A Q&A session with Richard and Debbie of Footlights Worchester.

What made you want to start your franchise?

The decision to enter into a Franchise was not an easy one and took us over a year to eventually commit. We knew we wanted to offer more to students through performance and discussed many ways to enable us to do so. We had looked at various companies, but Footlights really stood out. Jo’s ethos completely matches our own, making the performing arts accessible to everyone.

Drama has been a huge part of our lives, giving us the confidence and ability to succeed in our lives. We wanted to enable children to have a safe space to express themselves freely, whilst having fun and working together to create something they all believe in, a Footlights Franchise was perfect for us to make this happen.

Was there a turning point in your life?

We felt we were in as good a place as any to take the plunge. We had saved up enough to invest without breaking the bank and felt it was now or never. We had been focussing on other personal issues prior to committing to the Franchise, but in the end decided it was time to grow in another direction.

What is your background?

The Performing Arts has been a passion of ours all throughout our lives. From performing street theatre, eating fire and laying on a bed of nails, to working in television and professional theatre productions (Richard) and being a frequent actor on a local TV show and performing on London’s West End (Debbie).

Our passions took us down very different paths but, in the end,, they led us together via a Theatre in Education Company. We remained active in the arts either teaching or as performers and have seen first-hand the influence performing arts can have on young people.

How was your training?

The training was intensive, but all done in a relaxed environment. It’s amazing the different things you need to think about when setting up a franchise, without the in depth training we received, I’m not sure we would have been anyway ready for the grand opening!

What was your first day like?

Hmm… the first ‘live’ day was September 14^th 2019. It was madness ? Our school didn’t open on time for our free open day and students (and families) were starting to arrive without us being set up at all! All of our planning and prep for the day went out of the window and we managed to get the students interacting outside of the school gates until someone eventually opened up for us. It was a nightmare, but we smiled and carried on and the day turned out to be a great success! We have so many fond memories of our open day.

How do you reach your target market?

A lot of social media!

What support do you get?

The CEO and Senior Leadership team are always on hand to offer advice and support, she’s been amazing. We have Franchise Groups as well which is brilliant for sharing ideas and getting advice. Anything from lesson plans to ideas for shows and help with social media.

How have you managed your business in Covid 19?

This has been tricky for us. We are currently running some online sessions but only a few students attend. A lot of our parents are self-employed and are unable to commit to the monthly payments. We have been fairly flexible and supportive to all families, we keep in touch via emails, text and social media and have no doubt that they will return as soon as they are able!

If you could turn back time would you still invest in Footlights?

Yes!