18/3/2014

Youth Theatre – Week 3

Week three and I lead the session this week as Tom is now into rehearsals for Home Sweet Home. Big thanks to Ellen McAuslan and Sidrah Riaz, both of whom are working with us at the moment and heroically stepped in at the last minute to assist me.

As it was my first session leading, I decided to take it back to basics and play some games. We played ‘Ninjas’, ‘Grandmother’s Footsteps’, ‘Winking Murder’ and many more! I had forgotten how competitive I can get playing drama games and was pretty knackered after about, oh, five minutes!

I talked about ‘back to basics’ with the group and realised in doing so that actually, finding the game in the game is the thing.  PLAYING really is the thing for me. And we discussed how important it is for actors to keep their instincts sharp and at the ready, and how games help us to be in an alert almost transcendental state. Plus they are fun.

So I had fun, and the group had fun.  As the young people are coming from different groups, I want to work on creating a comfortable collective which is still open to new arrivals.  I’ve decided to hold next week’s session on inclusion and exclusion and how we show those states.