03 February 2010
Stanislavsky In Action: Drama Students On Tour
Drama students from the College hit the road this
month, taking their Theatre in Education project on tour into
12 local schools.
The Lewisham College students were delivering 20 workshops
designed to demonstrate the key aspects of the Stanislavsky system
of acting. The drama students began each workshop with three scenes
from Timberlake Wertenbaker's historical drama 'Our Country's Good'
and then divided classes into groups to work on specific
techniques.
Lewisham College Drama tutor Karla Ptacek was full of praise for
her students' professionalism and passion. She said: "After every
workshop I ask my students- 'did you enjoy that?' and the universal
response is 'yes!' It's tiring, they often perform shows back to
back, they eat lunch and sometimes have to get dressed into their
costumes in the back of the van en route to a school; but they are
really engaged and committed and take great pleasure in being
roving performers.
"Very few colleges provide their students with so many
opportunities to participate in Theatre in Education tours, and to
my knowledge no other college can offer secondary schools the kind
of actor's training we are providing in these workshops."
Deptford Green School Drama teacher Cathy Bollom thoroughly
enjoyed her school's visit by the College students. She said: "It's
uplifting to see Lewisham College students inspiring Deptford Green
students by their focus and passion for drama."
Lewisham College Drama student Kirstie McKeown-Hanrahan added:
"The tour has been really fun so far, we've got a lot out of it.
It's been really rewarding working with students from different
schools - it feels like we're able to give something back."