Hi All,
This year, we’re celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary at Upstage, so I wanted to write a quick note to acknowledge that we’ve now been around for a quarter of a century. Has it really been that long?
Back in the 1990s, I had been an actor in the UK for a while, and due to a lack of work, I started teaching children for a company called Stagecoach. Then, in 1997, I came over to Los Angeles to “shake up my life.” It was a good move, and I quickly booked my first job on the TV show Frasier (look out for a goofy-looking Brit in the episode “Where Every Bloke Knows My Name”). Shortly after, Upstage Theatre Schools was created at the South Pasadena Senior Center. Suzan Spann (now La Canada Junior Theatre) was my business partner, and for a few years, we ran Upstage as a supplement to our acting careers. Then I married my lovely wife, Aileen, and soon after, two daughters arrived. Like most dads, I thought it was time to earn a steady living and reluctantly said goodbye to Hollywood.
Then Julie Bank joined us, and Upstage started to expand. Taylor Sherry and Tara Kawakami came on board, and we formed our senior management team. Over the last six years, Upstage has grown into a 50-program, 50-employee business with a centralized costume department, a set department, a tech department, and a payroll department. This team is amazing, and we’re so fortunate to have them with us. Every day, we strive to get a little better at providing kids with the chance to get on stage and perform in a show. There’s really nothing like it. We all still get a thrill every time the lights go down and the overture begins.
Thank you so much to all the wonderful teachers for their hard work, dedication, and talent in changing the lives of so many children. And finally, I want to thank you, Upstage, for everything you have provided to staff, teachers, parents, and kids over the years. You’ve been bloody marvelous!
