 Fairytales are great for use in all different areas of the curriculum. For English you can create a storyboard of events for a fairytale, in Maths use magic beans as a counting aid, in Geography you can create a map for Hansel and Gretel to find their way back home.
Fairytales can be used in drama in a variety of different ways.
60 Second Fairytale – Split your class into smaller groups and give them 15 minutes to create their own 60 second version of a well known fairytale. Time the productions!
Fairytale Mix Up – Ask your pupils to put their favourite fairytale characters and place them into the wrong fairytales, allow them to mix it up, improvise and have fun.
On the Hot Toadstool – Pick a Fairytale character like Cinderella and either get a pupil or use Teacher in Role (the teacher assumes a role in relation to the pupils) to play the character who is on the Hot Toadstool. Get the group to ask the characters questions to find out how they are feeling, why they are behaving in a certain way.
If you would like to learn more way to work with your class on fairytales, why not get us into your school to do a Fairytales drama workshop?
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Want to work in theatre, but don’t want to be an actor? You’re in luck because there are a mulitude of roles suitable for a range of individuals.
Froma actors agents to artistic directors, Front of House, stage management, props and costume making, directing, producing, arts administration, management, education, writing, designing, composing – there are actually more jobs off the stage than on it.
Luckily there are lots of resources available to find out which role will suit you best.
Have a look at the Get Into Theatre website for a more in depth look at different theatre roles.
There is also a great book from Susan Elkin who is a longstanding Education and Training Editor for The Stage called So You Want To Work In Theatre? The gives clear descriptions of different jobs, what training you need to get them and further reading and useful websites. There is also a really useful section about acting in case you decide that is the route you want to take! This book is really useful for young people thinking about going into the theatre.
 The acting team in rehearsals We get a lot of CV’s from young actors wanting to work for us. For me the first notion I had of acting came from watching a Road Safety drama workshop at primary school and realizing that these people were having enormous fun – and it was their job! I also had a great primary school teacher who led us through some great drama games where we became pirates and fairies and had an amazing time. When I was about ten we had to write an essay about what we wanted to be when we grew up and I wrote that I wanted to be an actor. After I left university and realized that I could be an actor and educate children at the same time things just became perfect.
To be an actor you need energy, intelligence, imagination, intuition, determination, drive, refusal to be beaten, resilience and awareness of self and others. Of course if you have all these things you’re should be a saint rather than an actor! Acting is very, very hard work. It can also be the most rewarding job you will ever have. Especially when working with young people who are the most demanding audience of all and who will give you the most honest and overwhelming (either good or bad!) responses to your work.
To all those people who send in your CV’s asking what skills you need to work in TIE? You need to be a talented actor, you need to love working with children and you need to believe in using theatre to educate and entertain, build self-esteem, explore creative potential and develop communication skills. Anyone else need not apply.
Alison – Artistic Director
Globe Education have produced a resource on A Midsummer Night’s Dream which is aimed for students at Key Stage 3 and 4. It contains the entire script with a range of exercises for rehearsals , actors’ comments and full colour photos from three productions at the Globe.
A useful glossary runs alongside the script as well as information about the play’s context and questions for students to think about. The volume brings the play to life for the reader while providing the teacher plenty of ideas for exploration through action, discussion and rehearsal.
Available for £7.99 for Amazon.co.uk
We have some great Shakespeare Play in a Day and Shakespeare drama workshops for schools so why not take a look?
Here at Act On Info we really value the art of storytelling and often use interactive storytelling within our literacy drama workshops. Traditional Arts Team with the support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has produced an invaluable resource aimed at helping professionals working with young people to engage and educate young people between 13 – 25 in the ancient art of storytelling.
It contains warm up games, a wide range of activities and a useful section of advice and a book and resource list. There are photographs throughout the book to help clarify explanations.
Written and produced by a team of professional story tellers who are responsible for the Young Storyteller of the Year competition . There are some old favourite drama activites and some new ones that are all written with storytelling in mind.
This resource is free to all youth, education and library organisations. Full details can be found at www.tradartsteam.co.uk/Pass-It-On.html
 Welcome back to the Summer Term everyone! We had to battle through the wind and rain to get to Act On Info Towers this morning, but we shan’t let the weather defeat us as we’re so glad to be back in school doing what we love best – delivering drama workshops.
This half term it appears it’s all about Pirates! Aaaarrr me hearties. Our Pirate Captain has left his empty ship and is searching for a new crew – the last one was eaten by a sea monster! We’ll be finding out which Key Stage 1 pupils are brave enough to join us on our sea going adventure and who can find the Treasure – X marks the spot!
With this in mind here are some excellent Pirate facts:
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Pirates believed that wearing pierced earrings would improve their eyesight
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When a pirate said “shiver me timbers” it was actually a request for another pirate to shave his back.
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The combination to Davy Jones’ Locker was left 30, right 21, left 8.
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Maps with X’s to mark the spot weren’t really used; pirates would simply remember where they left their treasure and communicate it to others through the creative medium of dance.
Please note: Some of these facts aren’t true shipmates, but while you were reading them our Pirate Captain has stolen your ship – aarrrrr!!
Click here for more information on our Pirate Drama Workshops or get in touch using our quick enquiry but be prepared to walk the plank!
 We have been working on a fantastic project about Forced Marriage since September which came to fruition this Monday with the Free 2 Choose 2013 Conference held at Manchester University. A collaborative project between Manchester City Council, the CPS, the Home Office, Manchester Women’s Aid, G.M.P Safer Schools Team and Act On Info amongst others, the conference, delivered to young people from four schools in the Manchester area was a great success.
Forced Marriage is when either a boy or girl is forced into marrying someone against their will. This happens through the use of emotional blackmail, threats or violence or even being tricked into a situation where they feel they have no choice. Forced Marriage is a violation of human rights that affects young people from a variety of different cultures. There is often the misguided belief that forced marriage is to do with religion. There is no major religion in the world that supports forced marriage. Whatever their religion or culture, whatever their family says, however old they are and whatever their sexuality, ability or disability everyone has the right to choose who to marry.
For this conference we used our theatre play – Promise Me to create a forum for debate, inviting the young delegates to explore, express and evaluate their opinions an d attitudes to Forced Marriage. The young people attending the conference were amazingly mature about the topic and an intelligent and very lively (!) debate was stimulated through our use of forum theatre. It is brilliant to think that these young people now know enough about the topic to be able to be ambassadors against Forced Marriage. We were also really impressed by the young people’s performances in the form of comic storyboards, spoken word poetry and theatre pieces, so congratulations to the pupils from Levenshulme High School, Burnage High School, Manchester Academy and Whalley Range Girls School for such a brilliant show.
Despite Forced Marriage being a big problem there is a lot of help out there. If you feel under threat or suspect you or someone close to you is at risk, please get help from
Forced Marriage Unit –Tel: 0207 7008 0151 or Email: fmu@fco.gov.uk
If you are in immediate danger of being taken out of the country please dial the police – 999
Teamwork, Focus, Rhythm Warm up
Human Machine
Any size group.
 This is a great drama game that encourages a group to work together. Get everyone in a circle, they can choose whether to stand or sit. One person starts by making a movement that goes from the person on their left to the person on their right. This is accompanied by a sound. This movement and sound is repeated from left to right, until a rhythm is heard and seen.
The person on the right then makes a different motion that continues on from the motion presented to them. For example – if the first person has made a movement as if they are picking something up on their left and dropping it in the air over the person on their right then that person needs to make their own movement catch the object being dropped over them so they can continue the motion. Eventually, everyone in the circle will be receiving and passing an imaginary object around the circle with repeated movements and sound.
If working with younger children start by using a real object, a ball or beanbag which will help them imagine the object and keep track of where it is in the circle. With older children your can develop this into looking at other areas of the curriculum, build a repeated number pattern into it for maths, or use it to describe factory conditions for the Victorians.
We know that it’s March but we are already thinking about April when we will be concentrating on our Road Safety drama workshops – beep beep! Also, don’t forget to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday on the 23rd April with a Shakespeare drama workshop or Shakespeare Play in a Day!
Teamwork Warm up
Hoola-Hoopla!
Materials – One hoola-hoop!
Medium-large group.
 Everyone stands in a circle holding hands. A hoola-hoop is placed on one person’s shoulder so that it is resting on their right or left shoulder at the top and is in between their legs at the bottom. Without letting go of hands – pass the hoola-hoop all the way around the circle. Encourage the group to cheer-on their group members.
Individuals can help their neighbours get the hoop up and over them by lifting their arms or lowering them closer to the floor. Its fun and the group gets very excited after they have managed to get it all the way round!
Alternately, to make it more about concentration – time how long it takes them to do it, then try to beat the time as a group.
We know that it’s March but we are already thinking about April when we will be concentrating on our Road Safety drama workshops – beep beep! Also, don’t forget to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday on the 23rd April with a Shakespeare drama workshop or Shakespeare Play in a Day!
Imagination and Physical Warm up
Explore Your Environment
Works with any size group.
 Start the group walking around the space in a random fashion (not a circle or all in one direction). Once everyone has explored the physical space – change the setting.
“You are no longer in this room – now you are in the Arctic the wind is biting, snow sticks to your eyebrows, pull your coat tighter around you it but it just keeps getting colder, your nose is running as all your bones start to freeze and SUDDENLY you have become a frozen statue.”
Continue to change the setting, environment, temperature, situation, etc. A great way to get children into “play mode”.
At the end of this game you can then use another game to get them to imagine they are in a beautiful setting, a park or a beach, surrounded by friends they haven’t seen in a long time. Get everyone to approach everyone else in the group with a warm smile, a handshake and a lovely greeting e.g. “It’s so nice to see you!”. This encourages group involvement and respect for others.
We know that it’s March but we are already thinking about April when we will be concentrating on our Road Safety drama workshops – beep beep and Shakespeare – don’t forget to celebrate his birthday on the 23rd April with a Shakespeare drama workshop or Shakespeare Play in a Day
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Wednesday, June 19, 11:58 am
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Fairytales are great for use in all different areas of the curriculum. For English you can create a storyboard of events for a fairytale, in Maths use magic beans as a counting aid, in Geography you can create a map for Hansel and Gretel to find their way back home.
