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Gary R
September 2nd, 2011

No Kidding at ArtsFest!

The Play House will be presenting ‘No Kidding’ at ArtsFest on Sunday 11th September at 2pm in Birmingham Conservatoire’s  Recital Hall

‘No Kidding’ is a fun and slapstick participatory programme designed to improve the quality of children’s relationships with each other, and it’s one of our Language Alive! theatre-in-education tours for 2011-2012. Designed for 5-7 year olds it’s one of our most requested programmes, and an excerpt is presented free at ArtsFest, performed by Malcolm Jennings and Simon Turner.

‘No Kidding’ explores notions of friendship, co-operation and bullying through the eyes of a pair of ‘overgrown children’, Bally and Billy. In the best traditions of clowning, Bally and Billy struggle to maintain their friendship at work and play. Amidst all the fun there is a serious lesson to be learnt when Billy downs tools and the pupils must take the lead in resolving the conflict between the two larger-thanlife characters. Will the pupils be able to help Bally see the error of her ways and get her to apologise to Billy? Will the two make friends and get to perform their big finale?

Visit its website to find out more…

Posted in Infant/Key stage 1, Issue-based/PSHE, Language Alive! | No Comments »

Juliet F
July 31st, 2011

The end of an era?

For the last few years I have been lucky enough to be part of the Creative Partnerships programme led by Bright Space in Birmingham both as a creative agent and as a drama practitioner.

For 3 years I supported two lovely primary schools, Erdington Hall and Nonsuch Primary to work with artists and develop their creative curriculum. Teachers and children worked with outdoor visual artists, digital media artists, Mantle of the Expert practitioners, dancers, gardeners and a whole host of other creative practitioners. I hope the schools continue to work creatively to engage their children and I have found it fascinating to document the work. So a big thank you to the staff and children at both schools for making feel so welcome and for making me a much better project manager. Won’t miss the CP data base though!

I’ve also been reflecting on what I’ve learnt working on the projects that I delivered as a drama practitioner and storyteller and it’s hard to boil it down in a blog but here goes:

• Children are more confident as writers, speakers and thinkers if they feel a sense of ownership over a story and feel like they have participated in its making.

• Using a mixture of process led drama and performance techniques supports different kinds of learners.

• Stories are made to be told!

• A child’s imagination is often richer than the pictures in a book.

• Never expect children to respond to a story in the same way.

• Unlocking the imagination is the problem not a lack of imagination.

• Stepping into a story should mean just that – we go in together and grown ups need to be in role too!

I’ve worked in partnership with wonderful teachers across Birmingham and Coventry to use drama and story to develop children’s literacy, speaking and listening, imagination, writing, confidence and play. So thanks to Whitmore Park, Stanton Bridge, St John Vianney and All Souls primary schools in Coventry and to Hillstone, Skilts, Sundridge, St James R.C, Clifton, Anderton Park, Lillina de Lissa Nursery, Washwood Heath Day Care and Kingsthorne for having me.

Posted in Infant/Key stage 1, Junior/Key Stage 2, The Play House | No Comments »

Gary R
June 14th, 2011

25 years of bringing the curriculum to life

September sees Language Alive!‘s 25th year of bringing the curriculum to life across Birmingham and the West Midlands.

We’ve just released next year’s programmes which are available to book. Apologies for the delay – funding, as you’d appreciate, has been a bit scarce, but we’ve been able to raise enough to keep school contributions the same as last year.

We’ve also been able to attract funding for some exciting new work. The Arts Council has supported two linked tours this year – Peep! and Mosaic (click to find out more information). Both will be distinct programmes, but both will explore ways of creating theatre that is more accessible to a wider range of children. Peep! is available to Nursery, Reception and Year 1, and Mosaic for Years 2 & 3.

Another exciting project will be taking place at the evocative Moseley Road Baths. Pool of Memories will use the stories collected from the local community to explore the history of this fascinating building, and is part of a wider Heritage Lottery-funded project being run by the Friends of Moseley  Road Baths – you can find out about that project at www.poolofmemories.co.uk.

Paper Chase is a project that might seem familiar to some schools, but we’ve submitted a bid to the Clore Poetry and Literature Awards to build on previous work to make best use of enhanced digital audio technology and interactive resources. The aim is to offer greater support for the teaching of literacy, andprovide children with a dramatic impetus to create their own original poetry.

Some of our most popular tours are also making a return, such as our Key Stage 1 bullying and relationships programme No Kidding, and our Early Years numeracy piece Little Red Hen. There’s a strong selection of historical work too, with 7-11 year olds taken back to Tudor Times to explore the story of Anne Boleyn and Where there’s smoke… transporting them to the Great Fire of London. For Years 5 & 6 Saving Hope will explore the human stories around the outbreak of the plague.

You can find out more about all these programme by clicking the links above, or by downloading the brochure from the Language Alive! page, where you can also find the booking forms. Please get in touch if you’d like any more information.

Posted in Early Years, Infant/Key stage 1, Junior/Key Stage 2, Language Alive!, site specific | 1 Comment »

Gary R
June 14th, 2010

Next year’s primary tours now available!

We’ve now planned all the Foundation and Primary tours for the next academic year, including some exciting new projects and the return of some old favourites.

Climb aboard!

For Early Years Just imagine… is an innovative new Early Years programme that is being developed through a partnership between The Play House and Birmingham Rep.  A series of story-making sessions are currently being conducted in Early Years settings , and the ideas generated by children in these sessions will be used to create a unique child-led story, inviting children to step into the world of the story and to imagine, play and create for themselves. Climb Aboard sees the return of Jim and his grandma Fernanda, who find the Jamaica Case full of precious things from Fernanda’s life as a girl in Jamaica. Jim and the children explore the objects as they are removed from the case and are taken on a journey back to her childhood…

Into the Garden, inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant

Key stage 1 has two popular programmes make stheir return. Fit for a King transports infants to the court of Prince Yannis, one of the unhealthiest, laziest and most unhygienic princes ever. Recruited by Yannis’ long-suffering personal chef, Cookie, the pupils must transform his lifestyle before the prince will be allowed to be crowned King Yannis. And using Oscar Wilde’s original story of The Selfish Giant as its inspiration and integrating shadow play, puppetry and storytelling, Into the Garden follows what happens when a group of children decide to ignore the ‘Keep Out’ signs the Giant has put up around his garden and show him what he’s been missing…

Thanks to the Arts Council and Birmingham City Council there are a few new programmes for Key Stage 2. Spinning a Yarn is a new and exciting programme for Years 3 & 4 that tells the story of Hans Christian Anderson’s Emperor’s New Clothes. Through an exciting blend of storytelling, participation and the hands-on exploration of textile techniques, participants explore human rights and global citizenship. Inspired by the traditional story of Jack and the Beanstalk, Bag of Beans is a new and innovative numeracy and storytelling programme for Years 3 & 4 .  The trials that Jack encounters in this tale become a frame for the children’s participation, and provide a  series of challenges and tasks which involve the children applying the principals of mathematics and logic.

All Good Things, our site-specific programme taking place at BMAG's amazing Collection Centre

Following on from our extremely well-received tour of Tapestry for 13-18s, On the Edge is an exciting new participatory performance for 9 – 11 year olds which explores the implications and consequences of extremism. Younger children have less direct experience of extremism and their ideas, opinions and awareness around this issue are generally less well formed. On the Edge will draw on stories such as William Tell, Robin Hood and The Gunpowder Plot to create an original story through which children will explore questions such as: Do the ends justify the means, who do you believe and is there ever a case for taking the law into your own hands?

Stargazing

We’re able to revisit BMAG’s amazing Collection Centre in the Spring with the return of All Good Things… The Collection Centre is a treasure trove of history and science artifacts, and we creat an exciting drama which will take children on a unique journey back in time as characters from Birmingham’s industrial and scientific past come back to tell their stories and plead their case. And rounding of our Key Stage 2 programmes will be another history tour. Stargazing transports children to a dusty loft in Florence during 1633 to wait for the great scientist and astronomer Galileo to arrive and address them.  As they wait they meet Andrea, the child of Galileo’s housekeeper, and together begin to practically explore Galileo’s theories  using the models and notes that the great man has left lying around.  Their experimentation is interrupted when they learn that Galileo has been arrested as a heretic…

You can find full details of all our tours next year if you go to theplayhouse.org.uk/languagealive

Posted in Early Years, Infant/Key stage 1, Junior/Key Stage 2, Language Alive! | 1 Comment »

Gary R
May 26th, 2010

Nearly there!

Welcome to the new website. Pardon our appearance whilst we tidy up!

We’re not quite finished yet. There’s still a few bits that don’t work quite how we want them to, and other bits we still need to add (come back next term and hopefully we’ll have some activities for the Interactive WhiteBoard too). Hopefully when we’re done we’ll have a truly interactive resource to support learning, and with fun activities for young people too.

It’s designed to grow though. Each new project will have it’s own mini-site, and we need your help too. You’ll be able to comment on activities, and help us develop by suggesting your own activites to add ours. It’s not quite working yet, but you’ll also be able to embed our activities on your own sites too.

In the mean time have a look at our current tour sites.

Our current Language Alive! tours:

  • Little Red Hen is our  Early Years programme, with lots of numeracy ideas and activities.
  • Where there’s smoke… explores the Great Fire of London with 5-7 year olds, with some great interactive activites
  • No Kidding looks at bullying with 5-7 year olds (sorry, we’ve not had time to develop a full website, but there’s a resource pack to download with lots of useful ideas)

 Also touring:

  • Tapestry is our successful tour for 13-18 year olds exploring the implications and consequences of extremism. (At present there’s a link to a temporary website, but this will be integrated into our new site soon.)

Please let us kow what you think think, either through the comment links or the contact page. Thanks!

Posted in Early Years, Infant/Key stage 1, Issue-based/PSHE, Junior/Key Stage 2, Secondary/Key Stage 3/4, The Play House | No Comments »

Gary R
December 14th, 2009

I must get out more often

Last Wednesday was one of those rare occasions that I was allowed out from behind my desk and off into the real world. We’d been invited to take part in a Networking Day staged by Birmingham City Council. The event was billed as an opportunity for arts organisations to meet extended schools co-ordinators and other school representatives.

I have to confess I’m not exactly the first person to volunteer for these sorts of events. They can be a bit dull, and often attended by people who have been told to attend by their boss rather than wanting to be there. However, with another big event that day (Tapestry was being presented to Directors of Children’s Services on the other side of town), the job fell to me and Gavin, our administrator.

And I have to say I was really glad it did. I might have cursed the weight of our display boards once or twice as we lugged them into the foyer of Symphony Hall, but once we were set up it was clear it was going to be more than worth it. The attendees – extended schools to begin with, schools later on – were interested and enthusiastic. We had the opportunity to present a workshop on using drama and storytelling to support children with English as an Additional Language which drew a small but eager group. I had the chance to talk to lots of different people about our work, about what they needed, and about how we could help them.

But there was more. In what we call in our evaluation reports an ‘additional outcome’, myself and Gavin also had the chance to network with other companies. It’s so rare that we all come together in one place, showing our wares and getting chance to chat, seeing some old faces but a good array of new ones too. I’m sure more than one partnership was brokered that day.

All in all a really good way to spend an afternoon. I should really try and get out more often. 

To find out more about our extended schools work, you can have a look at Gangs & community cohesion, Holiday projects,  English as an Additional Language. Also our theatre-in-education tour Tapestry (Preventing Violent Extremism)  which has been mounted in out-of-school settings

Posted in Early Years, Extended schools, Infant/Key stage 1, Issue-based/PSHE, Junior/Key Stage 2, Secondary/Key Stage 3/4, The Play House | No Comments »

Juliet F
November 16th, 2009

Missing out on play?

This half term was spent with a lovely bunch of ten children making up a collective story here at The Play House.  They ranged from seven years old to eleven and brought a host of wild and interesting ideas with them. It was sometimes a struggle to keep them all entertained.  I was amazed at how much they needed to just play – with ideas, situations, the drama space and each other.

It is making me think about working on relatively short projects and how much time we can give young people to ‘play’ without adult intervention.  Good quality small group drama demands a healthy dynamic and co operation but if you’re working with a group for just a few hours they need more time to develop these skills.

I’m often talking to teachers who mention that their children seem to lack imagination and I think some have often missed out on the chance to ‘act out’ and role play ideas, situations, characters and things they have imagined and seen.  It would be great to provide older children with more opportunities to do this in school.  But how?

The Play House has talked often of creating a multi sensory environment here at The Play House for children in Key Stage 2.  We have already created one for children in the Early Years with The Selkie Girl a few years ago.  That environment was crucial for children to understand the concept of the seaside in the Selkie story.  They played in a real wooden boat, collected shells and threw sand and none of this was particularly adult led.

I wonder what it would be like to offer older children that opportunity?  What environment would it be?  Should we work with even smaller groups and allow them lots of time to explore?  How would all of this impact on the drama?

Posted in Early Years, Infant/Key stage 1, Junior/Key Stage 2, Language Alive!, site specific | No Comments »

Juliet F
June 18th, 2009

A magic potion…

I’m working with 10 year 1 and 2 children at Raddlebarn and St Mary’s Primary Schools in Selly Oak at the moment as part of an extended schools project.

It’s the highlight of my week to be greeted by such enthusiasm from them to delve into a story together in an empty and silent school.  Even though some are well into year 2 they have such a desire to play but their ideas are so rich with imagery.  Their imaginations are allowing them to see so much more than is actually there in reality.

Inspiring examples of this from children so far include…

- A glass bottle contains “a magic potion that will instantly shrink the wolf if sprinkled on him.”

-”We could pick wild strawberries from the woods and then we can make jam together.”

- Describing shadows moving deep in the forest and explaining, “she can feel that she is being followed, it’s just a feeling but it might come true!”

When the children say these things, and you see the teaching assistant or teacher react, it makes it all worthwhile!

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