Today the students returned to Pineapple Studios for two workshops. The first workshop was on the style of Brecht, run by Alex, a talented National Youth Theatre Director from West End on Demand. The students were immersed in the world of ‘Mother Courage,’ a play studied as part of the ATAR syllabus in Year 12 Drama. Alex showed the students how to apply Brechtian techniques to contemporary works. An invaluable academic experience. Separating the two workshops, the students explored the streets and shops of Covent Garden - spectacularly decorated for the festive season. After a quick break, the students partook in a Realism workshop with a young actor, Lydia, from West End on Demand. She led the students through advanced Stanislavsky techniques including radiation, tempo and rhythm.
In the evening, the students went to the home of the Royal Shakespearean Company at Moregate. Here they watched a performance of the famous play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ which inverted the male and female roles to produce a provocative reframing of male/female roles and relationships. The rich and powerful mother, Baptista, sold off her sons to a prospective successful ‘woman’. The shrew, normally a female character, was portrayed as a male character. All of the male characters were presented as dainty and had their eyes downcast to show disempowerment. An enlightening experience of Shakespeare at its best.
Before long, the students were back on the London Tube toward the hotel for a good night’s rest before another big day.
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