Stories in Special Settings

Last summer I was able to take active story telling out of the classroom to sites which matched the themes and give  8-10 year old  children a chance to bring literacy to life. This is a  rich way to get to know local heritage and develop literacy skills at the same time! It really lights the fire of talent in young learners. One  8 year old boy  put  in his own way when he said

"I feel like I have jumped into a story"

All this was possible through the financial and administrative support of  Custom's House  South Shields . They are committed to developing a quality of arts practice in the Schools of North & South Tyneside. Four Primary Schools took part and they chose their own theme.

Each  had  three days of preparation developing their drama, dance and story telling skills before they had a day at an appropriate site.

We had two schools who wanted to work on a Roman theme and as the NE England has an impressive choice of  Roman sites we went to the nearest which happened to be Segadunum Roman Fort & Bath House managed by Tyne & Wear Museum Service. They were very lucky on the day,  not only were they able to see the bathhouse but also play out their dramas in the Museum surrounded by authentic relics and well reconstructed Roman history.

 Another school wanted a haunted house theme in an old country home. Seaton Delaval Hall had just opened again  to the public and once again we had the support of the staff, this time from National Trust, who gave us total access to the house and grounds for the day. We filled the Hall with the rich sounds of tales told, acted and explored.

 Even the chance to sit on a bale of straw to have lunch is hard to beat if you normally live in a city!

The South Shields School had  tales of the sea for their theme so we all went to Souter Lighthouse Whitburn for the outing. This was perfect as the National Trust  team were geared up for school visits and as well as climbing to to top of the lighthouse and re-enacting life in Victorian lighthouse, we visited the cliff coast. However the highlight was creating their own pirate story outside on the climbing frame with the backdrop of the North Sea.

Nothing can replace this live and expressive experience of language. I would love to hear from similar projects as I am sure there are many to learn from.

Thin Ice

This particular Thin Ice is Antarctic and Scott's memorable early expedition. The subject could not be more relevant with issues of possible oil exploration in the Southern Ocean becoming news again. 

I have joined the award winning Shoofly Publishing team to work on producing an IT educational resource. My task is to help guide the sixth form students of Cramlington Learning Village in the production of 6 video dramas using the script Anne Curtis has devised.

Two weeks ago we met for the first drama session. They launched into character with exercises devised to get into the skin of the great explorers and adventures of early 20th century.
Here is an example of using breath to develop the emotional material in the script.

The language of the age was distinctive and using flash cards as a prompts we 'acted out' the distinctive manner of delivery characteristic of Edwardian Britain.Some of the expressions were completely new to the sixth formers which shows how  rapidly language changes and makes sense of the expression 'history is another country'.

But the 'greater game is ahead' as we tackle the filming of the video this week. We want their ideas to lead the process to get the most out of the challenge,while  I want to get the most out of the students. One of the gems of working through drama  is the way it opens doors to understanding and there is a host of 'learning' here for us all!
 Antarctic is as much about the past as it is about the present and the future, brought alive by the stories of the men who braved the southern ocean in their quest for answers. They have left a rich source of situations, language and images which may be of use when interpreting the script.
 link to  Shooflypublishing.wordpress.com

'A lesson from Heroic Age of Travel'

We started to work on the script preparing with understanding the concept of the conditions faced by the explorer using role play and drama exercises as a group.

It was great to see how focused the students were going straight into the script using their own
 understanding of the story and including a rich variety of accents and vocal delivery. We are ready for some recording

And just like a tip of an ice burg behind the scenes the Administrative team have been busy working on marketing  material. They even went so far as fun raising with a cake bake selling  initiative towards funds for the Dundee site visit and other ideas they are developing.

I am thrilled they have entered into the spirit of the challenge . .....and of course it is still fun!

The team have divided the responsibilities for the project to allow individuals a chance to develop there particular interests and enhancing the quality of the  product. we now have a full production team of: Director/filming crew/ Presenters/ Marketing /finance/administration/costumes and acting roles.

We are lucky to have a state of the art recoding studio in School and this has given the team some hands on experience in handling the technology of filming as well as the performing arts skills. Young agile minds have quickly taken to this challenge!

 

 

One of the ways we were able to give authenticity to the experience of making  a film was a trip to the Discovery ship and museum in Dundee. At the heart of the  theme is the first Heroic Journey of Scott's Discovery and the experiences of those early Polar adventurers. This offered a valuable engagement with history and a time to think about the extraordinary achievement of those early scientists and adventurers. Being able to stand on the bridge of Scott's ship, sit in the officer's mess or handle the early 20th century instruments all helped to give relevance to the project and huge sense of privilege to be able to pass this knowledge to others.

All this was made possible through the support of the Discovery Museum staff who have taken a personal interest in the development of work. They are keen to add the results to their educational resource which gives even more motivation to produce  fine results. 

This project is not just about the past as it asks questions about the future and our  understanding of the ecology. There is a fine balance of needs, verses the environment which is already affecting the survival of the last great wilderness on earth. The script  opens up the debate  through the medium of dramatic story telling. The theme is full of irony as we worry about oil to heat humans from a frozen land!

So we continue to make this film work on as many different levels as we can. Of course all this has to fit in with the rigors of the School timetable, the staffs time constraints and the pressures of young A level student to prepare for one of the most challenging times of their careers. A quote from Shakelton might give us all the right resolve:

"I hold that a man should strive to the utmost for his life's set prizes"

New Year new Blog

Here at the ice cutting edge of a New Year I take on the challenge of condensing into a blog what I love to do and thankfully have made a career with. So with a pixel of fairy dust I will show some photos and a little of the  'why?'......
explore language...........take risks........... excite  the imagination...
A philosohpy..
Joseph Campbell  has always made  sense to me (maybe because he was married to a dancer!) he  wrote once "what people hunger for most is a sense of being alive" that sparkle which we sing and dance to and the world that comes to life with the stories in our head.
The great thing in storytelling is it contains every shade, is a journey we can explore, language that can excite the imagination, hang information on, take risks with and be beautiful all at the same time.

Some of that magic dust ...children telling Creation Myths in dance drama at The Custom's House 2003

I love to keep exploring different ways of sharing story telling with others sometimes  giving children a chance to perform know stories or get the confidence to tell their own! The above  was from a storytelling festival we created NorthTyneside in 2009 (with the support once again of  the Custom's House) to give over 200 children a chance to dance, act, sing and tell stories. They also had a wonderful opportunity to have workshops with talented artists such as Curtis Jobling of 'Bob the Builder Fame', 'Sandra Kerr' co writer of the much loved Bagpuss, puppet masters from Puppet ship and Northumberland muscian and story teller Margaret Watchorn.

Now to the future....

As we to look into 2011 fully aware we will have to work harder to offer these opportunites to young people it seems to me even more important to share with you some ideas, plans and projects. So a new challenge for me...blogging, a new story to share in the best way possible

eye to eye........ mind to mind ..................and heart to heart