Theatretrain Portsmouth - James Percy

For a long time I had a dream of opening a theatre school that I would’ve wanted to go to as a child. From a young age I always knew I wanted to experience the performing arts, but there never seemed to be a school or club that felt quite right for me.

As an adult I’ve been fortunate enough to build a career as a professional actor and have always wanted to offer children in my local area, the place that I was looking for as a child and the feeling that I got when I went to drama school. Somewhere that offered the best performing arts training and took acting, dance and singing all as seriously as one another. I wanted to offer somewhere with a real family vibe, where everybody felt welcome, part of something special and where personalities were celebrated! I wanted to offer amazing opportunities, where children could get the real-world experience of being in a show and where it was treated as professionally as if it was a West End production.

Enter Theatretrain stage left. I was fortunate enough to be asked to teach a guest workshop for Theatretrain and in that time, realised that the Theatretrain way of doing things was exactly how I’d always imagined things should be done. I’d considered opening somewhere on my own, but when I saw that Theatretrain was achieving everything I would hope for, it really sparked my interest.

My interest was doubled after a chat with Kevin Dowsett, Artistic Director. I realised that although Theatretrain was a big company, it wasn’t a ‘company’, it was a family. Kevin shared my passion, my love of theatre, my commitment to professionalism and belief that ‘good enough’ wasn’t good enough. I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to open my own Theatretrain in Portsmouth, but also nervous. It felt like a big undertaking and whilst I knew I had the passion and desire, there were a lot of ‘business-y’ things, I had no idea about. I needn’t have worried. Theatretrain guided me through the whole process of opening and supported me every step of the way. The training process felt detailed and was delivered in a way that wasn’t overwhelming and I never felt like I was in it alone.

Fast forward to 2 and a half years later, and I’m proud to say that Theatretrain Portsmouth is everything I hoped it would be and more. The business has grown and keeps growing and we’ve built our own Theatretrain family. I look forward to every Saturday morning and I’m pleased to say it is exactly where I would’ve wanted to go as a child.

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