How We Do It

Lines and role allocation

Every one of our Drama Clubbers is different and has joined Drama Club for different reasons, so the exact content and difficulty of lines and language will be different for every group and for every child within the group.

We want to ensure that each child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential and, as such, we often operate on role-share basis. This means that several children may play the same role at different points in the play. This not only means that everyone gets a chance to shine, but it can also help the smooth running of rehearsals and the show if people are unable to attend. Finding stories with 16 equal parts is unlikely, so we ask that you support our allocation of roles and work with us to affirm that every part is important, and that often the smaller, character roles are those that steal the scene.

Our style is process-driven and rooted in physical theatre. This means the children themselves contribute many of the ideas, from the title of the play, through to staging and lines. It also means that we use very little in terms of scenery and props, which gives our Drama Clubbers creative scope to use their bodies and physicality to create scenery and props as a group as individually. This means that even if a Drama Clubber is not speaking in a scene, there is always a vital role for them on stage – they are not just ‘standing at the back’ waiting to talk.

Sometimes during the process parts of the play get changed, roles shifted around and sometimes lines get cut. If this happens, the Leader and Assistant will always explain to the child why decisions have been made and will reassure them that they will give them some more lines later on.

Our Leaders are experts at working with children and helping them find ways to remember their lines and if a child is having difficulty, they will always try and help them first and monitor their progress across a number of weeks. It is also worth noting that Drama Clubbers can often pick up extra lines, if they want them, through showing effort, good behaviour or the absence of other children.

Whilst we always encourage our Drama Clubbers to reach their potential and push themselves, we also want Drama Club to be fun. As such, we will always encourage children to take on some challenging lines and roles. Some children, however, do not want a big part and we will respect this wish from the child and our Leaders will work to find where their enthusiasm lies and give them opportunities to do that.

If you are concerned about your child’s role or lines, please talk to your Drama Club Leader or contact the Education Manager on 01865 761393 as soon as you are aware of a problem.

Scripts

We never use scripts for the 5 – 7s and we tend not to work with scripts for other age groups, however, some Leaders and Drama Clubbers prefer to have something written down. If your child is given a script, they will be given a little bit to learn each week, rather than a large chunk in one go or, alternatively a script towards the end of term, as an aid to what they’ve already learnt, rather than a script of new lines. Any scripts will be available to download from each Club’s webpage (see our timetable).

The final performance

Drama Club is twelve weeks long and final shows are usually in week twelve. The dates of the final shows are published in advance of the Drama Club term starting. You can find the dates of the final shows by visiting our timetable.

You are welcome to bring friends and family. We would very much appreciate it if you could attend the performances of all age-groups as audience members arriving/leaving between shows can disturb the children’s confidence on stage. We do not charge admission for these performances. Children should dress in black or neutral colours for the final show unless instructed otherwise by the Drama Club leader. Final shows will usually take place in the same venues as the Drama Clubs, although there may be opportunities for final shows to take place in different, exciting venues. We will give as much notice as we can if we are planning on moving the final shows.

If you know your child will not be able to make the final show, please let your Drama Club leader know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

It is quite common for some Drama Clubbers to be absent from the final show through illness, holidays or activity clashes. This is a situation our Drama Club Leaders are used to dealing with and all Drama Clubbers can enjoy a full and stimulating term of work, even if they won’t be there for the final show, as our Drama Clubbers spend eleven weeks developing acting skills, learning about classic literature and building confidence.

The sooner you let us know of any absence, the easier it will be for our Leaders to work around it. It can be frustrating for Leaders and groups, as well as parents and Drama Clubbers, if we find out in week ten or week eleven that a key member will not be able to attend the final show.

The penultimate session (week eleven) will usually be dress-rehearsal and parents are welcome to sit-in on that session, so they still get a chance to perform and parents will still get a chance to see their show.

We try to be as accommodating as we can be and on very rare occasions we can change the date of a final show if the majority of Drama Clubbers are unable to make the published date. Some days we have four or five groups performing straight after each other, and so we ask for understanding from parents that we cannot change the final show dates for individual Drama Clubbers.