I was in a rut. Summer and holiday courses had always proved incredibly popular. Still, I could not get away from the nagging feeling that all I was doing was using similar material to that which I used in the weekly sessions, condensed into a two-week theatre project culminating in a performance watched by a handful of parents. There had to be a more interesting alternative. This final article in my series deals with more specialised projects. The ideas could be worked up over a term but are perhaps most suitable for intensive holiday courses.
ON SITE
Setting can greatly enhance the impact of a performance on actors and audience alike. This got me thinking, what if we were to produce a performance 'on location'? A friend of mine introduced me to the staff of the museum at Gunnersbury Park in Ealing, the London borough in which the group is based. We gained permission to use parts of the house and its 18th century landscaped garden to mount a site-specific performance loosely based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. The audience were led from location to location around the grounds.
The following year we tried something more ambitious. We had to devise a play in ten days based on the legends and tales of Ealing. This is less daunting than it sounds. The overall structure was pre-written for the participants with spaces left for scenes generated through improvisation.
For this project we were kindly offered the use of St Mary's Church, Perivale, the oldest building in the borough, which has sat on the banks of the River Brent since approximately 1140. The added advantage here was that many of the tales we drew on directly involved this building.
On our first group visit to the site I was slightly worried that not all of the participants would be engaged by the history side of the project. It didn't help that it was also raining, which precluded some of the outside activities. I needn't have feared, however, as one girl noticed that a memorial inside the church bore the same name as the road in which she lived. This prompted a search of all the other memorials and soon other people recognised surnames used for local roads, recreation grounds and schools. It was these links that provided the initial connection to the subject material.
The change of location helped bring a new sense of vitality to the summer project and certainly seemed to be enjoyed by the 90 or so spectators who gathered to watch on the final day.
A possible framework, and the model we used for the Perivale project, is as follows:
Day 1 A visit to the location and introduction to venue and source material. Exercises on storytelling and staging.
Day 2 At base. Follow-up session. Distribute scripts.
Days 3-4 At base. Improvisations.
Days 5-7 Rehearsals at base of scripted and improvised material/costume sourcing.
Day 8 Full dress run at base.
Day 9 Full dress run at location.
Day 10 Performance at location.
(Our days lasted from 10am to 4pm with one hour's lunch break.) This template meant that we only ever used the venue three times, thus minimising disruption at the site. Depending on your choice of location, however, you may be able to base the whole project on site.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
* Make sure that you have investigated your insurance and liability cover, from the point of view of your organisation and with the venue you are using.
* Complete a risk assessment to highlight potential dangers, both for when you are rehearsing there and for the final day when the audience is present.
* For the actual performance it helps to have additional ushers who have been briefed on the route and venue to facilitate ease of movement and field any additional problems that may crop up.
* Finally, if you are using any outdoor locations always have a wet weather alternative lined up.
Although a project of this nature can be fun in isolation, it could form a valuable reinforcement of an existing topic covered in school. The directions in which you could take an external project are almost limitless. For instance, managers of carefully selected local buildings could be asked if they are willing to host an event. The event could be based on the history of the building. Local customs could also be investigated. It could be a reminiscence-based project where the memories of others are used as source material for scenes. Through events such as these I have met many useful contacts. These projects can also foster good links within the community and other organisations.
TIE-INS
I do some sessions which tie in with specific events. Last year, for instance, I held a class based around Remembrance Sunday. A session like this has to have a dramatic hook to avoid becoming a repetition of what has been covered in class. I brought a genuine trench letter written by a soldier in France in 1916. This always provides a sense of endless fascination as most children have only seen these in museums and a competition usually ensues to read the handwriting (use photocopies!).
This connection with the source material could lead to simple exercises such as imagining that you are far away and homesick, writing a letter to your family. This exercise can then be expanded into a wartime context.
Some of the events described in the letters can then be enacted as scenes.
Tie-in sessions could be based on school visits, festivals, commemorations and a whole range of other stimuli. These sessions can also form a useful way of getting the participants to explore the consequences of an issue within a dramatic framework.
GUEST SESSIONS
Another possibility worth considering if you are looking for something slightly out of the ordinary is that of bringing in a guest to run a session on a theatre related topic which you have neither the time, resources nor expertise to run yourself. Over the years I have invited guest teachers to run sessions on musical theatre, stage fighting, make-up, costume and set design. 'Making friends' with your local theatre can be an important first step!
TIPS
* If the participants are paying directly for these sessions, make sure you have the numbers to warrant a guest teacher.
* Remember to check your guest teacher has been Criminal Records Bureau cleared.
One thing I have learned from teaching primary age children is that if I ask directly what kind of thing they would like to do, generally speaking they will say, 'Don't know'. I have been able to cover virtually any concept at some level, but the key is in the detail. I have to try to find that element which will interest them, capture their imagination and set the creative process in motion. I know that if I can achieve that, then the rest of the session will almost write itself.
Alex Marker co-ordinates the Questors Youth Theatre, a professional youth theatre in Ealing, London. He runs a school drama club in Neasden and has led drama-related workshops in other schools and colleges.
MY FAVOURITE GAME
STALKER
I call the final game in this series 'Stalker'. It has been nominated by Jahan, aged 11, who commented, 'I like it because I enjoy watching what other people are doing, but you have to watch your back as well. You have to watch everyone.'
* Everyone in the group finds a space in the room. Instruct all the participants to think of someone in the room that they must follow. They must not say who they are stalking, but keep it to themselves (I usually ask the participants to raise their hands to show that they have decided before starting the round).
* When I shout 'go' everyone has to shadow his or her chosen group member.
The idea is not to get too close to your quarry because they will cotton on to the fact that they are being followed and take evasive action. Equally, those following people had better be alert to the fact that they are also probably being trailed.
* When I shout 'freeze', the whole group must stop exactly where they are.
Anyone who can touch their intended victim from their frozen position, without taking a step, does so. Those who are touched have been caught and sit down at the side. Run further rounds until you have two winners.
Tips: You might need to encourage some groups to choose a different person to follow in each round. Surprisingly I have encountered very few participants who won't decide on a quarry before the round starts and who just lay their hand on the nearest group member when I say freeze. This is an advantage because the game relies upon the individual's honesty.
Occasionally you will find participants who have a somewhat creative interpretation of the instruction 'freeze', so you might have to introduce a 'more than two-steps after the command and you're out' rule. This game might not get them into MI5 but it makes a popular warm-up exercise.
