Last term we had the absolute pleasure and privilege of
working with the Paddleboat Theatre Company here at Rydon. Paddleboat Theatre is a local professional
theatre company who specialise in creating work with children for families.
Every child across key stage one and two took part in drama
workshops with Paddleboat during the first half of the summer term. Year Two were then lucky enough to work with
them every Tuesday morning during the second half of term, learning drama
skills and creating short plays and stories. The workshops helped Paddleboat to develop their new show “Margo and
Mr.Whatsit” about imaginary friends, growing up and a sense of home. All of Paddleboat theatre’s work is
created directly with children, and the final show is a direct result of the
creative input from Year 2.
We were very fortunate to watch Paddleboat’s first ever
performance of ‘Margo and Mr Whatsit’ at school one day and very pleased to
think that our children had contributed so much to the final piece, including ideas
for the props and scenery!
The project culminated in a very special performance at the
Phoenix Centre in Exeter. Rydon Children
had the opportunity to perform in a professional theatre alongside children from
Exeter Deaf Academy. Children from both
schools blew the audience of specially invited guests (including Ben Bradshaw
MP and the Lord Mayor of Exeter) away with their confidence and
creativity. The children also impressed
with their behaviour and attitude throughout the project and the Year Two
teachers felt very proud of them and what they had achieved.
Thank you so much to Katy, Michael, Stuart and Hattie from
Paddleboat for inviting us to share in this magical journey and all your hard
work for the children here at Rydon. We
can’t wait to work with you again soon!
A mention must
also go to Rydon PTA who work tirelessly to raise funds so that we can offer
the children here at Rydon this kind of amazing opportunity. Thank you for supporting this project and helping
to make it possible.
Finally a big thank you to ‘The Helen Foundation’, a local
charity who by providing
prizes in schools, subsidised arts-based workshops and bursaries the Foundation
encourages and support young people to develop their talents and pursue their
ambitions. We were fortunate enough to be awarded a Helen
Foundation subsidy towards this project and very much appreciate it.
Comments
Post a Comment