We began the year with a day of workshops from the visiting Playtime Theatre troupe and we haven’t looked back since!
Some of the exciting activities students have enjoyed this year include:
- choreographing and performing a dance sequence for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Year 7)
- devising and performing our own love potion stories using A Midsummer Night’s Dream as inspiration (Year 8)
- performing lines and extracts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to examine power and control (Year 9)
- devising and performing soundscapes to capture a poem’s tone or meaning
- composing an abstract representation of poetry using symbols and key phrases
Not only are these activities fun, they also:
- stimulate creativity
- develop teamwork and collaborative skills
- improve speaking skills in a variety of different contexts
- encourage risk-taking
- improve understanding of literature
- develop performance skills
- improve the appreciation and evaluation of performances
- develop reflective thinking
What are students saying about our lessons? Here’s a sampling of a few reflections:
"I really liked that we improvised the text, like real actors, just using the key words."
Year 9
"I think we did well as a class because we had people sitting, standing and doing many different movements which added depth and variety into the story."
Year 8
"I think we cooperated well to create these sounds and echoes for the soundscape to create a very stormy and depressing feeling. I liked what one other group did – the heartbeat and lines to give an uncomfortable feeling gave us goosebumps as we listened to it."
Year 8
"I am very proud of myself for coming up with an original gesture, but also I am proud of my friend who tends to be shy at times but wasn’t today."
Year 8
"I learned how creative people are when you give them even 15 minutes."
Year 8