Cranford Review 2021

PERFORMING ARTS
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Students
feedback:
As part of the
Shakespeare project
I was a part of the
Beatrice group. We
had to portray them as
a group of mean girls
within the school. My
favourite part of the
project was to be able
to learn how to film at
different angles. Another time I enjoyed was at the guest
workshop. In the guest workshop we had to play many
interactive games. Even though this was via zoom, it was
an amazing experience. In this project, I think I overcame
things such as public speaking and was more comfortable
and confident in speaking and acting in front of everyone.
Ashvika Jaitly (year 8)
Throughout the term of doing the Shakespeare play I had
so much fun. I was the camera woman. I found it quite
easy to get the hang of it and ended up falling in love
with the concept. I still needed a bit of assistance here
and there but for the most part I was quite independent
and I liked having the freedom to use my imagination
throughout the term. Alongside this, I also learnt many
skills throughout and loved developing my skills more and
more each lesson.
The guest workshop was a little bit out of my comfort zone
as I had never really acted in this kind of way, however I
found it very useful. After the workshop I found it easier
to do my job as the camera woman as I could assist the
“actors” with what I thought looked nice based on the
skills that the practitioner had taught us.
Overall my experience was very positive and I enjoyed
learning the new skills each week. The skills which
I learnt will also help me in the future too. It was an
amazing opportunity and would recommend to anyone
who gets the chance to take it, it’s a lot of fun!
Caitlin Pyatt (year 9)
I played the role of Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon. My
favourite part was when we used to film separately. I
developed the skill of improvising as we didn’t have a
set script. I can use that now as in future auditions I
can improvise without a script. My favourite part of the
workshop was when we were thinking about what happens
next in the play.
Lakshay Mehra (year 8)
For this Project, year 8 and 9 students worked together to
perform Much Ado About Nothing for the Shakespeare in
Schools Festival. It was quite challenging to do so in the
middle of a pandemic yet it still was an enjoyable project.
My favourite part was working with my friends to plan
and film different scenes in the show. I think I developed
different skills revolving around acting and coming up
with new ideas. The workshop was very enjoyable and
helpful despite it being done virtually. My favourite part
was working with my friends on each of the different
scenes.
Syed Hassan (year 9)
I took part in the Shakespeare School Festival; the whole
experience was amazing and different. Our performance
was based on one of Shakespeare’s famous plays: Much
Ado About Nothing. As a part of this project, my teammates
and I worked on acting out and filming a modern version
of Benedict and his love for Beatrice. My favourite part
of this project was when we used the hot seat and asked
questions to really think about what our character’s
motive in the play was. I learnt many skills from being
there such as becoming more confident in myself and has
been very helpful to me. The guest workshop was such a
great time, even though our practitioner was teaching us
online. My favourite part was when we played all the fun
games and activities.
Tashmin Kaur (year 8)
I really enjoyed this experience because it has taught
me how to bring out my inner-self and my creativity.
My role in this particular project was mainly being the
camera woman. The reason why I really liked this job was
because I filmed the people who were in my group and it
was really fun. Being the camerawoman was awesome.
My favourite part of the project was when we reviewed our
videos and discussed them at the end of each lesson. The
skill that I developed was not to be nervous easily because
now I do not become shy whilst performing. My favourite
part of the workshop was the zoom call with Louie Keen
because he wanted us to unlock our creative mindset. I
really liked it because we had fun challenges, scenarios,
and little plays with our groups. But all together I really
liked the Shakespeare Festival because it was so much fun
and I learnt new things in drama. This is really a once in
a lifetime opportunity and I am hoping to do this again in
my life…….. ‘To Be, Or Not to Be? That Is the Question’.
Warda Abdillahi (year 9)
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