Wild Things currently has three workshops available for booking. All workshops are run by experienced professionals and are suitable for any of the following:
All Wild Things Workshop leaders are fully CRB checked (enhanced). We are also covered by Public Liability and Indemnity Insurance.
To book your Wild Thing Workshop, call 07891 908 912 or contact us.
“I’ve seen many productions on this subject and been asked to speak at such events at the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Kings Head in London… this is by far the most impact I’ve ever seen a theatre company have.”
- Secondary School pupils (both workshops would compliment PSHE, Dance, Drama, PE and English curricula)
- Further Education Colleges (16+)
- Community Groups
- Corporate training days / functions
All Wild Things Workshop leaders are fully CRB checked (enhanced). We are also covered by Public Liability and Indemnity Insurance.
To book your Wild Thing Workshop, call 07891 908 912 or contact us.
“I’ve seen many productions on this subject and been asked to speak at such events at the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Kings Head in London… this is by far the most impact I’ve ever seen a theatre company have.”
Director of the White Ribbon Campaign – a domestic violence charity
Speak up - 1 day (4-5 hours ￡399: early booking discount – £49 off)
How to get the best from your voice. This 1-day training course pushes learners to really think about how they're using their voice - and how to use it much more efficiently and effectively. This course was successfully trialled at Huddersfield University with PGCE students. The course was initially designed for teachers, but is equally useful for trainers, sales people and anybody else whose voice and communications skills are at the core of their job. The course is delivered by experienced professionals from both the acting and teaching industries (see biogs below).
'Speak Up!' is designed to give the teacher the vocal skills to project, command attention, discipline, engage and encourage without having to stretch and strain the voice. An untrained, unhealthy voice can become a liability and so advice is give on how to preserve the the health of the voice. The workshop will see the group learning about the anatomy of voice and engaging in vocal exercises and physical exercises with one another. It is extremely informative and above all a lot of fun!
Activities involve;
How to get the best from your voice. This 1-day training course pushes learners to really think about how they're using their voice - and how to use it much more efficiently and effectively. This course was successfully trialled at Huddersfield University with PGCE students. The course was initially designed for teachers, but is equally useful for trainers, sales people and anybody else whose voice and communications skills are at the core of their job. The course is delivered by experienced professionals from both the acting and teaching industries (see biogs below).
'Speak Up!' is designed to give the teacher the vocal skills to project, command attention, discipline, engage and encourage without having to stretch and strain the voice. An untrained, unhealthy voice can become a liability and so advice is give on how to preserve the the health of the voice. The workshop will see the group learning about the anatomy of voice and engaging in vocal exercises and physical exercises with one another. It is extremely informative and above all a lot of fun!
Activities involve;
- ice breakers,
- a voice diagnosis (learners are encouraged to identify their reservations, queries, questions, worries about their own voices),
- an intense vocal warm up, which points out vocal anatomy, injuries that could occur etc
- an introductory discussion, emphasising the use of voice in the classroom for successful behaviour management, for the success of knowledge retention in students and for sustaining interest and enthusiasm in learners
- an array of practical activities, clients are asked to note down a phrase, something they might find themselves saying to a student in a classroom...eg "The battle of Hastings was fought in the year 1066" – as a group we then find different ways of presenting this information, using gestures, changing tone and pitch, speaking over low level classroom noise, generally finding ways in which to be heard. This is usually done in groups of 4 and 5 so everyone has chance to practice.
- we then use recipe books to practice delivering information in dynamic ways and gaining confidence speaking in front of groups.
- a game then follows where learners have to identify the anatomy of the voice using laminated outlines of the chest, head and throat and labels. We then discuss each part of the voice and its functions
- a recap of the activities and outcomes using the notes taken at the beginning of the class, leading to:
- a clinic – advice is given, based on the problems learners had identified with themselves at the beginning of the workshop.
Using the creative writing talent of local writer Lee Barnes, participants begin this jam-packed workshop by watching a performance by an actor on either issue-based subjects such as teenage pregnancy/abortion, racism, drugs, depression, relationships... or alternatively a more light hearted subject such as imaginary characters from the London Underground such as The Sock Man, or Mr Miserable.
Lee's most recent play – Inbetween – has just premiered at the Edinburgh Festival. His work has also been performed at the National Student Drama Festival Finals, Gi60 in the UK, Brooklyn and New York, on BBC3, in Universities and at Community cohesion days around the country.
Participants then discuss with the writer and a workshop leader the ways in which Lee comes up with the ideas for his hard-hitting, current scripts. The group then goes on to discuss the themes associated with what they’ve seen, what the script/performance meant to them and brainstorm ideas for a new script which might encapsulate their feelings and ideas.
Participants then, in groups, go on to create their own short script with the help of the two Wild Things Workshop leaders. After lunch, participants go on to choose actors from their own group whom they would then direct for a final performance of their script to the rest of the group.
Participants are asked to begin this workshop with their eyes and minds wide open. They first watch a short performance by local physical theatre specialist Sophie Chevolleau.
Sophie trained as a gymnast. Eventually finding a love for the theatre, she has gone on to produce some powerful physical performances, including an extremely emotional performance 'It doesn't hurt' about domestic violence amongst young people. The performance, purely physical, is about the struggle between being deeply in love with someone, so in love that you feel completely reliant upon them, yet at the same time knowing it is wrong for them to be physically hurting you. The performance raises some important questions about relationships and how we feel about what happens behind closed doors.
The students would then go on to discuss the performance as a whole group. They will be free to debate their feelings on the subject, based on the performance they have seen – raising the valuable question 'should theatre tell us how to think, or leave us to make up our own mind'?
Two Wild Things Workshop leaders will then split the students into smaller groups and work with them on how to create a physical performance. They will spend the rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon session creating these performances. They will have stimuli available to them for the creative part of the session, such as music, newspaper and magazine articles, entries from diaries, photographs.
The last hour of the session will be reserved for performances of the physical theatre pieces that the participants have created.
All participants must wear comfortable clothing for this session
Our Physical Theatre workshop "It doesn't hurt" ran very successfully at Trinity Academy in Halifax in June of this year and was featured in academy magazine ... for more information or to book this workshop, call 07891 908 912 or email us at wildthingsdrama@hotmail.co.uk