studies online. We would like to thank all those who have supported TACT - your kindness will not be forgotten.
Like many small businesses, we had to close our doors in March 2020 and although we have been able to offer some services online, this has been a challenging period of time. Almost a decade after starting our TACT adventure, we did not expect that our 10 year anniversary would be spent wondering when we will next be allowed to rehearse and perform. We hope we will be able to celebrate our birthday properly at some point later in the year.
A New World: September 2020
We are now in a position to confirm that, unless there are any significant changes in the national response to the pandemic, The Arts Centre Telford will open again for students on Monday 7th September. Things may look a little different - we have redesigned the timetable and initially, we will be offering fewer classes. The new timetable is attached to this email and is also available on our website. We will no longer be offering syllabus graded dance as part of our TACT dance programme, but a range of dance lessons, including ballet, jazz, tap and musical theatre routine will remain on our timetable.
In preparing for September 2020, we have used the Department for Education guidance to schools for re-opening. We have also considered the guidance for performing arts settings, though in reality, this is for professional venues and performers, so only applies to particular aspects of our work. We have carefully risk assessed the nature of our operations to ensure that wherever possible, a sensible approach to social distancing can be encouraged. One of the impacts of our new operations is that some classes will be capped and will be running on a first-come-first-served basis.
Signing Up for September 2020
You can sign up for private lessons and classes now. The sign up process is ‘live’ and available on our website: www.theartscentretelford.com/signup. Due to the need to ensure appropriate class sizes and for track and trace purposes, all students must be signed up to classes in advance and this service will only be available online.
Private Lessons
You will be contacted over the next fortnight with regards to your timetable for September 2020. We also have a number of vacancies on our private tuition timetable for September. We offer lessons in singing, acting, dance, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet and saxophone and would be delighted to see additional students beginning private lessons this year. Please email admin@theartscentretelford.com to express your interest in starting private lessons or if, for any reason, you do not hear from Steph Carter.
Private Lessons: The Option to Stay Online
We are aware that some families may still need to shield at various points in the near future. With this in mind, we are giving students the option to continue their private lessons online using Zoom in the same way that we have since March. This will be for private lessons only. When Steph Carter contacts you to confirm your timetable, please make her aware should you wish to remain online. In our view, returning to the studio would be in the interests of all students in terms of their progress and development.
Auditions and Productions
In the Autumn term, there will be no auditions for productions as it is still unclear when large audiences will be able to gather again and it is not fair to allow children to rehearse for something that may not happen. 2021 seems the most sensible time to start planning live performance and therefore, January auditions for shows will be available for signup from September to allow both TACT and families to plan accordingly.
Production in TACT: Studio One and Tickets for Major Productions
So that we can bring live events back to TACT as soon as possible, we will launch a series of small scale events to happen in Studio One at The Arts Centre Telford. These events, such as murder mystery nights and small-scale student concerts, have been designed for limited audience capacity and simultaneous online streaming.
The Box Office for Studio One events and for all calendared major productions in 2021 will be live from September so that audiences can buy tickets in advance should they wish. Please check our website for more information about forthcoming Studio One events.
Contact
Website: www.theartscentretelford.com
General: admin@theartscentretelford.com
Private Lesson Timetable: steph@theartscentretelford.com
Dance: dance@theartscentretelford.com
Connect / Social Media
Facebook: The Arts Centre Telford
Instagram: tact_theartscentretelford
We are really looking forward to seeing everyone back in the studio at TACT again in September. It’s been a long wait and we can’t wait to start making theatre again. We’ve missed you all.
Thank you for your continued support.
Your sincerely,