Dragon Breath Theatre Gulliver R&D in schools presentation 24 oct 2011

Background information on how

Dragon Breath Theatre

work in schools

with young people

to develop our productions

and education programmes…

… followed by

the latest update on our work on Gulliver’s Travels,

our collaboration with

Curve, Leicester,

touring for schools’ and family audiences in summer 2012

Dragon Breath Theatre:

creating theatre with & for

young people

Cosmos - a Journey to the Stars

Age 4-6

2009

http://vimeo.com/26835013

Shortlisted Notts Creative Business Award

Shortlisted Theatre Centre/ Brian Way Young People’s

Writing Award

The Icarus Project

Age 13 +

2007http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5136278231276615441#

Shortlisted THES/ACE Excellence & Innovation Award

Shortlisted Theatre Centre/Brian Way Young People’s

Writing Award

Dragon Breath

Age 9 +

2004

Shortlisted Theatre Centre Brian Way

Young People’s Writing Award

Helping young people

to make sense

of the world…

…through theatre

and spectacle

We work through

collaborations between

artists, research

scientists,

university students,

children and teachers

…engaged in

‘Cycles of Shared Learning’

and creativity

Dragon Breath the play 2003-4

Working with children with EBD

Year 5-6

A play about

anger

and

rage

Children creating images for the performance

“Great Dragon” destroys one of

the Twin Towers

of a Medieval city..

Children creating characters

and dilemmas for the

performance

Current project:

Gulliver’s Travels 20011-12

TransitionLiteracyCitizenship

Year 5-8

A classic text made accessible

to a modern audience…

Developed in collaboration with school children…

Transition

Exploring the transition from being ‘big’ in one place…

…to ‘tiny’ in another

Following Gulliver’s travels to unknown

and strange worlds…

Creating their own imaginary islands…

To discuss fears and hopes of moving to

secondary education…

Glad to leave:

“Attitude – some children rude to teachers”“disgraceful boys”

“Unfair missing out on things”“Not strict enough”“School dinners”

“reading activities”“milk”

Sad to leave:

“Teachers (funny and kind)”“best mate”

“Sister/cousin”“School dinners – school bands”

“library/hall in a circle/sofas”“little ones in reception”

“play equipment”

Not looking forward to:

“Getting lost”“Detentions”“Homework”

“Yellows”“Making mistakes”

“Not understanding things”“Getting beat up/bullied/‘flushed’”

Looking forward to:

“Tougher challenges”“New people”

“Going down a new path”“Canteen and cookies”

Using the different languages

of theatre to stimulate learning…

Literacy

Engaging with poetic text in a dramatic context

as a stimulus for literacy…

e.g. poetic and narrative

structure,

persuasive texts,

diaries etc etc…

Citizenship

Using puppets to discuss

the moral questions in the story…

e.g. Gulliver under pressure

to ‘bully’ the ‘enemy’

in Lilliput…

“I am not a killer” “I don’t need to do what the Emperor says”“I could make a peace offering.” “He threatened me”“The Emperor is a bad man”“I’m a good doctor, not a bad killer|” “Gulliver should make his own decisions”

“If he killed them he would regret it and get upset, but he don’t want to risk his life”

“He should kill them to save himself”

Creative Development

Participating in the development of the imagery and choreography…

e.g. Brobdingnag –

‘small person in a big place’…

and exploring issues kinaesthetically…

e.g. the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos – ‘what it is to be a human?’

“I bet they have their own story to tell,

and there might be a reason they are mean

and cruel”

Year 5 child on the gang of Yahoos

Taking ownershipof the process

in the collaboration with artists

and the development of ideas…

Taking on a character’s role to help the artists

authenticate and validate the script

for the target audience…

…helping the artists develop

the characters and themes

e.g. responding to the role of ‘Molly’,

Gulliver’s daughter, as a way in which to

tell the story through a 9 year-old’s eyes…

Touching on important issues in children’s lives…

e.g.

Friendship and loyalty…

Loss…

role modelling,…

absent fathers…

family ties…

gender conflicts…

Peer pressure…

Returning to see a play in which

adults have listened to children,

reflecting their lives,and encouraging themto see the world anew

Using theatre to stimulate learning

and build community…

“The blending of children was remarkable –

we will gain out of this, 40 children will bond from this experience”

Chris HenleySouth Wigston College

Working with people for the first time

and taking risks…

“They were immersed in a story, empathising with Gulliver and Molly…this work will resonate

hugely…”

Chris SudworthArtistic Director, Corby Cube

Final

Leicestershire

R&D

October 2011

Responding to

and validating

the characters’

experiences

Exploring the

developing play text

through puppets

Exploring the

developing play text

through role play

Exploring the

developing play form

through shadow puppets

Coming soon…

Gulliover images by Fiona Richardson

Gulliver

Education Programme

Jan-June 2012…

Gulliver

outreach workshops

in schools…

Gulliver

Puppetry & Literacy CPD/Inset

for teachers at KS2 & 3

Gulliver

online teaching

resources…

http://www.curveonline.co.uk

http://www.dragonbreaththeatre.com/

inspire@dragonbreaththeatre.com