4 Saltus Stage
18 Drama Students recently enjoyed an exciting and rewarding trip to the Stratford Festival, where they went to evaluate productions for their GCSE and AS level coursework.
Events during the long weekend featured a tour of the Costume Warehouse offering an insight into the manpower required backstage to mount professional productions – 7 /8 backstage people to every actor!
In a lesson given by Ms. Kelly, students from each year group (10,11 and 12) learned about Brecht’s life and revolutionary epic theatre. This led to a stunning performance of Mother Courage by Brecht, which students then worked on the following morning for their evaluation Coursework.
A wild production of Alice through the Looking Glass and a very creative interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream the following day gave students an opportunity to experience two traditional plays in a completely new setting with 6 of our students having ringside seats and joining in the action on stage!
The Beaux Stratagem gave a good example of Restoration theatre and afforded an opportunity to provide the Historical context behind the playwright’s ideas.
Prior to the one musical on the trip, Crazy for You, talented Lighting student Ryan Day met with one of the longest standing professionals at Stratford, whom he shadowed for the final lighting check before being invited to follow the show from the lighting box. With over 500 lights to manage, it was a real eye-opener for him!
From there, a bus into Toronto enabled students to unwind and rejuvenate for the final day which was spent shopping and a visit to the City’s new Aquarium, which was well worth a visit. The last excursion was to watch the Blue Jays play the Seattle Mariners at the Rogers Centre – a unique and unforgettable experience and the singing all the way back to the hotel even more so!
Our students were a credit to their school and country and got so much out of this educational trip, that many are already asking to be included next year!