Grand Arena Youth Theatre Blog

Welcome to the Grand Arena Youth Theatre Blog where you can find out all about what our members get up to on a monthly basis.

Summer Term 16.06.17

In their fifth session, our members started with a game to warm up. They were then reminded of the work they had been doing in previous sessions through a discussion with Fran and Alex.

The session focussed on extending the skills they had learned over the duration of the summer term so far. They were tasked with making a small performance, made up of the four tasks using the work they had done in previous sessions. These four tasks being:

  • 'A' & 'B' – leading partners
  • Round, By & Through
  • Continuous sequence – moving hands
  • Chair Duets

At the end of the session each group performed and received feedback from Fran, Alex and members.

In their sixth session, our Junior members started playing the game 'Boss' to warm up. 'Boss' is a game that our members play on a regular basis and is a good game for improving their improvising skills.

After the game, Fran and Alex had a discussion with our Junior members about starting to create pieces of work for the showcase. Fran and Alex gave them back the pieces of paper they put ideas onto for show ideas from their first session of the summer term. They got back into the groups they had come up with the ideas with, and refreshed their ideas. After this they got up in their groups and reminded everyone of what their ideas were. After the rest if the group had listened they were able to ask the group presenting their idea questions and give feedback. Fran and Alex then asked our members to think about the skills they had learned in the summer term and how they could incorporate these into their ideas and performance.

After the game of 'Boss' to warm up our Seniors, Fran and Alex then split them into frou groups and asked them to come up with themes that they would like to see get produced into drama pieces. Each group then put their chosen theme into a hat from which a theme was pulled at random. Three themes were then pulled at random from the hat. Those being:

  • I'll never forget
  • You're like a chocolate teapot
  • Like a moth to a flame

From the three above the group collectively decided which one they would like to base their performances on and that was 'like a moth to a flame'. The group then discussed what the theme could mean and split back into their four groups to discuss ideas.

7e3ae75520f42cea24602eaad01ab350362690c0.jpg

In their seventh session our members got to be on the Grand Theatre stage. They started off with a warm up game and then started to develop their ideas into performance pieces.

69f4260dc6b2697af22d8280a9a2097773eb4d44.jpg

Our Junior members started thinking about their story first and then thought about how movement could go with it. Our Senior members however started thinking about the movement first and then how to incorporate the story. The whole of the session was devoted to devising their pieces and at the end each group performed for one another to receive feedback.

96d6bc4371636af3902537540a3785600bf99411.jpg

Above: Juniors on the Grand Theatre stage with Fran and Alex.

cce0882f32e1f7921126a2365971c00031c30c01.jpg

Above: Seniors on the Grand Theatre stage with Fran and Alex.

This is a user generated post from our wider Voice community and was not edited by the Voice team. We would love to hear your views too! Sign up for an account and make your Voice heard!

Author

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Wolverhampton Grand is a long established theatre in the heart of the Midlands. It receives a wide range of major touring productions including drama, musicals, ballet, dance, opera, variety, concerts, children's shows and one of the biggest pantomimes in the UK, with audiences from across the region and beyond taking advantage of excellent transport links to the town. Admired by performers and audiences alike for its intimate three-tiered Victorian auditorium, the Grand celebrated its 120th anniversary in December 2014.The arrival of a new Chief Executive in June 2015 signalled a significant period of change for the Theatre, commencing with the complete remodelling and renovation of the Front of House area, which took place in summer 2016, there was also a full replacement and upgrade of auditorium seating. During the next few years, the Theatre's artistic vision will expand and there will be emphasis given to re-establishing the Theatre's history of producing quality “in house" theatre for the people of Wolverhampton and beyond.

Recent posts by this author

View more posts by Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

1 Comments

  • Luke Taylor

    On 6 July 2017, 10:41 Luke Taylor Contributor commented:

    Great work guys!

Post A Comment

You must be signed in to post a comment. Click here to sign in now