\u2018Beyond the Stage\u2019 offers local acting classes and performances for kids<\/p>\n
Published 3:30 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2026<\/p>\n
A new theatre company for kids has opened in Cloverdale.<\/p>\n
Beyond the Stage operates out of Cloverdale United Church and has been there since April 2025. They got their start in North Surrey a short time before that.<\/p>\n
Owner Chelsey Kolenda said the number of students has been steadily growing since they moved to Cloverdale.<\/p>\n
Kolenda said she started the theater company to fill a gap in need for kids in Surrey.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheatre was my safe space when I was a student,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I wanted to start a program that teaches kids theatre, yes, but also nurtures them internally\u2014something that teaches them self-confidence\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she keeps the classes small to enhance the child\u2019s experience and to augment their opportunities to learn.<\/p>\n
Kolenda explained Beyond the Stage performs full plays, but does not do musicals. As such, there are no singing roles in her plays. She said this attracts kids that may feel out of place or may not want to be in a theatre company that has singing roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have some kids that don\u2019t want to sing and dance, often there\u2019s no place for them to act in a full on play.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she limits the numbers of students per class. This approach ensures the kids are on stage for a significant amount of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery child in our classes has at least 15 speaking lines, because we keep those classes small.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolenda noted she has classes that run the full gamut, from classes for little kids that introduce them to the stage and teach basic concepts of theatre, to workshops, to improve classes, to her very popular Play Performance Program that offers kids the most challenging roles, right up a plethora of summer camps coming up this year.<\/p>\n
She said the summer camps are geared towards self-development just as much as theatre.<\/p>\n
For summer, she\u2019s also running before and after school care in an effort to help out parents who work. Kids can be dropped off at 7:30 a.m. and picked up at 5:30 p.m., with camp day staring at 8:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Kolenda also said Beyond the Stage is geared towards inclusivity as they have spaces for kids who may be neurodivergent, or who may have ADHD, anxiwety, among other things<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all come and they all get a chance to be seen and to be creative and to feel just as important and empowered as everybody else, which is really important for me,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, we have spots that are safe for kids that would otherwise not be able to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kolenda also runs a scholarship program. Students can apply on their website for discounted or free classes based on their need.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond the Stage gives kids a chance to be part of something bigger and to meet all types of children and to form connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
To sign up for a class or a camp, or to find out more info, visit beyondthestage.ca.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018Beyond the Stage\u2019 offers local acting classes and performances for kids Published 3:30 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":{"0":"post-528770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-surrey","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-surrey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}