Primary

Foundation have been on a very exciting adventure into space this term meeting astronauts and aliens! They have been on a trip to the moon where they had to practice moving in slow motion and have also had a picnic with some aliens where they had to practice speaking aloud in front of the whole class.

  

Oak class have been on a fun trip to a treasure island this term to explore with some mermaids & pirates. They have been focusing on developing characters and using new techniques such as hot seating and mime. They have even had a go at designing their own characters that they had to bring to life!

    

Willow class have been working on exploring emotions through drama this term. They have been learning how to read facial expressions and body language. As well as using dramatic techniques like freeze frames, students will be learning more about stage directions and how to take direction on stage.

Pine class have been using drama to help with real life problems! They have been looking at different scenarios each week, like solving friendship differences, saying no politely and coping with change. They have been getting to grips with some very grown-up concepts really well and have made some excellent progress!

Elm class are currently working on a Theatre in Education (TIE) performance that they will perform for Primary students. The performance teaches the younger students “How to be a good friend." They have come up with scenarios by themselves and written the script. Foundation are very much looking forward to their performance.

Beech class have been exploring world theatre this term, starting in Ancient Greece, visiting Italy to examine Commedia dell'arte and even taking a trip to Africa to look at some traditional storytelling. It has been a whistle-stop tour of some very exciting theatrical styles and good fun experiencing different cultures.

    

Secondary

Earth class have been focusing on theatre design this term, exploring costume, hair and makeup, set, lighting and props. They have really taken to the role of designer and have come up with some excellent ideas.

  

Mars class took a trip back in time this term and transformed into World War 2 evacuees. They have each been given a character profile and have had to sustain some long-form improvisations and not come out of character. They have acted out being in a bunker, taking the train ride to the countryside and arriving at new homes with host families. They have really worked on the key transferable skills that Improvisation gives you, in the form of collaboration, problem-solving, listening, communication and coping with change!

In addition, they were lucky enough to take part in a voice-over and radio acting workshop with actor Alana Ramsey, where they thoroughly surpassed themselves!

  

Mercury: Mercury have been creating a piece of Verbatim Theatre this term, where they have had to interview real people about topics of their choice (The use of AI in war & the new law on smoking and vaping), record the answers and then create a script based on this. They are working to make the piece a powerful and authentic theatre.

This term, Year 9 students from Neptune and Saturn classes have been working on a non-naturalistic devised piece of theatre based on a stimulus. The stimulus they were given was a creepy photo of a circus and their genre is horror. They have been using techniques inspired by theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht and have created some truly gory and fantastically hideous story lines with weird and whacky creations. It is wonderful to see them tapping into their creative thinking and creating characters and scripts of their own accord.

Drama Block 3: Year 10 started the term with a live theatre review of their outstanding performances from Bugsy Malone. Part of their course requires them to critically evaluate their work and reflect on how they would improve their performance if they were to do it again. In addition, they had a fabulous opportunity to take part in a voice acting and radio workshop with actor Alana Ramsey. They had a go at recording some voice-overs and radio adverts and even came up with some character voices. They did a superb job and Alana was so impressed with them!