Drama & Theatre Studies
At a time where the Creative Arts within education are facing certain challenges, here at The Maynard we actively embrace and fully understand the power of the performance. The wide-reaching endeavours of the Drama Department are cherished and prized as a key part of what we do. We believe that artistic pursuits are an essential part of education and, as such, are highly supported within our academic offer.
From our fabulous whole school productions and year group performances to our outstanding examination results, we push our students to do their very best; their enthusiasm and effort speak volumes. We delve into the realms of classic giants such as Dickens, Brecht and Shakespeare alongside exploring modern contemporary texts; breadth is everything. We encourage our students to work physically and creatively with strength and confidence, to find their voice; we expose them to a plethora of exciting opportunities both on stage, within stage design and technically behind the scenes. Seeing live stage performance is vital and we take them to a wide range of productions and expose them to current practitioners. In short, we are always seeking out new and exciting experiences to challenge and inspire our students, and the absolute concrete proof of our success is in their incredible performances and brilliant grades!
At Key Stage 3, Drama follows a series of interactive projects using play texts, improvisation and storytelling techniques to develop interpersonal skills, social dynamics and communication. Our exceptionally popular Drama Clubs for both Year 7 and Year 8 run weekly during lunch breaks.
All girls are encouraged to take part in our many school productions both on stage and in technical roles including sound and lighting management, costume & set design, directing and producing. The yearly whole school production is open to students from Year 9 to Upper 6 and is not only a fabulous event which showcases the talent and ability of our students but also is a chance for girls across the year groups to work together collaboratively. Productions have included musicals ‘Evita’ and ‘Jesus Chris Superstar’, both of which were performed at The Barnfield Theatre in Exeter.
GCSE Drama challenges students to work both creatively and intellectually whilst also furnishing them with valuable communication skills such as interpreting and communicating meaning to an audience, confidently voicing opinion and constructing persuasive argument. Students will also experiment with different ways of visually presenting ideas, whilst encouraging quick and lateral thinking.
Over the two years students will develop skills in creating their own devised work for performance. They will analyse play texts practically with a focus on staging and work as performers, directors and designers. We watch and review a range of professional theatre productions and attend workshops with professional companies. This is a well-respected qualification in which no two lessons are the same and where pupils are encouraged to think outside of the box.
Studying Drama and Theatre at A-level means experiencing professional theatre workshops with contemporary companies, seeing live professional theatre both locally and nationally, working practically through your studies exploring new, diverse and creative techniques in performing, directing and designing and, of course, having the
opportunity to create and produce your own work.
We attend a diverse collection of performances across the two years designed to challenge and inspire. Highlights include: Brecht’s ‘The Threepenny Opera’ at The National Theatre, with an accompanying day-long student experience; Theatre de Complicité’s ‘Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’; ‘Beautiful Burnout’, the emotionally charged ‘Lovesong’ and the electric ‘Othello’ all from movement theatre company Frantic Assembly at Plymouth Theatre Royal; and the fascinating ‘Ocean at the End of the Lane’ which has fed our imaginations and been the basis of the live theatre section on the C3 written exam for the past 2 years.
Meet Mrs Bellamy-Cooper, Head of Drama
Jane Bellamy-Cooper is a highly experienced director of drama for young people. Her experience spans a vast spread of endeavours from working with seminal theatre-maker Augusto Boal in Toronto, to devising with the world-renowned Theatre De Complicite, to performing radio drama with the BBC. She has split her career between performing and directing / teaching and enjoys the freedom to direct interesting shows with keen performers. She enjoys the collective nature of theatre and believes that there is a place for everyone to thrive, learn and connect. She has a passion for voice work and physical theatre and, above all, quality theatre training for young people.
During her time here at The Maynard, alongside her teaching commitments, she has introduced the yearly whole school production running on a bi-annual programme; contrasting a musical with a straight drama. Shows have ranged from the likes of sung through musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, to the most recent naturalistic drama ‘The Roses of Eyam’ performed in the round, here at school. She oversees a yearly programme of dramatic opportunities to appeal to our students from workshops with professional companies, to theatre visits, not to mention a wide range of performing opportunities across the school.
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