60-Minute Workshops for Stage 2
Shapeshifters
What makes a great actor?
The students learn foundational performance skills from our team of experienced actors. We model the attributes of a great actor for the class and students practice using their body and voice in clear and creative ways to communicate meaning to the audience. Students explore imaginary landscapes, characters, and emotions, developing their understanding of the multiple ways an actor can convey meaning verbally and non-verbally.
On The Spot
Guided by experienced improvisors, students engage in improvisation as a method of devising drama.
In this workshop, students are provided the opportunity to experience multiple forms of improvisation from immersive teacher-in-role activities to scene work. The students explore a range of comedic situations, inventing characters and stories in collaboration with their classmates. We experiment with voice and movement choices to represent a range of roles. The students work in pairs to devise scenes, applying the principles of improvisation to inspire their creativity.
What Happens Next?
Students explore dramatic tension as performers, scriptwriters and responders to develop their understanding of the energy that drives a compelling story.
The class is introduced to Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are. The students enact the narrative to identify the story elements that build tension. We use Sendak's story world to explore how tension can be conveyed by an actor. The students devise and rehearse a nail-biting deleted scene from Where The Wild Things Are, considering Space, Role, Time and Character to emphasise dramatic tension in performance.
Masks Of The Maya
Students step into role as expert archaeologists to uncover the vibrant dramatic traditions of the Ancient Maya.
The class investigates three real-world artefacts that provide clues to the lost theatre of the Ancient Maya. The students explore the symbolic power of animals and masks in Maya culture by embodying native animals and important social roles. Using traditional storytelling as inspiration, the class recreates the drama of Ancient Maya. Groups explore how Space, Role, Sound and Costume can be used to express cultural stories, bringing the ancient world to life in the classroom.
Junior Directors
Students use dramatic and production elements to represent vivid settings and situations on stage.
Alternating between the roles of actor and director, students explore the use of music, props and costumes to build dramatic meaning. We examine the dynamic illustrations in Shackleton's Journey by William Grill to understand how narrative is conveyed through images. Diving into the theme of 'Great Adventures', students work in groups to create adventure narratives inspired by real and imagined events. They combine production elements with space, role, and tension to stage their adventure in tableaux for the class.