ISTA/Scene March 07

ISTA
PROFILE
The ISTA Consultancy Service...
By Doug Bishop, Taipei American School and ISTA Board of Trustees
It took me years to recognize the
obvious: I can’t know it all; however, I
can get stuck in a rut. Although ISTA
festivals and TAPS helped expose
some students to other professionals
and expertise, the majority didn’t get a
chance. The ISTA consultancy
programme has proven to be a
godsend to address this need.
I remember becoming a more
vocal proponent of the idea of bringing
expertise home several years ago
when rising travel costs and perceived
danger caused increasing numbers of
my students to reject a trip abroad.
However, with the consultancy
programme, the expert came to us.
The beauty of this arrangement is
simple: instead of traveling to an event
set up by someone else, my students
stayed home and attended events
tailor made for them.
In January 2005, Greg Pliska
visited the Taipei American School for a
week long consultancy, as we
embarked on a script devising project
called Moxie, to raise funds for a
tsunami-relief effort. Greg helped
theater classes begin the process of
developing script ideas; he worked
with mythology classes on adapting
stories to the stage; he worked with
HS and MS play casts in character
development; he worked with teachers
after school on weaving drama
techniques into the classroom. His
work was a wonderful jumpstart to the
Moxie project, our production process,
and the second semester.
Two years later, in November 2006,
Sherri Sutton spent three days
presenting a very diverse range of
events. Her IB Theater class work
centered on styles; she also had
individual conferences with my six year
2 students about their research
commission. With beginning theater
and advanced English classes, Sherri
worked on both ensemble building and
character building. She developed
specific lesson plans with teams of
grade 6 and 9 humanities teachers,
while offering two open after school
improvisational theatre comedy
workshops, as well as meeting with
the cast of Woody Allen’s God to begin
the character building process. Sherri
left a wake of enthusiasm and energy.
In both cases, my kids and I felt
we’d been on holiday. The routine was
broken. New energy was palpable.
The ripple effects across the
school˜through teachers, through
theater students, through non-theater
students was certainly noticeable.
Thus, not only did my students and I
get a wonderful boost through the
experience but the status of theater
was raised in the eyes of the
community.
I can hear your thoughts: yes,
there are obvious advantages, but it is
pricey. True, expertise has a price. I
couldn’t have afforded it out of an
annual budget, to be sure. Unless you
have a very generous administration,
you probably need to do as I have:
seek help from your school’s support
groups. In my case, the PTA has been
amazingly generous in its efforts to
provide students and the community
with as much enrichment as possible –
particularly in the arts and writing.
Here we have a chance annually to
submit proposals to the PTA for
funding. For both Greg and Sherri, I
submitted a proposal in the spring of
the year before. Often, you can
connect with ISTA staff who will be at
an ISTA event in your region, saving
travel costs. For example, Greg went
on after Taipei to Michael Thomas at
Pattaya in Thailand, and Sherri stayed
on a day for a consultancy with the
Taipei European School, reducing
costs for both schools.
By early March, ISTA will publish
sites for next year’s events. Check
them out. Contact Sally Robertson
about a potential consultancy that
piggybacks on another event. Prepare
those funding proposals this spring...
and next year you will reap the benefits
of expertise that energizes both your
students... and yourself!
Go to www.ista.co.uk >
consultancies for more
information.
...geared up to help you
on home ground
Scene | 2006-7 March Issue 3 | 29