W


DRAMA EXPERIENCES


Donmar Warehouse T


he Year 10 Drama students and a selected handful of Year 9 students, had an incredible 12


hour intensive opportunity working with the Donmar Warehouse over the course of four weeks.


Only four schools across London were selected to take part. The students were were given the chance to work with practitioners and directors from the West End and create their own 15 minute piece of theatre based on the performance of the Berberian Studio, which was then being performed on the Donmar Stage.


Students attended workshops after school, and in London, and watched the performance of ‘Berberian Studio’ live on stage. They also had the opportunity to speak to the cast and the director afterwards. They were particularly


inquisitive about how they get ‘into character’ and learning about the characters thoughts and feelings behind the lines.


Students learnt how to use fruit and vegetables to create sound effects – such as snapping a piece of celery slowly, sounds like breaking bones. It was gruesome, but they had great fun and were so creative.


For some of the students this was their first experience of being in a theatre. They experienced a technical rehearsal (lights and sound) and a dress rehearsal (putting on their costumes) on stage under pressured circumstances. They were incredibly professionally and took direction and last minute changes and suggestions with complete ease, creating a very slick performance. Their piece was very dystopian, a world where children’s


voices were being stolen in order to feed the adults. There were moments of terror and comedy – Especially when Aidan ended up eating an entire doughnut in one mouthful, on stage.


The students acted with complete professionalism, and certainly made us proud. So much so, that we treated the Year 10 Drama students to a trip to see ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ before it closed on the 27th


April! They have been working


exceptionally hard with rehearsals for their upcoming exam in June worth 40% of their GCSE, so this was the best way we could think of further inspiring them.


Needless to say, the late night took its toll, but they were talking about it weeks later, and have even managed to use some of the things they saw in their own devised performances - how exciting!


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