Drama in school

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lollypop
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Drama in school

Post by lollypop »

Hi all, this may be a silly question, but how do I help my son choose a secondary school that is really committed to drama (but not a full time drama school). They all say they do regular plays, clubs etc. I'm conscious that as he gets older this may become his main outlet due to the 16 year olds playing down. Any thoughts or experiences welcome. Thanks!
fartoomuchtodo
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Re: Drama in school

Post by fartoomuchtodo »

You could try to find out if any are doing shows (end of year or Xmas) and go see them? Don't expect too ;) much but you will be able to compare I should think. Otherwise, a chat with drama teacher - are they solely drama or part time English & Drama, does the school have theatre facilities (lighting sound etc), is it all-comers in the show or do they audition etc etc. Do you have any 'specialist' schools in your area? We have a school with a performing arts specialism however, didn't send my DS there so can't say if it's be any different. x
lollypop
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Re: Drama in school

Post by lollypop »

Really helpful, thanks fartomuchtodo
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Flosmom
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Re: Drama in school

Post by Flosmom »

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but I'd say don't get your hopes up!

Even schools that are hot on drama, music etc have a limited pool of talented and committed kids to draw on, and a lot of competition for resources from other subject areas, so their capacity to create good work is constrained. They may also apply a 'willing and capable' approach to casting, rather than based on merit. Or have an established 'pecking order' which results in challenging roles going to time-served older kids, again rather than based on merit. Be prepared for all of this.

To be clear, I'm not being disrespectful of the kids or the schools. Many try hard and there are some genuinely talented and committed youngsters out there, and some who excel at effort.

You might also find that a school's brilliant work is the product of a single teacher's skill, motivation and inspiration. If that teacher moves on, the work suffers.

You can check out my points of cynicism when you ask questions at the high schools in your area, you might be able to prove me wrong, which would be brilliant.

But even if my cynicism is well-founded, don't despair. Look around for amateur theatre opportunities or youth productions where people who genuinely want to make good theatre come together. There's a lot going on in many communities and if you are also willing to help out with running a tea-bar or standing front of house, they'll welcome you I'm sure. Your DC may not get to play to full houses every night, but if his desire is to perform and learn his craft through experience, he'll be a happy bunny.

So, my advice to you is to look for a school that wants your DC to succeed in performing arts, whether inside the school or beyond.

Hope this helps - and I hope I'm wrong and that you find a local high school that is a hive of excellent performing arts activity. If you do, please let us know and we'll probably all move into its catchment area :lol:

Deb x
2dancersmum
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Re: Drama in school

Post by 2dancersmum »

I would agree with looking at school facilities for if they have their own theatre and checking how many shows are performed each year and what type - ie drama, musical theatre etc. Often they are mid year rather than end of year when students have exams. Our local school for example does one main large production each year, alternating between Shakespeare and musical theatre. I would also check out exam results for the schools you are looking at - specifically for the numbers of students taking drama/theatre studies each year and the grades achieved. This can be an indicator of how good the teaching is or isn't in the drama department. I know of one school that has drama has one of its 'specialised areas of learning' and talks of its fantastic drama facilities/in house theatre etc but the nearby school with languages as its speciality has far more students take drama, far better exam pass rate and lots of A* and A grades compared to the mostly A and B grades. It is also far more supportive of its drama students and their auditions and out of school commitments.
pg
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Re: Drama in school

Post by pg »

I would echo Deb's advice to look outside school for opportunities (as well as hoping for opportunities in school). Both my dc did much, much more performing out of school than in. We lived in a smallish market town and the drama in the main school in the town was not strong at that time - but there was quite a thriving arts community. A Saturday drama club and a couple of amateur societies provided some opportunities. DS and friends also created many of their own opportunities: writing and producing their own shows and forming their own company, putting on published plays and original material. The company is still going and has branched out in to all sorts of things - the three founders are now in their late twenties. I would think their out of school performing in terms of hours (and probably benefit and enjoyment) was 10 to 1 - or perhaps even more. School was a bit of a damp squib - but that certainly didn't stop either of them!
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oscar
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Re: Drama in school

Post by oscar »

I agree that outside school is the way to go. My ds went to a secondary school that was really poor in this area but joining a local youth musical theatre group provided him with do many opportunities.
paulears
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Re: Drama in school

Post by paulears »

GCSE Drama has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with real acting. If you download the spec from the exam board websites you'll see that putting on shows is totally optional, and there is nothing that requires any proper production to be staged, and for many schools the prospect is impossible. A school near me who did a musical each year have this year scrapped it because they could not spare enough class time. Music, again, has no real music content - as a musician I hate teaching my own subject because the GCSE requirement is so min bogglingly low. It's designed (along with drama) to allow somebody with no real talent to get a C. There could well be a super standard child in the class, but the level is set to the lowest common denominator - somebody at the D and E end of the scale.

Today I asked the music group (year 8) about instruments of the orchestra - hardly any knew the names of any proper instruments, few could spell them and I spent an hour listing them and sorting the spelling. One question they had to answer was on Bach orchestral music - just a question that let them understand that some modern instruments weren't in old music because they'd not been invented yet - she refused to believe that anybody would be called Bach.

The few who have peripatetic lessons is very small - and they are the unusual ones.

Join an outside drama group and do some proper drama, with audiences, proper scripts and costumes and lighting - or a ten minute school piece with 50% of the group incapable of remembering lines, doing it on drugs, bullying, or sex - which seem the only themes. Angst, screaming and shouting seem the only dramatic element. In my area, we have two excellent young people's drama groups and their standard is way, way above anything I see in the local schools I visit. In some, the boys groups seem to use drama as a time to thump each other, under the guise of a piece of drama.
mrs_lovett
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Re: Drama in school

Post by mrs_lovett »

I'm not sure this is the case everywhere paulears as there are some schools with a real commitment to extra-curricular Drama and Music making. At the school I work in (which does not have Performing Arts specialism) our recent shows have been Crazy for You, Les Mis, Sweeney Todd and in March we produced the south-west premiere of The Addams Family. We do a week long run of our yearly show at a professional theatre and have a combined cast, crew and orchestra of over 150 students and attract sell-out public audiences. We also produce open-air Shakespeare productions each summer and perform at 2 other professional theatres throughout the year with plays in a different languages, post-war plays and Commedia Dell' Arte. We also have several open-air concerts in the Summer and concerts organised by 6th formers throughout the year. Many of our students secure places at vocational London Acting/MT institutions. I don't believe that we are totally unique in what we do. The point I'm making is that there are some schools out there that really support and value the Arts and if you search around you may find a little gem which is perfect for your child. I do think it's worth the effort if you can go to see a variety of different school's shows if you can as you will really be able to tell the difference in quality and provision- you may find that some of them have a video of them playing at their open days or may have students performing and this can also be a very useful indicator of quality.

Yes, outside groups can offer fantastic experiences, but please be aware that there are also some schools that are dedicated to developing creative performance opportunities for young people too.
lollypop
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Re: Drama in school

Post by lollypop »

Brilliant advice everyone, I've organised to see a play at one school already. mrs Lovett we are moving to your school!! It sounds exactly what we hoped to find.
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Re: Drama in school

Post by woody »

Bigger secondary schools often have a whole Performing Arts department - my dd's head of year is also head of the Performing Arts dept, which is handy as he understands the need for time off for things like auditions/performances etc.

Will there be open days at the local schools you can attend?

Maybe you could search the archives of local newspapers, as they often carry stories about school productions.
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