November 2008 - British School Of Bucharest

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Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro BSB’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Summer 2008 Drama Notice Stage 3 and 4 Drama by Mrs. Fortune. Clubs running at BSB this term are: Key Stage 1 and 2 Drama run by Ms Doina Antohi Our Christmas production this year will be a play called Cinderella and Rockerfella. The production will involve both Key Stages 2 and 3. Shakespeare wrote “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for a cast of about 20 people. It is most likely that it never crossed his mind that it could be adapted for over 100 little people; children, that is. And to be honest, it hadn’t crossed my mind either. The rehearsals were eventful and there were times when I was not sure that it would all come together in the end. The result, however, was great. The lighting, the costumes, the great music and the spacious stage of “L.S. Bulandra” Theatre made all the difference; in the end, the children had a great time, the parents too, and all was well that ended well. Doina Antohi, Drama Teacher, September 2008 Here are some thoughts from the students who took part: “The rehearsals were fine but got a bit boring after a while. It was fun to be on stage during rehearsals. The night of the performance went very well and was well organised. Even though we made a few mistakes, I think everyone enjoyed it. My role in the play was Hypolita the Duchess who was marrying the Duke. I enjoyed doing it and found the part interesting. Overall I thought the play was great and I had a fantastic time.” Natalie, Year 7 “It took some time to put the scenes together and act it all over again from the top. However we had a great time talking about our parts. During the big night, I thought that I was doing the last rehearsal and there would be no need for panic. Meanwhile, backstage, all of us were excited, which made it difficult for us to concentrate. My role was Hermia. I think it was a really hard role to perform. It was hard to think about what kind of a girl she was. She was spoiled, innocent, and always did what she had in mind. At first I thought about her and read the whole script, imagined the story, created the effect in my mind. I would like to say that, if you get excited before performing, then just count to 10 and take deep breaths.” Polen, Year 7 “I liked the rehearsals very much. I enjoyed watching the others. During the night of the performance, I was afraid our group (The Apprentices) will forget something and we did. My name in the play was Starveling and I enjoyed it very much.” Matthias, Year 7 “Since I didn’t have a big part, it seemed like the rehearsals took forever. The night of the performance was a bit scary at first, but overall it was good. I would have liked to have a bigger speaking part.” Ana, Year 7 “The rehearsals were fun, because you got to see everyone else acting. The performance night was good; I sat near the stage and got to hear everyone say their part. But someone skipped a whole scene that night, and I thought that wasn’t fair. I was one of the narrators, and I had to dress up as a clown. It was fun being a clown.” Naomi, Year 7 “I think the rehearsals were really useful. Not everyone got to do their part in every rehearsal but it was still a lot of fun. The night of the performance was nervously awaited by all the students and staff. I was really excited to be performing the ‘real thing’ at last. I played Helena in the production and I thoroughly enjoyed playing such a wonderful character. I hope this year’s production is as good as last year’s.” Jennea, Year 7 Foundation Theatre: The Window Sill Foundation Stage Pipera worked really hard for weeks to learn and practice their lines, songs and actions for their production of ‘The Window Sill’. Alice (aka Christina) is a little child who is so small she cannot see over her window sill. She asks her shadow (aka Smaragda), the grass (Creche), the animals (Preschool) and the flowers (Reception) why she cannot grow as fast as they do. By the end of the production Alice has grown and can see over the sill. She is so happy and everybody sings about how one day they may be bigger than their audience! Our last rehearsal was incredibly successful and if you know anything about the theatre you will know that that is a bad sign! However, the children performed beautifully on the day. Well done Foundation Stage Pipera. Ms Angela Harvey, Head of Foundation The British School of Bucharest Magazine 20
Visit the BSB website at www.britishschool.ro The Drama Department Antoine and Daniel, 4K, developing conflict in Drama 4 K working as a team in Drama KS 1 Drama Club performing a Monster Story The Drama department focuses on creative development of students, providing the opportunity for different means of self expression. The classes take place in rooms that are different from what the children usually know: the furniture is limited to chairs that are not always used. Drama is about large, however intimate and comfortable spaces, surrounded by curtains and lightened by spotlights. The Drama lessons, often linked to literacy and history themes, are centered on types of games that develop abilities and skills meant to build on social and emotional intelligence. Drama activities start out by focusing on lengthening concentration span, as there are a lot of games that require prolonged and sustained attention. Some other activities stress self confidence and trust as main coordinates of a positive, confident self image; the children are encouraged to stand in the spotlight and speak and act out in front of peers; learning how to confidently speak in public, and express and illustrate one self beliefs and ideas in front of others becomes essential. Quite a great number of activities concentrate on team work and cooperation between members within the team. Children work together to fulfill several tasks and they learn to define their role within a group that has to reach a certain target. Most Drama activities are team oriented rather than hierarchical, pointing out the fact that each member has a highly important role when the group has to achieve a goal. Leading abilities are however highly encouraged, as a team always works best when led by someone the group trusts. As everyone is given the opportunity to lead, leading a team is another skill that Drama develops. What the team usually works toward is solving a problem together, in order to ‘save’ all the members of the group. Several solutions to the same problem are tried out; all ideas and approaches are encouraged, thus leaving room for creativity in problem solving. As a result, communication reaches its highest expression, as all children have to interact with each other in order to fulfill the given task; communication of different types is theorised and expressed: the children get to analyze and experiment meanings of body language, facial expressions and tones of voice. Drama challenges perceptions by getting children to use their senses differently than they usually do: recognizing someone by touching their hair, for example, while blindfolded, is a kinesthetic experience the children highly enjoy. Becoming another happens at a more complex stage, and teaches self control, discipline, tolerance, empathy, and understanding ideas and the way humans interact; ability to understand others’ motives and choices becomes critical. Through acting, children reach depth of understanding. All these happen in a safe atmosphere; children are confronted with different situations without experiencing the actual dangers, pitfalls, or consequences that those situations might imply. Drama traces the boundaries of a parallel reality where most socially forbidden gestures are allowed and encouraged. It is the safe way to go through situations that would otherwise be harmful, by getting to analyze consequences without actually experiencing them. This is where the educational power of Drama lies. But the bottom line of it all is that Drama is a lot of fun; as there is no right or wrong, all ideas, thoughts, and perspectives upon the world, are encouraged. Drama is basically the subject where ‘the world’s a better place when it’s up side down’. Ms Doina Antohi Drama Teacher for Foundation Stages and KS 2 The British School of Bucharest Magazine 21
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Page 11 and 12: The Music Department adds a little
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November 2008 - British School Of Bucharest

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