On Tuesday 1 December the Drama Department played host to teachers from Gecko, a theatre company which specialises in Physical Theatre. Gecko are an award-winning and internationally-acclaimed physical theatre company, led by artistic director Amit Lahav. The company is an artist-led organisation, developing and delivering programmes of workshops for schools, which aim to improve participants’ physical, social and creative confidence, enhancing key performance and devising skills and expanding imaginations.
Head of Drama Mrs Jenny Nunes arranged the workshop, with the aim of encouraging pupils studying drama to develop outside-the-box thinking. Students who are preparing to take their GCSE, AS and A Level exams were invited to participate in the workshop, which took place across the entire day. By taking on a different type of drama, the pupils have the chance to try their hand at something innovative and unique, developing key skills in the dramatic arts that help to further their skills when devising original pieces, or when putting an original spin on an existing script.
Pupils managed to pack a host of different activities into the workshops; they worked on displaying fear and longing, and then aimed to move individuals into certain areas of the room without actually touching them. The pupils found the event exhilarating and stimulating; working on drama that is visual, visceral and ambitious proved a fantastic outlet for the imagination, and many felt inspired. It was particularly useful for the senior pupils, who are looking at the most inventive ways to portray a script for their A Level coursework. Mrs Nunes commented that ‘the students were really incredible – they were all so eager to get involved and really pushed themselves out of their comfort zone, trying something different. It will provide such a stimulus for them when creating inspiring and innovative theatre in their lessons.’
