'Very relevant to young people's issues'

Outreach & Education

Sixth Sense Theatre for Young People is committed to promoting access to, participation in and ownership of theatre by young people and as such welcomes the opportunity, where possible, to develop relationships with young peoples organisations in order to promote the benefits of theatre further to young people.  On this page you will find some recent examples our our Outreach and Education work.

 

                                        

                                                 Babel- Made in Britain

Babel- Made in Britain

Members of Swindon Youth Theatre took part in a Stan Won't Dance education residency here at the Wyvern Theatre.  The week long workshops, led by a member of the company, a dancer, performance poet and MC explores some of the themes addressed in Stan Won't Dance's current show, BABEL- Made in Britain which we all went to see.  The workshops are offering an insight into the company's creative and devising processes.  This is done through a careful layering of physical exploration- discovering and examining different ways to devise specific movement material.  The young people were taught how to create their own movement and dance styles influenced by such disciplines as acrobatic street dance, yoga and martial arts.

For more info about Stan Won't Dance visit www.stanwontdance.com

 

Isambard students getting sticky for Artsblast 2 (part of the Flux project)

Flux @ Artsmad

Flux is an arts education agency which is part of Swindon Borough Council.  Funded by the Invest to Save budget, Flux works with local and regional organisations to provide access to high quality arts experiences to children and young people. 

We have been working in partnership with Flux through our Outreach & Education Leader, Laura, delivering the drama curriculum at Isambard Community school, North Swindon.  Projects here took place from September 2007- July 2009, and included:

The Shakespeare Daze- A day long introduction to the work and relevance of this playwright with focus on Romeo and Juliet.

Play in a Day- Students had just one day to produce a performance inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'The Raven'.

Key Skills module- Students worked with a professional designer, director and writer learning the process of theatre production.

Frankenstein- This involved the young people exploring Philip Pullman's play adaptation of Frankenstein through extended practical workshops.

Puppetry-  Two puppeteers worked with year 7 students creating their own puppets and learning how to manipulate them for performance of a French script!

Acting Masterclass- This covered the fundamental skills needed to perform effectively to audiences. Sixteen young people were selected from Swindon Youth Theatre and Isambard Community school. The purpose of the day was to look at developing a group exclusively as performers.

Swindon Youth Theatre @ Isambard- An extra- curricular drama club for students of Isambard ran over 12 weeks working with 6 drama practitioners/actors/stage managers, exploring different elements of performance.

Creating a Horror Movie-  Students worked with a professional director rehearsing their own horror scripts, learning how to create tension for an audience.  Their work was later filmed.

Entry to Employment (e2e)

We worked with a group of 16-18 year olds, not in Education, Employment or Training.   e2e is a training programme that offers access to a range of learning opportunities in bitesize chucks- and we are helping the young people improve social and personal skills through drama- essentially to help them reach their career or employment goals.

The launch of a new Foundation Learning Tier Diploma
We worked with four Special Educational Needs schools in Swindon throughout October 2008, to help launch a new Foundation Learning Tier Diploma. 

The learning focus was on getting to know each other, team working, personal, social and independent living skills and developing self confidence - which lead to a public performance at the Wyvern Theatre and incorporated opportunities to learn about careers in the arts.

The diploma will provide exciting new ways of learning enabling greater motivation, wider achievement and better progression pathways at all levels.

 

Pupils at Mountford Manor Primary school undercover as part of the Building Planets project.

Building Planets

PDF of flyer

This is an 'undercover' theatre in education residency and performance based project produced in partnership with The National Trust for Year 5 primary school children.  Led by 2 actors in character as environmental secret agents, the children tour the headquarters to find out 'Can the National Trust be Trusted?' and 'Is the buidling really environmentally friendly?' The National Trust headquarters hosted this project for particpating schools in spring 2007 & 2009.

‘The pupil's attention was captured by the video. They really felt that it was a special event and really got into the spirit. The actors managed the pupils with confidence and skill. They engaged them and drew them back if attention wandered'.

                                                            Sue Welsh, Crowdy's Hill school

‘The tour was fantastic. It was well organised and was made fun, so it was more enjoyable for the children who learnt so much just on the tour'.

               Emma Camden, Eldene Primary school

‘They were completely absorbed in the DVD and as soon as they reached Heelis they realised that's where the scenario had taken place'.   

                  Diane Davies, Liden Primary school

Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner
Six young people from the SMASH Youth Project (Swindon Mentoring & Self Help) performed a piece of theatre that they had written and developed with two of our practitioners. It was entitled "Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner" and told their various stories through dialogue and drama along with dance and even song.  The performance was attended by teachers, parents and representatives from children's services.

Creative Diploma Day

Students from Swindon Secondary schools undertaking the creative diploma worked with Sixth Sense learning about the fundamental elements that make up a theatre company.

Futures Day at Cirencester College

Jemma and Laura spent the morning talking about how to 'get into theatre'.  Did you know there are more than 80 careers in theatre- including creative/ management/technical roles?  We're always happy to offer advice on univeristy courses in Performing Arts, suggesting ways to improve your CV and helping you find relevent work experience.

INSET Training

Sixth Sense have provided several INSET training sessions to primary and secondary schools in Swindon based on enhancing creativity within education.