Meet the STAMP Community

More than a weekly class

STAMP is more than the time members spend in their weekly sessions.

Since 2006, our community has grown around the children and young people who perform with us, their families, our teaching and creative teams, volunteers, chaperones, former members and the audiences who support our productions.

For families joining STAMP, becoming part of that community also means having a clear way to stay connected with what is happening.

Keeping connected with Spond

STAMP uses Spond as our main communication platform for members and parents.

Once you're part of STAMP, Spond helps keep the day-to-day communication around your group in one place.

We use it to share information about sessions, rehearsals, productions and other STAMP activities.

Parents and members can use Spond to:

• see updates about what has been happening in sessions;
• receive information and announcements from STAMP;
• keep up to date with rehearsals and activities;
• ask questions;
• communicate with teachers and group leaders;
• communicate with other parents where appropriate;
• stay connected with what is happening within their STAMP group.

This is particularly useful when we're preparing for a production, when there can be more information to share about rehearsals, costumes, performances and arrangements.

It also means families aren't expected to rely on social media to find important information about their child's group.

Our members

Children and young people are at the centre of STAMP.

Our members come to STAMP for different reasons.

Some love being on stage. Some particularly enjoy singing, dancing or acting. Some join because they want to build confidence, make friends or try something completely new.

Members don't need previous performing experience to become part of STAMP.

They take part in weekly sessions, rehearsals and performance opportunities alongside other children and young people in their group.

As they become more involved, they also become part of the wider company that brings our productions to the stage.

Parents and families

Parents and carers are an important part of the STAMP community too.

Although parents don't stay in the studio during normal weekly sessions, there is still plenty happening around the sessions and productions that families need to know about.

Spond gives parents a way to stay connected with the group without needing to be inside the rehearsal room.

Families also play an important part in helping members attend regularly, prepare for rehearsals and performances, keep up with production information and get everything ready when show week arrives.

For new parents, it can also be reassuring to become part of a community of other families who understand what being involved in a production is like.

Teachers and group leaders

Each STAMP group has its own teaching team.

Our teachers and group leaders work across singing, acting, dance, choreography, directing and performance, depending on their role and the group they're working with.

They don't just teach individual skills. They work with members over time, getting to know the group and helping turn what happens in weekly sessions into performances and productions.

Some members of our current teaching and creative team were once STAMP members themselves.

You can meet the people working with Minis, Blue Group and Green Group in our Team Directory.

Our creative and production team

Putting on a STAMP production involves far more than the performers you see on stage.

Our productions bring together people working across areas such as:

• directing;
• choreography;
• music and vocals;
• costume and wardrobe;
• scenery and set;
• lighting;
• technical production;
• backstage support;
• safeguarding and chaperoning.

We also bring in professionals from different areas of theatre and live production to support areas such as technical production, lighting, costume and scenery.

This gives members an opportunity to experience the wider team involved in taking a production from the rehearsal room to a fully staged performance.

Volunteers and chaperones

Volunteers play an important part in helping STAMP productions and activities happen.

Productions involving children also require appropriate supervision backstage.

STAMP uses licensed child chaperones during performances involving children and young people.

Our voluntary licensed chaperones follow the appropriate application process, including enhanced DBS checks, safeguarding training, references and licensing through South Tyneside Council.

Their role is an important part of keeping children safe and supported throughout performances.

Former members and alumni

STAMP has been part of South Tyneside's performing arts community since 2006, and more than 1,000 young people have come through our doors.

For many, their connection with STAMP doesn't necessarily end when they stop attending as a regular member.

Former members have gone on to further training and careers across performing arts and other areas.

Some have also returned to STAMP as teachers, directors, choreographers and members of our creative team.

That means today's members can sometimes find themselves being taught by someone who once attended STAMP themselves.

You can discover more in our Alumni section and read about the organisation's journey in STAMP History.

Our audiences

A production isn't complete without an audience.

Families, friends and members of the wider community support our young performers by coming to see the productions they've spent weeks and months preparing.

STAMP stages productions for paying public audiences, giving members the experience of performing as part of a fully staged show.

Our audiences also introduce new people to STAMP. Someone attending their first STAMP production may later become a member, parent, volunteer or supporter themselves.

Current productions, performance dates and ticket information are available through our Box Office.

Becoming part of STAMP

Joining STAMP means joining a community built around performing, creating and putting on shows together.

For members, that means weekly sessions, rehearsals, friendships, challenges and opportunities to perform.

For parents, it means becoming connected with the group through Spond and sharing in everything that comes with seeing a production develop from its first rehearsals through to opening night.

For teachers, creatives and volunteers, it means helping the next group of young performers discover what they're capable of.

And for many former members, STAMP remains somewhere they continue to have a connection with long after their own weekly classes have finished.

If your child would like to become part of the STAMP community, explore Minis, Blue Group and Green Group or read How to Join STAMP.