Shoddy Theatre and the Importance of the Arts

What a delight it was to have the opportunity to organise a whole series of drama activities for some of our schools. As part of their national tour, the Shoddy Theatre Company arranged to deliver a series of workshops to engage children and young people in the arts.

Our Youth Club Sessions

As part of our Youth Club session on a Tuesday evening, Shoddy came along to Glenroyd House and showed us how combat is acted on stage and on screen. In pairs we got the slap, push, punch and choke our partners – we then got to swap roles! With the skills of the instructions we received, you will be pleased to note that we all ended the sessions totally unscathed. But what a fabulous insight into the skills needed to perform in such pressured conditions without actually getting hurt. 

Sarah said  "I really enjoyed the shoddy theatre session. The team were very welcoming and encouraging. The activities a great way to build confidence and to be a bit silly. It was also filled with great team building exercises that everyone could get involved in and have a laugh. I never really partook in drama in school but I found this a really fun way to have that experience, in a very supportive environment."

Shoddy in Our Schools

At Cardinal Hume Catholic in Gateshead, the team delivered two sessions to Year 9 students who planned to take Drama at GCSE. The teacher was so pleased to see their level of engagement and found it interesting to see the roles that the students chose.

As an extra special treat for Year 6, Shoddy also visited a series of Primary Schools, where after the pressure of the SATs the children got to let off steam in some fabulous drama workshops. Shoddy visited Christchurch School in North Shields, Delves Lane Primary School in Consett for two sessions and Crookhill Primary in Gateshead. Mrs Kelly from Crookhill said:

"Class 6 had a fabulous morning of Theatre Craft, working with Luke and Cameron from Shoddy Theatre. Everyone enjoyed the activities and were really creative with their ideas when making up their own short plays! Thanks to our friends at Building Self-Belief CIO for organising the workshop for us."

Why Drama?

Drama activities are an amazing way to help young people and their personal growth. Drama builds self-belief and confidence because it:

• Gets people out of their comfort zones in a safe environment;
• Makes people feel differently about themselves;
• Adopting a character can give people a great insight into their own character;
• Brings out elements of character that people did not know they had;
• Develops skill in empathy and sympathy;
• Encourages people to ‘have a go’;
• Improves communication skills – verbal and nonverbal communication;
• Encourages collaboration and friendships;
• Nurtures creativity.

We love working with Shoddy Theatre and can’t wait until the next round of events!

For schools, it is great to have actual ‘actors’ coming in person and deliver as it adds a new dimension to the teaching of drama and acts as a teacher training exercise in drama activities.

If you would like to book the Shoddy Theatre for a drama session, contact Mitch Donaldson of Shoddy Theatre at: mitchdonaldson@outlook.com.

Future Youth Club Sessions

We are leading on a series of activities in collaboration with Derwentside Detached Youth Project, these sessions are 5.00-7.00pm every Tuesday evening from now until 18^th July at Glenroyd House in Consett. Come along and join us!