Drama Enrichment for Years 7 and 8 with Annie Eddington
Last week we hosted an all-day scholarship and enrichment workshop lead by external facilitator Annie Eddington for selected students from Years 7 and 8.
A familiar face in School, we’re delighted Annie returned to work through language, interpretation, movement and many other aspects of Shakespeare’s work, focusing specifically on what is thought to be one of his first plays, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, this year’s Shakespeare On The Lawn production.
Year 7’s William and Year 8’s Ella shared their thoughts on the day.
William, Year 7
In the morning, we looked at the various characters in the play and worked on non-verbal expressions with our partners to bring the characteristics discussed to life. We talked about the plot, and acted out parts to really get to grips with the characters and what they are doing in the play, and why.
The rhythm of the speech was an important part of this, as characters speak differently according to who they are, and how they are feeling. We also wrote down questions to keep in the back of our mind as we worked, so we could reflect on them at the end.
This experience has been an enjoyable and valuable one for me – Shakespeare wrote plays, not books, and performance is an essential part of our understanding.
Ella, Year 8
In the afternoon we discussed the similarities between The Two Gentlemen of Verona and scenes from other Shakespeare plays. We separated into pairs and worked on bringing these scenes to life.
After sharing the scenes, we discussed the pieces and thought about how Shakespeare portrayed similar themes in different ways.
I really enjoyed the workshop, it taught me so much I didn’t know about Shakespeare, such as the symbolism behind certain character names and the rhythm of verse driven lines, called an iambic pentameter.
Our workshop leader – Annie – was absolutely amazing. I ’ve learned so much from her and she really created a great atmosphere for us to work in. I had such a brilliant day.
