Starting an after-school drama club
Drama is an excellent medium for engaging young people in thinking about big ideas. At its heart, drama is about telling stories. Through participation children grow in confidence, gain skills in presentation and learn how to use their bodies and voices. It also promotes trust, collaboration and listening skills.
Across three articles, Fiona Stewart, Foolproof Creative Arts, explains how to start, plan and run an after-school drama club. Below the first part which highlights what to keep in mind before starting a drama club.
If you have people in your church who are dramatic, enthusiastic as well as confident in working with children, an after-school or lunchtime drama club is a great resource to offer your local primary school.
Before you approach your local head teacher make sure you are confident of what you are offering. You can consider something that has a Christian core, using Bible stories or seasonal material. Alternatively, you may opt for something that is not overtly Christian. In our experience a school is likely to be more comfortable with the idea of non-religious themed drama in the first instance.
Make sure you are clear on your Child Protection Policy and that your volunteers are PVG checked.
Think about the age group you want to work with. We tend to work with P4 and above, but even within a P4-7 range there is a vast difference in ability and confidence.
Many people’s idea of drama is a grand performance of a complex script, and most children will come with high expectations of creating a show stopping production in a matter of weeks! Be realistic about what you, and they, can achieve with limited time and resources.
Remember that not all children are skilled readers, and many will prefer to create their own dramas from a story stimulus. By using games and storytelling exercises you can create a club that is fun to attend and produces something decent for parents and others to watch at the end of term.
Plan back from the end of term. If you decide to put on a performance for parents gather some people who can help you with welcome, refreshments and chatting to the audience.
Next week, Fiona will explain how to plan an after school drama club.
