Making drama out of a crisis
The theatre director Peter Brook starts his influential book The Empty Space with the comment that for an act of theatre to be engaged , all that is needed is the observer , the observed and a stage for them to walk across . But with the enforcement of personal distancing and remote learning , the Drama department was left to wonder , ‘ How does one “ engage ” when the observer is forced to stay at home ?’
Our response was to work with students to create a host of new classes , projects , clubs and societies ; pupils across the year groups seized on these activities . Paul Harvey led a Year 8 club creating and listening to one another ’ s stories through classic games like Just a Minute and Story Cubes , and new approaches such as stories written in the chat box of Microsoft Teams . Penny Hargreaves led a radio drama club for students from Years 9 to 12 , who crafted a tale of a family holiday that has tragic consequences , challenging them to make the dialogue sound natural while allowing the subtext to resonate . Gavin Henry fronted the drama slam , a monologue workshop , while I led a group of young filmmakers through the art of mobile phone filmmaking .
Other teachers and practitioners explored the physical side of theatre . Clare Dunn led Chair Play ( pictured ), a devised choreographic experience which took inspiration from artists such as Pina Bausch , Frantic Assembly and Rosas . Students experimented with physical choreography , creative writing , fights with clothing , bowls of cereal , playing ‘ dead ’, and the constraints of the individual ’ s Zoom squares to create a playful narrative centred around a chair . Izzy Bogle , meanwhile , led a choreography club , working to produce a piece of movement based on the poem ‘ Don ’ t Quit ’ by John Greenleaf Whittier . Each week members learnt a new choreographic technique , from alphabet boxing to choreography with fingers , applying it to a different extract from the poem .
The students tackled online creativity head on , taking up opportunities to create with passion . The use of online tools , whilst becoming the observed , the observer and the stage , has brought out the resourceful and enterprising spirits in our students that is every teacher ’ s dream .
Karl Niklas
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2019-2020 45