I was an assistant drama practitioner for the Theatre Arts Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) for Grade 2 - 5 pupils (aged 7-10) at the German European School, Singapore (GESS). Under the direction of Johnny Gillett (aka. The Journey Man), our team put together a musical, The Hound of Music.
My time with Manzadaba and GESS was a new environment for me in terms of working with young children from an international background - some more eloquent in German than English. The nature of it being a Theatre Arts CCA also gave the children free reign of choosing what they wanted to work on. While exciting, that also challenges us on what we accepted and what we compromised.
The energy of the children was way higher with them constantly running about, lying on floors and doing gymnastics in the middle of class! It was a challenge and I learned a lot from observing how Johnny managed the class as well as learning a different set of games that was more suited for the hour long sessions we had.
One of the greatest take-away was the importance of being in touch with performing and production. I was lucky to have other members who were musically trained but it was also a reminder of how I could expand my skill sets. Reflecting after an arduous technical rehearsal, I found how I had lost sight of the objectives of a tech rehearsal when we got too caught up with the plot. It was a reminder of how important it is to have a balance of performing in productions and bringing that experience to other communities.
The team and the children having a sit-down session after a technical rehearsal.
LEARNING POINTS
My time with Manzadaba and GESS was a new environment for me in terms of working with young children from an international background - some more eloquent in German than English. The nature of it being a Theatre Arts CCA also gave the children free reign of choosing what they wanted to work on. While exciting, that also challenges us on what we accepted and what we compromised.
The energy of the children was way higher with them constantly running about, lying on floors and doing gymnastics in the middle of class! It was a challenge and I learned a lot from observing how Johnny managed the class as well as learning a different set of games that was more suited for the hour long sessions we had.
One of the greatest take-away was the importance of being in touch with performing and production. I was lucky to have other members who were musically trained but it was also a reminder of how I could expand my skill sets. Reflecting after an arduous technical rehearsal, I found how I had lost sight of the objectives of a tech rehearsal when we got too caught up with the plot. It was a reminder of how important it is to have a balance of performing in productions and bringing that experience to other communities.
APPENDIX
School poster of the production, The Hound of Music