Drama for Schools

CREATIVE DRAMA
Develops life skills such us co-operation, communication, sensory awareness, it builds confidence and teaches us how to be creative.

THEATRE SKILLS
These workshops are directed at the art of performance, the play and the performer.

TAILOR MADE DRAMA AND THEATRE WORKSHOPS
Claque Theatre can work with the teacher, facilitator, and participants to develop a workshop or programme of work to meet the special retirements and needs of the group.

Theatre in Education Role Plays

An Interactive Dramatic Play
The group are invited to commit to a make believe world and encouraged to draw on their resources, knowledge and experience of the real world in order to tackle themes of conflict. Professional actors in character take them on an imagined journey by setting tasks, provoking action and stimulating discussion. The group may find themselves in the past living out a life as Victorian schoolchildren or in the present as refugees fleeing persecution or young offenders dealing with life in prison.

Living History
As with the interactive dramatic play, the group enter an imagined world and assume the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of people distanced from them in time and circumstance. The drama is played out in sites of specific historical interest. In Chatham Docks or on board the Victory at Portsmouth they become press ganged into Nelson's Navy or live out life below stairs in a stately home. The action of the drama is associated with the history of the site.

Theatre in a Week
A theatre director, designer, writer, stage manager, and musician work intensively with the group over six days to produce a play from nothing. The participants help devise the play, make the set and costumes with professional guidance. Plays are generally about something of the community in which the activity takes place. Ready in a week it's performed to an audience on the sixth night.

Work Related Learning

Work related learning uses drama in the context of work to develop skills and understanding useful in work; it is an essential part of preparing for adult life and fulfils many of the statutory curriculum requirements for 14-19 year olds. As well as developing specific skills these workshops aim to raise aspirations and self esteem.

Preparing for work
A workshop which demonstrates and offers a rehearsal for life in the workplace or work experience placements which can include some of the following elements:

• Tactics for the interview
• Dealing with bullies in the workplace
• Developing negotiating skills
• Building confidence
• The power of Body Language
• The uses and abuses of Status

Simulated Work Experience
Claque Theatre can offer a simulation Community Play Board Game. The board is laid on the hall floor and students playing in 'management teams' move round the board. Their objective is complete a large scale community Play arts project within budget and gaining as many community points as possible. Along the way the students will have to work collaboratively to respond to a variety of creative tasks and in deal with a range of problems, challenges and crises.
Alternatively Claque can work with the staff and students to devise simulated work days. These role plays could engage the students in a newspaper office, printers, Hospital or other work placements that interest the students. These bespoke role play workshops would require a series of planning sessions and research.

Enterprising Values
This workshop uses drama exercises, games and role play to develop creative thinking, spontaneity, risk taking and other enterprising values. The workshop helps students to not only develop new and necessary skills but recognise and appreciate the value of skills they already have. Developing an enterprising mind set helps individuals in the following ways:

• Alleviates fear of failure by capitalising on mistakes
• Turns dull people into brilliant people
• Turns negative people into positive people
• Improves interpersonal skills and encourages a life long study of human interaction.
• Builds your confidence and self awareness
• Shows you how to share and develop ideas in a team
• Makes you more creative encourages you to take the right kind of risks
• Releases latent talents
• Makes you proactive-makes things happen
  

Workshops & Courses for Teachers & Facilitators

USING DRAMA AS EDUCATION
It is a technique for intensifying and accelerating learning and is one of most powerful teaching tools available us. It can be used in a classroom for the understanding of literature, history, and even science. Drama puts us in "a rehearsal for life situation" so can teach us everything about anything. For teachers it can transform the way we teach and view education.

TEACHING CREATIVE DRAMA
Creative Drama is games and exercised based. They help to develop co-ordination, communication skills, sensory awareness, co-operation and trust. They teach us how to be creative. Games can be devised to meet the special demands and needs of individuals and the group.

THE ART OF THEATRE
Teaching that is directed at the art of the play, the performance and the performer. This can involve. Acting skills such as improvisation, mime, mask, performance styles, character, text, voice. We can also cover playwriting, design and directing.

If you want a workshop for your school

 
Costs need to be negotiated and depend very much on distance, length or number of sessions and the number of tutors or actors involved. As a rough guide we charge £150 for the lead tutor and £120 per one-off day for each actor plus travel. A role play seldom uses more than three actors.

Write to: Jon Oram. Artistic Director, Claque Theatre. 12 Apsley Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN4 8NU
Telephone: 01892 537034
Email: jon.oram@virgin.net