dragon breath theatre gulliver r&d in schools presentation 24 oct 2011
DESCRIPTION
Background information on how Dragon Breath Theatre work in schools with young people to develop our productions and education programmes…… followed by the latest update on our work on Gulliver’s Travels , our collaboration with Curve, Leicester, touring for schools’ and family audiences in summer 2012TRANSCRIPT
Background information on how
Dragon Breath Theatre
work in schools
with young people
to develop our productions
and education programmes…
… followed by
the latest update on our work on Gulliver’s Travels,
our collaboration with
Curve, Leicester,
touring for schools’ and family audiences in summer 2012
Dragon Breath Theatre:
creating theatre with & for
young people
Cosmos - a Journey to the Stars
Age 4-6
2009
http://vimeo.com/26835013
Shortlisted Notts Creative Business Award
Shortlisted Theatre Centre/ Brian Way Young People’s
Writing Award
The Icarus Project
Age 13 +
2007http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5136278231276615441#
Shortlisted THES/ACE Excellence & Innovation Award
Shortlisted Theatre Centre/Brian Way Young People’s
Writing Award
Dragon Breath
Age 9 +
2004
Shortlisted Theatre Centre Brian Way
Young People’s Writing Award
Helping young people
to make sense
of the world…
…through theatre
and spectacle
We work through
collaborations between
artists, research
scientists,
university students,
children and teachers
…engaged in
‘Cycles of Shared Learning’
and creativity
Dragon Breath the play 2003-4
Working with children with EBD
Year 5-6
A play about
anger
and
rage
Children creating images for the performance
“Great Dragon” destroys one of
the Twin Towers
of a Medieval city..
Children creating characters
and dilemmas for the
performance
Current project:
Gulliver’s Travels 20011-12
TransitionLiteracyCitizenship
Year 5-8
A classic text made accessible
to a modern audience…
Developed in collaboration with school children…
Transition
Exploring the transition from being ‘big’ in one place…
…to ‘tiny’ in another
Following Gulliver’s travels to unknown
and strange worlds…
Creating their own imaginary islands…
To discuss fears and hopes of moving to
secondary education…
Glad to leave:
“Attitude – some children rude to teachers”“disgraceful boys”
“Unfair missing out on things”“Not strict enough”“School dinners”
“reading activities”“milk”
Sad to leave:
“Teachers (funny and kind)”“best mate”
“Sister/cousin”“School dinners – school bands”
“library/hall in a circle/sofas”“little ones in reception”
“play equipment”
Not looking forward to:
“Getting lost”“Detentions”“Homework”
“Yellows”“Making mistakes”
“Not understanding things”“Getting beat up/bullied/‘flushed’”
Looking forward to:
“Tougher challenges”“New people”
“Going down a new path”“Canteen and cookies”
Using the different languages
of theatre to stimulate learning…
Literacy
Engaging with poetic text in a dramatic context
as a stimulus for literacy…
e.g. poetic and narrative
structure,
persuasive texts,
diaries etc etc…
Citizenship
Using puppets to discuss
the moral questions in the story…
e.g. Gulliver under pressure
to ‘bully’ the ‘enemy’
in Lilliput…
“I am not a killer” “I don’t need to do what the Emperor says”“I could make a peace offering.” “He threatened me”“The Emperor is a bad man”“I’m a good doctor, not a bad killer|” “Gulliver should make his own decisions”
“If he killed them he would regret it and get upset, but he don’t want to risk his life”
“He should kill them to save himself”
Creative Development
Participating in the development of the imagery and choreography…
e.g. Brobdingnag –
‘small person in a big place’…
and exploring issues kinaesthetically…
e.g. the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos – ‘what it is to be a human?’
“I bet they have their own story to tell,
and there might be a reason they are mean
and cruel”
Year 5 child on the gang of Yahoos
Taking ownershipof the process
in the collaboration with artists
and the development of ideas…
Taking on a character’s role to help the artists
authenticate and validate the script
for the target audience…
…helping the artists develop
the characters and themes
e.g. responding to the role of ‘Molly’,
Gulliver’s daughter, as a way in which to
tell the story through a 9 year-old’s eyes…
Touching on important issues in children’s lives…
e.g.
Friendship and loyalty…
Loss…
role modelling,…
absent fathers…
family ties…
gender conflicts…
Peer pressure…
Returning to see a play in which
adults have listened to children,
reflecting their lives,and encouraging themto see the world anew
Using theatre to stimulate learning
and build community…
“The blending of children was remarkable –
we will gain out of this, 40 children will bond from this experience”
Chris HenleySouth Wigston College
Working with people for the first time
and taking risks…
“They were immersed in a story, empathising with Gulliver and Molly…this work will resonate
hugely…”
Chris SudworthArtistic Director, Corby Cube
Final
Leicestershire
R&D
October 2011
Responding to
and validating
the characters’
experiences
Exploring the
developing play text
through puppets
Exploring the
developing play text
through role play
Exploring the
developing play form
through shadow puppets
Coming soon…
Gulliover images by Fiona Richardson
Gulliver
Education Programme
Jan-June 2012…
Gulliver
outreach workshops
in schools…
Gulliver
Puppetry & Literacy CPD/Inset
for teachers at KS2 & 3
Gulliver
online teaching
resources…
http://www.curveonline.co.uk
http://www.dragonbreaththeatre.com/