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Shaping Future Leaders: How Stagecoach Teaches Confidence and Creative Courage for Life!

By Head Office Canada

October 11, 2024

 

Hi! My name is Emily Taylor, and I am currently the Early Stages teacher at Stagecoach Mississauga, Canada - but my journey with Stagecoach started long before this position. I first discovered Stagecoach as an 11-year-old, trying to find an interesting summer camp that would fit my extroverted energy. I happened upon Stagecoach and did my first show, Peter Pan, starring as the infamous Captain Hook. I fell in love with the program and became a full-time student at Stagecoach, attending until I was 18 years old, with my final role being Horton in Seussical at The Meridian Centre in Toronto! In that time, I went from Stage 2 to Further Stages, even attending a year in Horsham, England, while my parents worked abroad. This program has no doubt shaped who I am today.


When I was a Further Stages student, I was offered the opportunity to substitute as an Early Stages assistant. My school principal saw the potential in me, and a few months later, I was offered a full position as an assistant. I loved being able to share my craft with younger kids, and growing up with two teachers as parents, I knew how influential my role could be. During my years as an assistant, I got to see how Stagecoach changed these kids, even at such a young age. I’ve seen how Stagecoach has taught them to use their energy in performance, become confident enough to speak up in class and in front of a crowd, and dance along with their friends. After my years as an assistant, I was offered the main Early Stages Teacher role and am going into my third year in this position.


In addition to this, Stagecoach continues to offer me other opportunities, such as ongoing development workshops, guest, and substitute teaching work at other Stagecoach schools in the network, and most recently, I was hired by our International Events team to work backstage at the Canadian National Showcase in Toronto. I even got my family involved, with my younger sister going into her 10th year as a student and a recent Summer Camp Junior Leader. It is now a family affair, which I think makes it even more special, knowing that I’ll get to see not only my students, but my family grow more curious and passionate about the world of theatre and life.

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What Creative Courage for Life Means to Me

Creative courage for life means to me that people are not afraid to be curious about the world around them and use what they know to showcase their abilities. At Stagecoach, I have seen so many nervous, bashful faces when they start, worried that their peers will judge them for singing and dancing. But once they realize what a welcoming space they are in, they can show the world their talent and not be afraid to stand out. I’ll never forget this one little girl I had who started off coming to Stagecoach as a timid 4-year-old and blossomed into a performing rockstar! Her mom even showed me a video of her performing at a Mother’s Day event, where instead of not saying anything like the previous year, she was at the front and center of her classmates, singing her heart out. Seeing such a dramatic change made me truly appreciate what Stagecoach has to offer young and older kids: the chance to be the best, most confident version of yourself.


The “for life” part means that these classes you attend aren’t just something you forget once you walk out the door; they are important life lessons that you carry with you for the rest of your life. Once you’ve been to Stagecoach, experienced the classes, learned the music, and found people with the same love of performing as you, you can never truly let it go. Even if you don’t pursue theatre or performance, teachings on confidence and public speaking stick with you. And the friends you make along the way are lifelong.


Life Lessons I Learned

Having been a student at Stagecoach for 8 years, I learned so many invaluable lessons. Even while teaching, I’ve learned the importance of respect and patience, and these “teachings of life” will be seen forever in my every decision and career step. The main lessons I would say I learned were collaboration, determination, and the importance of practice. Collaboration was in everything we did, through scene analysis and choreography, writing mini plays, and making silent tableaus. Working together was key. If one person believed they were above the others, no one would be happy, and no work would get done; putting aside your ego and issues was a big learning curve, as well as giving up control to let others lead, as I tend to naturally want to take charge of the situation. It’s something I currently use in my everyday life and makes me not afraid to ask for help or take a step back from wanting to control everything.


Every day, I strive to meet my goals for excellence in myself and in my students, and I know the only way that I’ll finish this assignment, or the kids will learn the choreography is if we go over the steps to succeeding together. From planning out an essay to sounding out the hard-singing words, my determination to succeed and my devotion to practice are evident.  

I don’t think I would be where I am today, studying theatre technical production and teaching kids, without Stagecoach. They have helped me in ways I can’t even imagine. Coming from an overly energetic 11-year-old with no one around who understands her and what to do with her to a confident, theatre-loving university student ready to take on whatever the world throws at her will always be crazy to me. The support and enthusiasm I have received and seen at Stagecoach will never be a burden but a shining star from where I’ve come from. If I could give any timid kids out there who think they’re alone a message, I would say: you will find your people. Whether it be Stagecoach or NASA, your people are out there, waiting to welcome you with open arms. All you need is the courage to look for them.