Sofia Ben Achour from Footlights Nottingham
Sofia Ben Achour is a teacher and a trained actress from London who trained at the London Centre for Theatre Studies and The Actors Company in Hoxton, London. After moving to Nottingham in 2017 she decided to merge her 20 years of teaching and acting experience, which has included London West End productions and feature films, into opening her own stage school. After visiting the Footlights Urmston franchise back in 2017 she completely fell in love with the Footlights concept of empowering children and young people through performing arts and decided there and then that she absolutely had to bring this magic into Nottingham.
Meet the Face Behind the Franchise…
What led you to taking on a Footlights franchise?
After moving from London to Nottingham, I was looking for a career where I could merge my experience as an assessor, teacher and actress as well as balance out my lifestyle as a single parent. More than anything I wanted to do something that made a difference to the lives of children and young people where they could realise their potential as individuals by being empowered through performing arts, especially in an era where our identity can be heavily influenced by others’ opinions due to the many different type of social media.
After first visiting the Footlights Urmston franchise and meeting Jo Fisher, I fell in love with the incredible high vibes of the learning atmosphere where children were performing with such high energy and happiness. Also, after speaking to Jo Fisher and hearing why she had started the franchise in the first place, I realised we shared the exact same vision which in her words were to ‘get the kids off the streets, into the classroom and onto the stage.’ These words still ring in my ears everyday eight years on!
I also loved the fact that so much support was given, which really did put me at ease, as I knew that this was going to be particularly challenging because I was making the decision to bring a franchise from the Northwest that was completely unknown in Nottingham. The training sessions before and after I opened my Nottingham franchise gave me the tools I needed to make a name for ourselves, and not once have I ever felt that I’m going about things alone as the support continues to be there. I currently have a Saturday school and a Friday evening school, as well as running holiday clubs four times a year which have become extremely popular!
What does your typical Footlights Saturday morning look like?
A typical Footlights Saturday morning is getting in before 9am and setting up front of house. I then check to see if the classrooms have been set up and all fire exits closed. I finally get ready to welcome all the children starting with our adorable Tiny’s class followed by the Main School children all of whom come running through the doors with huge smiles on their faces and sometimes funny stories to tell me about what happened at school that week! Also seeing how happy and relaxed the parents are knowing that their children are going to have a wonderful Saturday is very satisfying.
What do you enjoy most about running a Footlights franchise?
What I love the most about running a Footlights franchise is the fact that there is no hierarchy or competition on who is the most successful, as we are all on our own journeys and the encouragement that we give each other, as well as sharing ideas makes us feel as much a family as we are a franchise.
What is your funniest/most memorable moment at Footlights?
There have been many funny and memorable moments at Footlights, but one of our funniest times was during our Christmas rehearsals about two years ago when the older students asked me to cover for one of the cast members who were poorly and I got so engrossed in the role that the other children came out of the stage wings thinking that some real drama was happening! I then announced ‘Kids, welcome to the world of acting!’ It was absolutely hilarious!
If you could only choose one, would it be acting, dancing or singing?
I do love all three, but as I am a trained actress I would have to choose acting as this particular discipline trains the kids to think for themselves and become more confident with their communication skills, which will be very much needed when they go out into the big wide world.
What are your personal performance highlights?
Apart from single handedly raising two amazing girls and becoming a grandparent, I am particularly proud of how we survived the lockdown through sheer persistence and belief, as well as finally cracking the holiday club market that same year and building an amazing reputation to the point where we tend to get sold out very quickly!
Another performance highlight is how we’ve maintained the Footlights franchise’s 100% LAMDA success rate with our learners achieving only Merits and Distinctions. Overall, the biggest personal performance highlight is being part of a business where I see the transition in children and young people where they have blossomed into self-assured and confident beings who have learned to embrace their own individuality. Knowing that we’re giving the next generation an opportunity to become limitless is the most satisfying feeling ever – it doesn’t get any better than that!
Person you would most like to meet (dead or alive) and why?
If I could meet anyone it would have to be Diana Dors who was one of the most incredible actresses of all time, despite being typecast as the British alternative to Marilyn Monroe – which I personally don’t think was true! I would want to ask her how despite all the chaos in her life she was able to keep going and reinventing herself. As an actress, I look up to her and feel sad that her life was tragically cut short in 1984 when she died from ovarian cancer.
What are your favourite things to do when you’re not running Footlights?
I love cooking for my family and friends, as well as spending quality time with my daughters and grandson. I also love watching old films and reading books about spirituality.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of becoming a Footlights franchisee?
My main advice would be to follow the model and believe in your business, even if things are slow at first. In my case it was particularly challenging as although Footlights was a well-known franchise in the Northwest, in the East Midlands it was completely unknown, so it was like starting a business from scratch! Take full advantage of the support and training given by Head Office as it will provide you with all the tools you need. Be active in the community and ensure that you are very selective with the staff you hire, as their teaching styles will affect your business. Lastly DO NOT BE AFRAID as if you have doubts about your business and see other stage schools as threats, it will discourage you from progressing. Just hang in there knowing that your franchise is unique and it will all pay off – myself and the other Footlights franchisees are living proof of that!
What are your ambitions for the future?
My main ambitions are to keep going with Footlights Nottingham and to open more schools within my territory. As a mother I want to ensure that my daughters and grandson are secure financially and I would also like to travel more. My very last ambition would be to get involved in theatre again (probably when my youngest goes to university in about two years’ time) as I do miss the stage. I also feel that I would be passing on a valuable message to my Footlights family that it is never too late to achieve what you want if you believe in yourself!
How can children join your Footlights family?
Parents simply contact us directly or send an enquiry through our main website about a free trial for their child/ren. I would then contact them and arrange for their child to attend a free trial at our school, after which if their child is happy, they can then be enrolled for their first term (free trials are available at any time, not just the beginning of term)
Find out more about Footlights
To find out how your child can join Footlights Nottingham, or to sign them up for a free trial, email Nottingham@footlightstheatre.uk or call Sofia on 07914 937060.