An in-person enrichment drama and language workshop scheme using international plays to educate UK secondary school students about local cultures and histories has been launched.
Performing International Plays, a project led by Dr Margherita Laera at Kent’s School of Arts, has partnered with Foreign Affairs Theatre Company to deliver the extra-curricular workshops.
A number of secondary schools including Harris Academy South Norwood, St. Albans High School for Girls and Waterside Academy in Hackney, London, have already welcomed Performing International Plays and Foreign Affairs to run workshops. These have been met with rave reviews and have inspired students to explore new diverse theatre and language alongside their studies.
The workshops are facilitated by highly skilled multilingual practitioners of relevant heritage and are especially tailored to each school’s students and their needs. Students have the opportunity to encounter one or more new plays by contemporary dramatists from Ukraine, Palestine, Cuba, Taiwan, South Africa, Italy, Germany, France and more. The practitioners often work with cohorts of English as an Additional Language students, who translate plays from their native language, and/or with students who are studying a foreign language – but no prior knowledge of foreign language is required to take part.
Supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England, the workshops are available for secondary school students at all levels from Year 7 to Year 13, and mixed-ability groups. Two-hour, three-hour, one-day and week-long residency options are bookable.
Dr Laera is encouraging school leaders in England, drama teachers and modern foreign languages teachers to get in touch to secure workshop bookings and diversify their curriculums with contemporary international theatre and drama. She said: ‘Our workshops represent all students in our multicultural classrooms and aim to empower and support educators in their efforts to diversify the Drama and Languages curriculum. Enabling learning through creative practice and experience helps students to really connect with the content delivered.’
Dr Margherita Laera can be contacted at piponlineresource@gmail.com to find out more and discuss workshop bookings.
Performing International Plays workshop at Harris Academy in Norwood.
Performing International Plays
Performing International Plays is a provider of enrichment workshops, teacher CPDs and learning resources on contemporary plays from around the world. Its open-access website provides Drama educators with free content such as videos, essays and education packs to diversify the curriculum with work that speaks to and represents all students. With 20 plays in 15 languages from across 6 continents showcased on the website, secondary schools and colleges can engage students with international theatre, helping them connect with important local stories from around the world and the values of equality and representation.
www.performinginternationalplays.com
Foreign Affairs Theatre Company
Foreign Affairs is a micro theatre company with an adventurous spirit, run by the creative duo Camila França and Trine Garrett. Their work focuses on theatre in translation, intercultural exchange and collaboration, and performance in unconventional spaces. Or, in other words – they bring theatre from around the world to local communities. Foreign Affairs also run workshops and training programmes for emerging theatre-makers and translators, and local young people, including the Theatre Translator Mentorship (unique in the industry) and Emerging Theatre-Makers activities.
More resources
This video documents a PIP enrichment workshop about the South African play, I SEE YOU, filmed at Harris Academy South Norwood in London in Summer 2023: https://vimeo.com/884449983