Welcome from Principal

Welcome From Founder & Principal Anna Fiorentini

Hi everybody and welcome to Stage & the City; London’s hottest version of Happy Hour.

Since Stage & the City launched in 2015, I have seen many adults develop in confidence and self-esteem and make some lifelong friends.

What I love about this organisation is that it attracts adults from all walks of life, young and old, those that have some experience in the performing arts and some that haven’t performed since they were 5 years old in their local nativity play!

Why did I set up Stage & the City in the first place?

In 2001 I set up the award-winning Anna Fiorentini Theatre & Film School for 4 – 18 year olds. This has grown to have a great reputation in the performing arts industry and many of our students have gained leading roles on TV, Film and on the West End stage.

My main incentive for this school was to help those children that wished to increase in confidence, self-esteem and transferable life skills via the performing arts. However, trying to get funding to support this ethos was proving incredibly difficult.

Therefore in 2014 I had the idea for Stage & the City. After work performing arts classes, taught by leading industry professionals, for adults that wished to have fun as well as learn new skills for personal or career development. And all profits would go to the Fiorentini Foundation, (charity no 1140414) to provide bursaries for children wishing to access Fiorentini training. So not only would adults have fun and learn new skills but they would also be supporting a great cause at the same time.

Thanks to Stage & the City’s contribution to the Fiorentini Foundation we have so far supported over sixty less privileged children. One of our Stage & the City bursaries went to Jaden Oshenye who then went on to play Fletcher alongside Beverley Knight in the West End’s The Bodyguard.

What else do I love most about Stage & the City?

As I mention above, it is so great to see adults from all walks of life coming together at least once a week and having fun whilst learning. We have lawyers, bankers, doctors, taxi drivers, stay at home mums and dads, teachers, IT professionals, aspiring / professional performers and those that have retired to name but a few.

I love our teaching staff who are all top industry professionals and love sharing their knowledge and skills.

The icing on the cake for me, is that we have produced several charity showcases where students from different courses get to mingle and support one another whilst showing off their new found skills to family and friends.

Do have a browse through the website and see what classes appeal to your inner performer. If you are unsure about whether a course is right for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We can often organise one off  tasters so that you can get to meet the teacher and fellow students before committing.

No matter what your age or experience, (or lack of), it is never too late to develop a new skill and enjoy exploring your creativity.

Hope to meet you soon.