Category: Arts

With our February holiday workshop in Finchley, Jigsaw at the movies, less than three weeks away, there’s a buzz in the air backstage at Jigsaw Performing Arts Schools after the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations.

Although Netflix and Amazon have been dominating the headlines of late, there’s still nothing quite like a good ol’ fashioned trip to the cinema and 2017 was a wonderful year for film. We laughed, we cried, and the movies keep on coming with top notch performances.

Who has been nominated in the 2018 Oscars?

British newcomer Daniel Kaluuya has had a nod for best actor after impressing in the 2017 horror Get Out and Margot Robbie finds herself in the running for best actress in a leading role after a string of impressive performances on the big screen.

There are a few more familiar faces in the supporting role categories, with Hollywood legends Woody Harrelson and Christopher Plummer in the limelight and Mary J. Blige makes Oscars history by being nominated for best actress in a supporting role and best original song in the same year for Mudbound.

The full list of nominations can be seen here: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

One thing is for certain… anything can happen at the 90^th Academy Awards and we can’t wait!

Jigsaw at the movies

You can find out more about our half term workshop in February here: Half term holiday workshops in Finchley

Jigsaw Performing Arts is dedicated to developing performance skills, promoting self-expression and building confidence. We offer performing arts classes for children aged between 3 – 18. Find your nearest school by entering your postcode into the search on our home page. 

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Franchising

Buying a franchise can be a life-changing experience. It provides the opportunity to be master of your own financial destiny, while enjoying the support of an established organisation and the resources it commands. There are many reasons why you should fulfil your dream of becoming your own boss and opening a franchise. Here are our top 10 reasons to help you understand why it will be a great investment to choose franchising.

1. Be your own boss

This ranks at the top of the many good reasons to choose franchising. The desire to control your own destiny and to build a business for yourself has always been a powerful motivator in business and in life. Franchise ownership combines a sense of independence (within limits) with a greater level of security.

2. Turnkey Business

Buying a franchise eliminates all the hard work: finding a location, negotiating a lease, hiring reliable contractors and doing all this on-time and within budget. When you buy a franchise you are buying a complete turnkey business.

3. Proven System in Place

Franchising allows entrepreneurs to plug into a proven, successful idea and operating system, and focus their efforts on running the business rather than adjusting it to see what works best as they go along. Having a proven system already in place eliminates the guesswork and errors a common business owner would normally face. “The wheel’s been invented, perfected, branded, and marketed. As a franchisee, it’s time to roll”.

4. Higher Likelihood for Success

Since there is an already established system in place, there is a higher likelihood of success. If you follow the system the franchisor has put in place, you should be on your way to running a very successful business.

5. Easier to Obtain Financing

Banks are usually very comfortable financing the purchase of a franchise because they already have a proven track record. Lenders usually look at successful franchise chains as having a lower risk of repayment default and are more likely to loan money based on that premise.

 6. Brand Awareness

You can spend months thinking up a clever name, logo, signage, uniforms and the exact look and feel you want to attract customers to your new business – but you won’t know if it’s truly effective until you open for business. If you buy into a franchise system that is already established, the corporate image and brand awareness is already recognized. Customers are usually more comfortable purchasing items they are familiar with and working with companies they already know and trust.

7. Training and Support

Franchisors want franchisees to succeed, and in fact they need them to. That’s why intensive training is included in the franchise fee. The franchisor will train you to run your franchise exactly the same way their other franchise locations are run. This will ensure that you are running your business efficiently and will help to eliminate any common mistakes a new business owner usually faces.

8. Marketing/Advertising

There is usually no need to worry about advertising your franchise. The franchisor usually takes care of handling all of the marketing. If not they will have an outline for you to follow and sometimes specific vendors that will have systems in place for you to use.

9. Exclusive Territory

When you buy a franchise you are also buying an exclusive territory in which to do business. You will be entitled to a certain area and no other franchises (within your franchise system) can be open within that area.

10. Own Multiple Locations

Then there’s the final advantage: pride of ownership. Being a part of a franchise system will always offer you more opportunities to grow within the system. Once you have become a successful franchise, owner the next step is to become a multi-unit franchise owner. After you have one successful franchise open with a great management team you can focus time on opening a second location.

 

Jigsaw Opportunity 

With the success of the existing schools, Jigsaw Performing Arts is excited to be able to offer franchise opportunities in new areas to give more children a chance to experience the benefits of Jigsaw! You will be your own boss and fit your business around your existing life. Through our training and ongoing support we will assist you in all aspects of running your school and meeting our high standards. Jigsaw has the experience and knowledge in order to assist you in gaining new customers, and, importantly, retaining your current ones. We have tried and tested marketing and administrative systems that ease the day to day running of the business.

Jigsaw Arts Discovery Day!

Visit  www.jigsaw-arts.co.uk/franchises for more information and find out about upcoming Franchise Discovery Days on the Jigsaw Franchise Facebook page.

Top 10 Christmas Activities and Games; we’ve made our list and checked it twice! Here are our top 10 Christmas games to keep you entertained over the holidays. Some Christmas games are fantastic for Christmas parties and other Christmas games are just great fun to keep children entertained at home. In true Christmas spirit, make sure you have plenty of prizes for all involved!

10. Making Snowflakes

This can get quite addictive! Making snowflakes is a great way to make decorations for your walls, windows or to stick on coloured paper to make wrapping paper! Here are 6 simple steps to show you how:

1. Cut an A4 size sheet into a square by folding a corner into a triangle and cutting off the excess rectangle. You can use the leftover strip to make smaller snowflakes.
2. Fold the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle.
3. Keep the ‘open’ end of the triangle to the left and the main fold on your right. Then visually divide the triangle into thirds. Fold the right-hand side down so the bottom right corner is poking down below the bottom of the triangle.
4. Fold the left hand side over on top of the other side so it resembles an arrow head.
5. Turn over to reveal a straight line across the top of the smaller triangles. Cut along this line to even it off.
6. Cut shapes into both sides of the triangle and unfold to reveal your shape!

9. Mystery Stocking

Fill a stocking or sock with some small mystery items – preferably ones that the children can keep afterwards such as crayons, toy cars or sweets etc. Pass the stocking around the circle letting the children shake it, smell it and feel it to guess what it is. If they guess it then they can keep it!

8. Christmas ABC’s

Give each child a piece of paper with the alphabet written vertically from A to Z. They must come up with a word associated with Christmas for each letter. If you have a few children then you may want to set the children up to work in teams. The first team to complete their list wins a prize. Some of the words they come up with may seem like a bit of a stretch, but that just adds to the fun!

7. Santa Doesn’t Say

Get a collection of Santa hats and on each one pin the name of a Christmas Character to the top of each hat i.e. Santa, Rudolph, The Grinch, Snowman etc. Get the children to walk around the room and ask each other questions to try to work out who their character is. Prizes for those that guess first!

6. Style a Santa Claus

For this game you need lots of material, masking tape, cotton balls, streamers… anything creative you can think of! Put the children into two groups and give them 10 minutes to use all the materials to dress up a member of their team as Santa Claus. You can then get the two Santas to “Walk the runway” to decide which one looks most impressive. This game can be tailored depending on what spare materials you have, i.e. style a Snowman, a Christmas tree, etc.

5. Finish the Christmas lyrics

Put the children into two teams. Have a Christmas playlist already set up on your chosen device and press play to let the children hear the start of the song. They then have to either guess the Christmas song or the lyrics that follow so make sure you stop the music before you give it away!

4. Gift Unwrap Relay

You will need plenty of boxes and Christmas wrapping paper! Place some Christmas treats into one box (enough for all the children playing) and wrap the box. Place that box into another box and wrap that one. Continue until you run out of boxes or if you have a box shortage just use different wrapping paper for each layer around one box. Play Christmas music and let the children pass the present around and open a layer every time the music stops.

Top 3 Jigsaw Christmas Games

Our last three Christmas games are chosen from some of our favourite drama exercises and have been given a festive spin! If you’ve worked hard all term at Jigsaw then you may expect to play one of these in drama as a treat on the last day of term!

3. Christmas Corners

Name the four corners of the room after something festive such as Tinsel, Robin, Snow or Christmas pudding. Choose one child to stand in the middle of the room and close their eyes whilst counting from 10 down to 0. On 0 all of the children should have chosen a corner to run to and the person in the centre shouts out the name of one of the four corners. If your corner is chosen then you’re out! Keep going until one lucky child is still in the game!

2. Pass the Present

The children should all sit in a circle and in turn one child passes an ‘invisible present’ to someone else in the circle. That person uses their imagination to ‘open’ the present, decide what it is and mime the present to the other children in the circle. They can use sound effects to help demonstrate what the present is and the first child to guess is the winner and gets to receive the next ‘invisible’ present. Keep going around the circle encouraging the children to use their imaginations!

1. Santa, Santa, Snowman

This game is usually known as “Duck Duck Goose” and is quite the favourite among most young children! Get the children sitting in a huge circle and make sure they’re quite spread out. Choose one child to stand up (We shall call this child the ‘leader’) and walk around the circle whilst tapping each child on the head and saying the word “Santa”. However, at some point the child will tap someone on the head and say the word “Snowman” instead of “Santa” and that child should stand up and chase the leader around the circle. The leader has to run back to their position in the children without being caught and then the person chasing becomes the leader. This game is a lot of fun and requires a lot of energy!

 

Jigsaw Performing Arts is dedicated to developing performance skills, promoting self-expression and building confidence. We offer performing arts classes for children aged between 3 – 18. Find your nearest school by entering your postcode into the search on our home page. 

New career this year on your list of goals? Perhaps to something more creative or rewarding….

Jigsaw Arts are offering the opportunity to run your own Jigsaw Performing Arts school for children! We have created a new career path that allows you to work part-time hours that can give you a full time wage. Working 33 Saturday or Sundays a year, this job opportunity allows you to fit your working hours around your existing life! Running a Jigsaw Performing Arts School is a great opportunity for those that want to work during the school term times, and freelancers that are looking for a more stable income, for work that is incredibly fulfilling!

What is Jigsaw Arts?

Jigsaw Arts was founded in 1995 with the desire to pass on the joy of the performing arts! A down to earth performing arts school. Providing singing, dance and drama classes for children aged 3 – 18. Our classes are designed to help boost confidence, improve social and communication skills, and are lots of fun! As well as our weekend schools, Jigsaw Performing Arts Schools also offer Summer Schools, Half-Term Holiday Workshops, and Birthday Parties.

At Jigsaw, we are proud to be ‘a Place to Belong’. It’s an ethos that we all live by, whether at Head Office, our Franchisees or our Students and it is a deep emotion that flows through the heart of our business.

What does being a Jigsaw Owner mean?

Oversee the successful running of your business! Provide ‘a Place to Belong’ and welcome those that are interested in the world of performing arts. Hire the right staff to teach singing, dance and drama classes. Enjoy watching the development of your students each year!

It should not be overlooked as to how extremely rewarding – not just financially – running a Jigsaw performing arts school can be. Not only do you help the children achieve their individual goals and succeed, you can enjoy personal, professional and business success too.

We recognise that our franchisees come to us with different strengths and weaknesses, and that you may be feeling apprehensive about setting up a business. Don’t worry – that’s normal. The beauty of a Franchised business is that you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself! We are here to nurture you to become your best self in running your thriving business. Providing mentoring along the way to fill in the gaps and turn you into an independent, strong, confident performing arts school business owner.

What are the benefits of franchising?

As opposed to starting a business on your own, franchising is a great career path packed with lots of benefits! As a Jigsaw franchisee, you could benefit from all of our experience and knowledge gained from nearly thirty years’ running top quality performing arts schools along with…

•    Readymade business with a quick and easy set up
•    Strong brand association
•    On-going training and mentoring
•    Resale Value
•    Professional guidance and support
•    Setup tools and equipment

Could you be a Jigsaw Performing Arts School Owner?

The requirements to become a Jigsaw Performing Arts School Owner are a passion to work with young people and make a difference, a desire to succeed and a hard working attitude. We know this is a winning combination!

You may already work in the performing arts or have more of a business background with a passion for theatre and performance. We welcome applications from both. Whilst being a franchisee of a business with such a history of success brings many benefits, you are the key to the success of your Jigsaw Performing Arts school.

Get in touch!

If you think running a Jigsaw Performing Arts School could be for you and you want to learn more, email franchise@jigsaw-arts.co.uk and request our brochure!

Want to speak to someone about the new career opportunities at Jigsaw Arts? Request to book a Zoom meeting with us for a friendly and informal chat, to help you learn more about the business.

At Jigsaw, there is never any hard sale or obligations to continue once you begin a discussion with us. We are here to share as much information about the business with you, to help you make your decision!

Follow us on Instagram @Jigsawartsschools and @Jigsawartsheadoffice.
Check out our website here for more information :https://www.jigsaw-arts.co.uk/franchises/

On the 28th of November, Kalyn from Jigsaw Wandsworth saw the timeless classic Les Miserables at the Soundheim Theatre in London with Nikki and fellow Jigsaw Franchisees; Aoife, Christabel and Katie. The evening was a well deserved celebration marking the end of Franchise training for Jigsaw Wandsworth’s Kalyn and Jigsaw Epsom’s Christabel. What better way to celebrate than in Jigsaw style by going to the theatre!

Back when she was a Jigsaw student, her teachers introduced her to the world of musical theatre for the first time. Ever since, Kalyn has loved watching musicals and listening to the soundtracks at home – and loves playing them to her 3-4 years Performing Arts classes too. Les Mis is no exception! There are some amazing songs in Les Mis that are favourites for our young students to learn at Jigsaw, such as: Castle on a Cloud and Little People.

Whilst Kalyn knows the soundtrack off by heart, this was her very first time seeing Les Miserables at the theatre – and she was blown away by how magical it was. In particular, she was impressed with the talented and confident child performers who played young Gavroche, Eponine and Cosette! Their performances were both comedic, yet gut wrenching. Commanding the stage and projecting your voice to a huge theatre of over 10,000 seats is absolutely incredible!

The classic masterpiece wowed the audience through the casts’ spine tingling vocals, as well as gorgeous costumes and the work of the very talented Wigs, Hair & Make Up department – who aged and transformed the characters so well.

Another stand out moment in the show, was seeing not one, but TWO ex Jigsaw teachers in the cast. Jess and Yasmin are working in the ensemble and shone throughout the performance! We couldn’t be more proud and the incredible standing ovation during the curtain call was testament to how amazing it was.

Kalyn will be opening Jigsaw Arts Wandsworth and Christabel will be opening Jigsaw Arts Epsom in January 2024 – and will definitely be organising more theatre trips in the near future with their students!