National Theatre Connections

On April 18th, a company of 12 drama students took part in their performance of 'What are they like?' by Lucinda Coxon at the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole.

National Theatre Connections is known as ‘the biggest youth theatre festival on the planet’ with over 1200 students taking part each year. Prior to the day, the school selected a script written by professional writers from the National Theatre in London and given the task to develop their own interpretation and performance. We had the opportunity to perform to a professional director, who came to our school for an evening performance and gain feedback on how we could develop the script further. On April 18th, we showcased our final performance to a live audience in a professional setting, the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole.

They day itself consisted of having a warm up workshop with Freelance Actor Tamsin, then a 3 hour Tech run in the theatre to set lighting and stage our piece to the space.

The script was all monologues, directly talking to the audience. The students were to play parents, expressing their concerns about raising their kids and comparing themselves to their own parents. Each character had their own issues and concerns with their children, such as discipline, body image and them leaving home. The performance was very abstract and never involved any of the cast members leaving the stage. It was an ensemble piece which involved plenty of choral work.

The day itself gave all students an incredible professional experience. One that I know myself, I will never forget.

All drama students would like to thank Mrs Smith for all of her hard work and giving us all one of the best experiences whilst at Highcliffe School.

Written by – Emma Weldon (Sixth Form Leadership Team - Performing Arts)

“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as it was so exciting to work with professionals from the National Theatre! The day itself was so fun; we all met lots of new people! All the hard work in rehearsals finally paid off”

- Donatella Butt, Year 13

“The entire day was an eye-opening introduction into the world of drama. We went from working with different drama groups, to team bonding activities, to a warm up as an ensemble, to performing on the stage with professional lighting. During that day, we didn't stop and I loved every minute of it. Some parts of the day weren't what we were used to, but you just need to dive into the experience and enjoy it. I don't think I'll forget this experience”

- Jenna Slade, Year 13

“Thank you very much to M C Taylor – The Clock Shop for loaning us a selection of clocks for the performance. Your support in this process has been invaluable and your clocks really brought our performance to life”

Mrs B Smith, Head of Drama

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Owned by: BSH | Last Published: 03/05/2016 12:23:04 | Next Update: NA