DRAMA SPACES - Youth Arts Programme

dramaspaces6 18/8/05 4:25 PM Page 5IntroductionUsing this manualThis manual can be read in a number of ways:• As a manual for an organisation to support a group of volunteers.• As a guide for youth workers who wish to develop their youth drama skills.• As a handbook for an individual worker who is considering using drama as a wayof working with young people.• As a supporting document to the Drama Spaces training course for youth workersrun by the National Youth Arts ProgrammeDesigning a drama workshop is like making a cup of tea in that the steps towards making a cup of tea aresimilar the world over, yet the individual cup of tea will be unique to the taste of its drinker.The bulk ofthis manual is made up of the ‘similar steps’. Each step in the design of a workshop is broken down into itscomponents, with serving suggestions offered both by Drama Spaces participants and myself.Read through the Cuppa Tea section and start to design a workshop. Hopefully, you will have enough ingredientsto flavour the workshop to your own taste.Other chapters contain further ideas by illustrating the variety of stimuli and techniques you can use to getthe workshop going in a direction of your choice. Further information on technical terms referred to in thetext, on the publications, facilitators and support organisations mentioned can be found in the appendixand glossary.Hopefully, it will be a source of ideas and will enable you to unlock your own and others’creativity throughdrama.Firstly, let’s consider what we’re talking about when we talk about drama.5