Podium Dancers at the ready!

Back to Butlins we go!

Every few months two of the team put on their sequinned hot pants and head back to Butlins to podium dance for 'CREAM'

Cream is one of the world's most iconic dance brands. Beginning life as a weekly house music night, Cream hosts 3 club events a year at its spiritual home of Nation in Liverpool, hosts one of the biggest nights in Ibiza during the Summer and brings the award winning festival Creamfields to the fields of Daresbury, Cheshire every August bank holiday. 

On top of this Cream also hosts a number of Cream Tour events including over 10 international Creamfields festivals.

Now into our 2nd year of partnership Manic have been working for an uber cool management company to supply Cream with our gorgeous podium dancers! Our girls dance the night away at these very popular club nights which Cream host at Butlins Holidays Parks across the UK. 

This month we head back to dance at Bognor Regis and later in the year you may see us at Minehead where our stunning girls wow the crowds and compliment the awesome DJ's that really do blow the roof off the events that gather such mega audiences!

With sequins, glitter, high kicks, dazzling make up, costumes and awesome podium choreography our girls love being part of these late night events and always look forward to a great time and the next upcoming date. 

 The atmosphere is always incredible, it is always a party event to remember as the crowds and our girls dance into the early hours of the morning! 

April 23rd we will be gracing the stage at Butlins Bognor so look out for our girls  as they are sure to entertain you and catch your eye!

We can't wait to see you all there and look forward to the Cream club nights to come in the near future!

If you are looking for podium dancers or club style acts including fire or stilt performers please do not hesitate to email our office with your requirements.
manicstageproductions@gmail.com

For any other inquiries regarding bespoke entertainment, look no further than Manic Stage Productions. We endeavour to produce a unique professional product for you and your company. 

Visit us at...

www.manicsp.co.uk

or

manicstageproductions@gmail.com

SUMMER IS COMING!

HAVE YOUR KIDS GOT TALENT?

It's that time of year again, summer is only around the corner and we have the perfect activity to keep your children entertained and excited with three whole days of activities, fun and a live performance!

After last years success of our 'Kids Got Talent' 3 day workshop we have decided to run the same summer school activity this year to give even more children a chance to take part in this amazing opportunity. 

Manic Stage Productions we will be hosting 'Kids Got Talent' from Wednesday 5th - Friday 7th August 2015.

The idea of 'Kids Got Talent' is to encourage all the children to bring along their own talent to the Portsmouth's Guildhall and to practise and perfect it over the three days with the added assistance of our talented team. The aim is to make their individual skill show time ready for the on stage performance on the final day!

The children will also learn a whole host of new skills throughout the workshop days including dancing, singing, acting, arts and crafts, and lots lots more. 

The children will make new friends and be working in groups with new people to expand their repertoire of skills as the days pass.

One of the main attractions of this workshop event is the amazing opportunity to perform on the actual stage. We are lucky enough that the Friday performance showcase will be on the Guildhall stage, with lighting, sound and costumes! The children will be putting on a "proper" show of which family and friends are invited to come and see on the final afternoon. 

With the chance for the children to showcase each of their own talents and group numbers as a whole cast, the jam packed show will feature all types of entertainment for the parents viewing pleasure. 

After last years brilliant workshop we can not wait to see this years turn out..... so start practising those talents and book your places now so not to miss out this summer!! 

The cost of the three day workshop is £75 per child.
Each day will run from 10am-3pm at PortsmouthGuildhall

Dates are Wednesday 5th - Friday 7th August 2015.

Book your places now through Paypal on our event page via our website www.manicsp.co.uk 

We look forward to seeing you all in the summer! 

Any queries or questions regarding this please do not hesitate to contact us at manicstageproductions@gmail.com

Manic's Member Of The Month - February '15

MEET MANIC'S 
MEMBER OF THE MONTH 

TILLY! 

Each month Manic Stage Productions like to introduce you to a different member of our talented team and let you find out a bit about who we are and who is behind the costumes glitz and glamour....

This month meet TILLY!

We asked Tilly a few questions about her life as a dancer and professional performer, where it all started, whats next and much more. Here's what Tilly had to say...

When did you start dancing?

I started dancing at the age of three beginning with baby ballet, quickly progressing onto ISTD tap, modern, ballet and musical theatre. As I child I loved everything about dance and continued to train through the grades and also took on jazz and singing all the way through until I was 15. To top of my childhood training in 2009 I was the winner of the ISTD Janet Cram Modern Dance Awards.

Where and when did you continue your training professionally?

Knowing I wanted to be on the stage I went on to train professionally at Laine Theatre Arts and was even lucky enough to be offered a Betty Laine Scholarship for her 3 years of training. I graduated in 2012 with a national diploma in dance and musical theatre which held me in good stead to go explore the world and work for many companies and productions as a professional performer.

What are you currently doing?

I have recently been away on the Ventura cruise ship working as a Singer/Dancer for Headliners theatre company and upon my return was excited to be back performing with Manic and the team! I am currently back in rehearsals for my second cruise on the Azura working again with Headliners company as a singer dancer.

We hear you have been in panto?

Yes for the past two years I have worked in pantomime as a dancer for the Wimbledon Theatre, pantos are so much fun and I loved being part of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs and this year Cinderella. Each year there has been a host of celebrities and we have performed to packed out audiences every night.

Along with the above contracts I have also featured in a number of TV advert commercials for some major brands such as Marks & Spencers and have performed at numerous charitable and celebrity infused events.  

What has been your career highlight?
Gosh, I have enjoyed all of my performances but i must say that my favourite has to be going on tour with Baywatch star David Hasslehoff himself and being a part of his 3 man show as a backing dancer and singer. It really was such a great experience and a top laugh! Travelling up and down the country and touring with David was definitely my highlight so far and something I will always remember!

How long have you been part of Manic?

I have been lucky enough to be a member of Manic Stage Productions between contracts since 2012. As soon as my contract on Azura I will most certainly be back again and can't wait! I loves being a part of the team, it is made up of such a lovely bunch of people. We are all really close and supportive of each other it's like being part of our own little 
'Manic Family'.

Do you have a favourite Manic moment?

One of my favourite jobs for Manic has to be performing alongside Little Mix as a dancer and cheerleader at Rugby's Twickenham stadium, it was so amazing to be a part of and the reaction of thousands of people in the arena was a great rush and a day the whole Manic team will remember!
Manic Stage Productions is a great company to be part of. I get to sing and dance, performing for many corporate gigs and entertaining all types of crowds. My favourite thing about it is I never know what is round the corner or what venue I might arrive at which is such a buzz for the performance and every time it is different. 

Your final thoughts?

''I just love being on stage and performing, it's my life, my love not only my job but my dream and I love every minute of it and wouldn't have it any other way!''

We wish Tilly lots of luck in all her future endeavours and especially on her upcoming cruise in the next few months! We will of course keep up to date with her and see how she is getting on and just like all the other members of the team we encourage them to go out into the world and work and hope they always remember that they have a place here in Manic when they return! 

Lots of luck and Bon Voyage.. We look forward to seeing photos and seeing you again when you are home Tilly! 

For any information about Manic and our bespoke tailored entertainment for any occasion please visit www.manicsp.co.uk or send your enquiry to manicstageproductions@gmail.com

What A Sizzling Summer We Had!

A LOOK BACK AT A WONDERFUL SUMMER

After an amazing but very hectic and busy summer we thought we should stop and have a little look back at everything we got up to...

Although it now seems so long ago we started our busy summer at the beginning of August with the Southsea Show. 

Manic hosted and produced the Seaside Special show that took place in the big top tent. With a host of speciality acts, singers, dancers and performers it was a huge hit and the acts performed to a packed out tent full of happy spectators as they watched on and enjoyed the entertainment that was on offer. 

Before the glitz and glamour of the showgirls in the evening show we took to the stage that afternoon to entertain and bring some magic to the event with our Disney inspired children's show. With performances and songs from all your children's favourite sing-a-long films and soundtracks their faces lit up as princesses, animals and all sorts of characters appeared in the spot light to spread a magical feel throughout the big top. 

Lets not forget that also at the Southsea Show Manic hosted our very own 'Frozen' inspired tent which we named 'The Elsa and Anna Experience'. 

With ticketed workshops every hour on both the Saturday and Sunday crowds flocked to pack out our sold out event which gave the children an amazing opportunity to meet our look a like Elsa and Anna charatacters. Along with meeting the girls the children and their parents were able to take part in so many activities including singing and dancing with the characters, a sweetie pick and mix kingdom, Olaf arts and crafts and a very special green screen photobooth that transported you all the way to Arundel itself. 

We had so many happy customers and as they left with their gifts and wish balloons we couldn't have asked for a better turn out. 

The experience worked so well that we will be bringing it back around Christmas time so keep an eye out for more info about this on our website and facebook page. 

No summer or school holiday would be complete without our sort after dance days and workshops! Following on from the Southsea Show we entered into 2 weeks of Manic's Summer School. With more 'Frozen' and 'One Direction' days our excited children turned up each day at Portsmouth Guildhall excited and ready to go for a full day of fun, themed to their favourite stars, films, songs and characters. 

Brand new this year was the launch of our 3 day 'Kid's Got Talent' talent club.

We had a great response and the children that took part really proved how talented and clever they were. 

Over the three days the children learnt a variety of skills including singing, dancing and various drama skills. They then bought along their own talent to perform and we had a brilliant array that all featured in our big show on the final day. 

The talents included: Majorettes, Recorder, Tap Dancing, Duets, Girlband Singing, Modern Dance and Ballet Solo's and Cheerleading. 

Our final show took place on the actual Portsmouth Guildhall stage with a full audience of family and friends. Each child took to the stage with huge smiles, bags of confidence and a super star attitude! For some this was their very first time on stage. They put on an amazing show and we were so proud of what they had learnt and produced over just 3 days. We look forward to next years talent club and would love to know what talents your children may have?

COMING SOON

Schools are starting back this week and even though it is the start of term we have already booked in our half term exciting activities. We will of course due to popular demand be hosting another Frozen day which will be Wednesday 29th October and as an exclusive this year we have a days workshop of 'Michael Jackson's Thriller Halloween Spectacular' which will take place on Halloween Friday 31st October.

 All workshops will be at Portsmouth Guildhall. Keep an eye on our facebook page for the release date to book your places. As always there are only 30 places per day available and last time we sold out within 45 minutes of going live. 

Any other enquiries for bespoke entertainment visit our website www.manicsp.co.uk or contact us at manicstageproductions@gmail.com

Kid's Got Talent 3 Day Summer Club

SUMMER IS COMING... 
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!!

With summer just around the corner, its time to plan what the kids get up to! Due to popular demand Manic Stage Productions have already set up their 3 day summer club and dance days for August 2014.

This summer we will be running three different workshops....

 Firstly we have our brand new 'Kid's Got Talent' 3 day summer club to be held at The Portsmouth Guildhall.

This exciting talent club will be running from Monday 11th - Wednesday 13th August.
10am-3pm each day
Costing £75 per child (20% Sibling Discount)
 The price includes
3 days summer club ran by our fully insured and CRB checked professional performers 4x tickets to "Show Time" which will be performed in the auditorium on the main stage!
Kids Got Talent Summer Club souvenir 

Kid's Got Talent will involve all sorts of fun, from bringing your own talent, whether that be singing, dancing, telling jokes, impressions or some other kind of impressive skill to working with our talented team to learn some new talents and perform these to the crowd on the final day. Every child will feature in "Show Time" and some lucky children may even receive the "Golden Buzzer" award and perform in the spotlight all on their own! As well as perfecting our performance pieces the children will take part will in arts and crafts, creating costume accessories, playing theatrical and fun filled games and much much more throughout the three days. 

The most exciting part about this summer club is that the final performance for family and friends on the third day will be performed on the actual Guildhall STAGE!!

This stage has been home to many of the UK's top acts and to be able to perform on there is a great honour and achievement for your children which I am sure they will love!
We advise parents to keep Wednesday afternoon FREE from 1.30pm-3pm as this will be our scheduled show time along with a special presentation and photobooth fun!

Secondly we will be hosting another 'Frozen' day at The Portsmouth Guildhall. After the amazing success of our past half term week we can't wait to "Let It Go" again!.

With singing, dancing, arts & crafts and of course our signature confidence catwalk your Frozen fans will be thoroughly entertained throughout this one off day. 

The date for this fantastic day is
 (Thursday 14th August - SOLD OUT)
Thursday 21st August 
 10am-3pm 
Costing £20 per child
 The price includes
1 day Frozen place ran by our fully insured and CRB checked professional performers "Show Time" which will be performed in the Harlequin room at 2.30pm

Finally, due to popular demand we will also be hosting another 'One Direction' day. Included in this day are dance routines to your 1D fans favourite chart toppers. Cheerleading chants, sing a longs, confidence catwalk and 1D crafts, games and performance!

The dates for this are 
Friday 15th August
Friday 22nd August
10am-3pm 
Costing £20 per child 
 The price includes
1 day 1D place ran by our fully insured and CRB checked professional performers "Show Time" which will be performed in the Harlequin room at 2.30pm

Remember all 3 events have a performance "Show Time" show on the final day. The times and venues for these differ between days so please read your confirmation email clearly once your place has been paid for and secured. 
The only performance on the actual stage will be for participants of the 3  summer club. Family and friends will become part of a real audience and take their seats in the auditorium as your stars step on stage into the spotlight. 

The Frozen and One Direction stars will also have a performance that is equally as important to each and every child at the end of the day but these will be performed in a less informal manner within the Harlequin room

Our past days have all sold out in the record time of 24hrs and with limited spaces on each day we suggest you book in asap to avoid disappointment. All details are on our website at www.manisp.co.uk just click the PayPal button on the home page to book and secure your child's place. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE 
These dance days and activities are for children 6 years and above only

We can't wait for summer and all of the exciting things we have planned. Look forward to seeing you all there!! 

Please contact us at manicstageproductions@gmail.com if you have any queries. 

Nicole's GEW Presentation

Stepping Back On Stage 

I was both honoured and amazed when I was asked a few months ago to be a key speaker at this years Shaping Portsmouth Conference at The Portsmouth Guildhall. The event was to mark the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week and the request was to simply tell my story.

Now for those of you who know me you may think that this would not be a problem! But believe me when I say I was genuinely nervous. I am very proud of my journey and know how hard I have worked every step of the way to get to where I am today, but I did wondered how much of my story would be of any real interest to the high profile attendees of this particular conference.

I was reassured that in fact it was a tale like mine, one of pure passion for a particular subject a passion and creativity that wasn't inhibited by the normal self doubting boundaries of possible failure, that could be an inspiration to most people there. So I took on the challenge and set about writing my piece.

Well on Monday I stepped back onto the stage, a place I would normally call home. Unfortunately as a public speaker I found the once comforting sight of lights and an eagerly awaiting audience a very scary and solitary place. I am pleased to say that I hid the nerves well and managed to get all my words out clearly and even received a warm round of applause at the end!

So incase you missed it heres is my speech in full!

Hello my name is Nicole Geddes and I am co founder and creative director of Manic Stage Productions and our entertainment team who you have just been treated to - 

The Show Girlz.

Before I tell you a little bit more about my business and its place here in Portsmouth, I think its important to give you an insight into my background

 and highlight that becoming a business woman was never the initial intention, but in fact the end result of a life long passion for dance and the performing arts.

Looking around I’m sure many of you here today, like me attended dance classes through your early years. Well my childhood hobby soon turned into my dream and dance was to become my chosen career path.

At 16 I set of to London to train at one of the countries top stage schools - 

Performers College. Upon graduation I entered the professional world of performing and was lucky enough to carve out a career as a dancer across the country and abroad.

I performed on stage and screen for A listers including Kylie Minogue right through to to British comedy legends like Cannon & Ball. Some would say my dreams had come true.

But whilst I was certainly enjoying every minute and every opportunity, I became more and more aware that life as a dancer is short lived by both age and ability.

It was seven years ago, after only 5 years as a performer that I made the unchartered decision to prematurely end my time on stage and try to transition into a more secure role in the industry - Choreography.

I am pleased to say the risk paid off, and I was soon working as an assistant choreographer, in New York, along side Broadway directors and many of the cities most talented choreographers and up and coming dancers. From here I spent time in LA, again assisting one of the states top Show Choir directors, Think Glee!

So where does Manic Stage Productions fit into this very busy timeline? Everything happened so quickly. Prior to me unexpectedly heading off, to work across the pond.
I had set up my company Manic Stage Productions with my super talented, life long friend Matt Newman.

It seems Manic was a twist of fate and for the 3 years I worked over in the states, it was developing into a reputable company that the local community could trust.

Matt and I simply taught our talents to local community groups, dance schools, state and private schools, establishing a solid repore due to our professional levels of training and our joint impressive performance CV.

And here I am today, It was because of Manic’s rapid development and clear potential, that I stopped jetting off to work in America to give our company 100% of my time and efforts. I can honestly say I have never looked back and as well as continuing to provide Portsmouth, with the same high levels of teaching we always endeavoured too. We now also have a fabulous team of talented girls, who work hard entertaining at events, along the south coast, as our entertainment team The Show Girlz.

I guess you might say I have come full circle, as although I am now not performing my self with the show girls. My passion for dance and the performing aspect of the arts is still ever present. Its just I now use my industry knowledge and contacts to give the girlz the same opportunities Matt and I were so lucky to have had and experienced, all those years ago!

WATCH The Show Girlz Film

Matt and I had no business qualifications or attributes when we naively decided to strike out into the the unknown world of management and looking back it could have all gone terribly wrong.
Why did we manage to succeed against all the odds?
Well I believe that it was our genuine love of what we do, our enthusiasm for what we believed possible and the extensive knowledge we had acquired NOT about business, but about the field we wished to pursue our business in.

We were lucky enough to have gained 1st hand experiences through our time in the performing arts industry, that held us in good stead to pass on, at 1st our training to others and now our inside expertise, on full show production, entertainment and ways to enhance any event.

WATCH Event Production Film

Finally I would like to stress that starting and developing, Manic Stage Productions has not been easy. My advice to anyone here today thinking of starting a business is, take full advantage of the many FREE courses, networking groups and information services available to you.

Portsmouth is forefront in offering entrepreneurial opportunities and over the past 7 years both Matt and I have taken many of these FREE courses and asked for a ton of advice. It has been fundamental in our development and certainly assured us that we are presenting the company in the best way possible.

We are lucky to be based in this vibrant, multi cultural, historic city that really does embrace supporting local businesses on every level. On top of that we have been supported by so many other Portsmouth based business. There are many people in this room who I personally owe thanks too.

I think you will agree that we all thrive because we each  individually believe in the city and in helping each other to achieve.

So what do I think is the biggest hurdle for a Portsmouth based business?
Collectively I feel our biggest problem is convincing the remainder of the South Coast that all of our services, products and endevours are equal in both standards and deliverance to any other company trading from lets say London.
It seems we are so close to the capital that we may all get over looked from time to time, but we know that our services, are more cost-effective and delivered with a more personal touch. Which surely counts for much more than a post code.

I am, along with so many of you here today an ambassador for supporting and using local services and purchasing local products. I believe whole heartedly in the pursuit of building the Portsmouth brand.

This is reflected in the ethos of Manic Stage Productions. It has always been to provide opportunities to professional performers outside of London. Those graduates that still wish to work in the entertainment industry - just a little closer to home.
By doing this we can certainly guarantee a high level of entertainment equal to any other company, but at a more affordable cost to you the local client.

After the announcements last week of the drastic cuts to the cities cultural budgets, it makes me more determined than ever to provide cost effective entertainment for the city and its creative establishments. I appreciate first hand the challenges the creative sector face and Manic want to support and work closely with others to over come these.

Lastly, It would be easy to abandon Portsmouth in search of larger financial gain but I believe in the Chinese proverb “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people.” and by growing people and relationships within this great city we can all together - Shape Portsmouth.