Virtual Learning Network

Dramanet Final Summary for 2016 …to 21^st December

What happened there?!? …just like that it seems, the school year has finished for us all!?!?  

Whether you wrapped up the school year over a week (or more!!) ago or but a day or two ago (which I know was the case for some of you poor, tortured souls!!) I hope you are now finding time to re-charge and shift your focus to great times with the nearest and dearest in your lives.

I’d like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who has started, contributed or responded to, or shared their point of view in our discussions this year; it is all the many of you and your constant sharing and giving which make DramaNet the highly successful professional network and one of the best forms of constant and on-going professional learning that it is. Thank you all!

Here’s an overview of some recent posts which would be worth having quick one-click access to for when you next need to refer back to these…

Key discussions:

• An enjoyable thread asked teachers to consider good plays to study in a “post-Trump” 2017. Lots of great suggestions!
• Some great ideas and strategies were shared around questions asked regarding boys’ achievement in/through devising standards in NCEA. More here.
• Reflection on the recent round of NZQA external examinations for drama were discussed.
• Secondary teachers who have been thinking ahead to their plans and course for 2017 have been discussing:
  • Production Advice – Epic Theatre
  • Increasing students’ interest in taking Year 11 Drama programmes
  • Senior drama material for boys’ schools.
  • A question was asked about plays for large female casts for level three.
• A teacher was after some info regarding compensation for additional hours/duties as a drama teacher.
• A question around assessment of the techniques standards at all levels and incorporating NZ Theatre with these.
• Some drama positions available for 2017 were shared via the list:
  • Burnside High School, Christchurch
  • St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, Wellington
  • Takapuna Grammar School, Auckland
• Advice was sought, re: applying a combined dance/drama approach to senior courses in Performing Arts.

Events, EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Red Leap Theatre shared their series of Workshops for 2017 available for students and teachers.
• Unitec’s Shakespeare Season for 2017
• deVINE showing at the Basement Theatre in Auckland in February
• Auckland Arts Festival – Theatre for Schools
• Outliers – the 2017 EnsembleImpact schools tour.

Professional Learning and Development

• NZQA released a proposal for the next three year cycle of internal assessment and moderation Best Practice Workshops. Much discussion was had and then the final schedule for 2017 was released – books are now open for these.
• Do you teach clowning, physical comedy, bouffon, improvisation, mask work or comic acting? If so, there are some fantastic PD opportunities coming up in Jan/Feb – details here. 
• The University of Auckland postgraduate opportunities in Education was shred.
• Do take some time to read the Arts Online Newsletter for Term 4. This contains different material to that shared on the lists directly and you do need to subscribe to it separately in order to receive a copy. The latest one was shared on Dramanet, here.
• The Drama New Zealand national conference for 2017, “ALL ABOARD” opened for registrations. Details here.

For Primary Teachers: Curriculum Level "Rubrics"

• A recent question posted related to drama rubrics and how to create junior marking schedules that incorporate multiple curriculum levels.
• This would also be one of the most common questions asked by primary teachers who incorporate drama in their classroom programmes, so while its focus was by junior secondary teachers, I’d highly encourage our primary subscribers to have a look at the perspectives and templates shared so far on this discussion to inform your own rubric design.  

Finally, just this morning I shared some really interesting stats tables from our recent Arts Online team milestone report for the Ministry of Education, I hope [whether you are new to our Arts Online/Dramanet whanau or if, like me, you’ve been a subscriber since those very early years of the project] that these fun facts and glimpses of insight give you a sense of the bigger picture and inner workings of the project. I also hope you’ll all be affirmed and proud that YOU are a key part and reason for the success of the community too. This site, this forum, your contributions, your viewership and your involvement personify the Ako that is so central to effective learning, no matter what stage of life we’re all at.  

This update will also be uploaded to our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Meri kirihimete whānau!

Ryan Benjamin

Arts Online Community Facilitator - Dramanet
http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/
https://twitter.com/artsonline1

Dramanet Summary to 14^th May

Kia ora koutou,

A fairly quiet time on our list recently until a sudden spike at the end of this second week of Term 2…Of course, quiet on the list means frantic in your classrooms and departments. Remember, we’re all here when you need us!

Here’s the major things you need to know, all summarised in one place to save you scrolling back through the ocean of emails in your inboxes.

Note Worthy:

The next 24 months will be an interesting time in education as the government moves to reprioritise the structures and funding behind professional learning and development across the country. The last Education Gazette featured two links in particular which I shared recently that are both well worth a read by everyone in the sector. Thanks also to Kim Bonnington for extending the discussion. More here.

A Primary Focus – for teachers of learners in Years 1-8:

My thanks to Mel Notley for this post which asked about integrating drama with her science focus on land forms forYears 4/5/6. This was a fantastic post and thanks must also go to those who suggested ideas for this via the list…  There are a wealth of ideas that emerge from this type of integrated focus and a range of drama conventions that work at (curriculum) levels 1-3(and even 4) to explore these through. As well as the suggestions to look at Mantle of the Expert to help, here are some thoughts I have had on the concept in thinking more about it:

• Role on the Wall – exploring the job of ‘scientists’ (and other jobs/roles) who study land forms and changes in the land; extending to moving through the space in role playing with stance, posture, gestures and facial expression of a variety of roles involved in land form sciences – how do we communicate these roles/jobs/actions with our bodies and no voices? Extend to land forms as characters themself + object characters 'the tools of the trade'...
• Hot Seating – whole class or groups exploring real-life or fictitious characters connected with land form events moments - people, objects, structures. Personal narratives from land forms; hazardous events etc…
• Tableaux/Frozen Images – pair, group and class shapes depicting the physical structure and shape of land forms…look at levels, points of contact, focus... 
• Writing in Role – a letter from a citizen to the council about…; a note from one scientist to another expressing concern over a discovery... (fictitious or factual and found in some research material); writing in the role of the land form itself (humanising the whenua) and expressing concern or joy over human activity in/on/around it…
• Spoken Thoughts – copy and divide up some of the ‘writing in role’ work up, around the room (perhaps it focussed on one aspect/event within the study), all over the floor. Then, have students walk around the room to actions connected to the work called by the teacher; when freeze is called every student picks up a piece of paper and the teacher moves around the students, tapping them on the shoulder one at a time to speak the line aloud and trying to get the role across to everyone listening…

These could, of course, be worked up and/or watered down depending on the level being worked with. Also, for me School Journal articles and stories which use land forms as a focus would provide a great resource text to drive the explorations further too; with their characters, roles, settings, events/action and tension that could be explored more deeply through the above conventions.

I love the notion of drama being used as the deliberate pedagogy through which aspects of science – like land forms – and so many other areas of learning at the primary age can be made more 'active'. This is a great way of providing opportunities for students to really embody and enact what they are learning about; to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the topic… and let’s not forget, it’s fun!

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko – A voice of help and support:

• Grant Lloyd was looking for dance streamers.
• Lyndee Hurley sought advice regarding the stage floor requirements for Scholarship Drama.
• Brent Morrison and colleagues were looking to make contact with others who are using innovative approaches to timetable and curriculum within modern learning environments.
• Colin Hedivan was on the hunt for an Ass Head for a production. He later sent out this urgent mayday call after no responses were returned. I hope you were able to source what you needed Colin!
• Amy Edwards was looking to borrow some copies of Revenge of the Amazons rather than the costly exercise of buying more books – thanks to the members of the community who were able to assist.
• Jane Bennett was also looking to borrow x15 copies of Caucasian Chalk Circle for the duration of Term 2 – again, our thanks to those who were able to assist.
• Erica Newlands was looking for recommendations for resources to support teaching and learning of Epic Theatre and Brecht.
• Ellen Gardner sought clarification regarding 91220 (Drama 2.8) script a scene, and asked whether the task could be completed in a group or only by individuals. Thanks to Christine Morgan for pointing out:
  • this standard it must be completed on an individual basis.
• Grant Waugh asked about the impact of poor miming in the performance of devised work for 90997, and what that means for making an assessment judgment.
• Celia Mann asked if others would mind sharing their plans for Year 9 Drama programmes to gain some fresh/new inspiration at that level.
• Ellen Gardner was also looking for where to get Toa Fraser’s Pure and Deep script from. Thanks to Toa himself for responding so quickly and – as always – for your endless support of teachers using your work in the classroom!
• Scott Chalmers asked about the length required for both Drama 2.8 and Drama 3.8 scripting assessments. Thanks once again to Christine Morgan for your concise and factual response. 
  • To reiterate: at level two approx. 4-6 minutes of ‘performance’ should eventuate from the submitted script. However, in all cases at both level 2 and level 3 – the quality of the scripting itself should be the primary consideration for assessment.
• Angie Wood asked about approaches to task writing that differs from the examples of TKI and possible alternative methods of delivery by students for 91217 (Drama 2.5) ‘Examine the work of a playwright’.
• Gemma Carter was looking for inspiration for good scripts and play texts to use in Year 10 Drama programmes.
• George Arthur asked for advice on how to determine the ‘substantial’ factor when assigning roles and assessing students against Level 3 standard 91517 ‘perform a substantial acting role in a significant production’. Thanks to those who provided advice here. 
  • To summarise: a substantial role is one with both breadth and depth and that provides the opportunity for the student to have sufficient time on stage 'active in performance'. This is not so much about lines said but about active performance moments. A chorus or ensemble group as required for many a significant production are still very much substantial in role even when they may have less ‘lines’ that ‘leading’ characters.
• Dylan Frewin shared how helpful he had found our community as a first-year teacher in a rural area and then asked about combining Drama 3.8 (script) and 3.2 (devising). 
  • Unfortunately the same piece of work could not be used for assessment of both these standards as they look at different processes and outcomes. However, I did point out that the work developed through the process of one (devising for example) could then provide the springboard or stimulus for a new piece of work that is developed through the scripting lens and part of a larger rich context topic.
• Kathryn Boyd asked for inspiration and ideas from people for the types of topics/themes schools have explored for their J Rock performances.
• Kimberley Fridd shared this important message for all drama educators in the Otago/Southland areas who visit the Fortune Theatre. Please read and complete the required survey by Wednesday 18^th May.

SGCNZ UOSWSF – Prop Support Requests:

There have been a few requests by teachers looking to minimise luggage issues when travelling to Wellington for the national festival in June. If any teachers/schools in Wellington can help with these requests, please contact senders directly…

• Anna McDowall is looking for a large chair that they can borrow for the festival.
• Paul Collin’s is on the hunt for bunk beds to borrow…
• Louise Tourelle is after five ‘drama boxes’ for the Friday morning…
• Merrin Fagan is in need of a small desk/chair/x3 ‘black boxes’…
• Megan Herd is after five black boxes too…

Resources Shared:

• Susan Battye advertised her Drama Magic products and services via Dramanet and reminded conference participants about their special offer.
• Gail Denver from Maverick Musicals shared some of the top picks for school musicals in their catalogue of shows and productions.
• Ben Moore shared this great BBC web resource on Costume.

EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Bhavisha Patel has continued to keep us in the loop about Indian Ink’s touring production of The Elephant Thief which has begun. Some bookings may still be available. See details here.
• Maria Lute shared information from LEARNZ enabling schools to have a virtual field trip experience with the NZ Opera’s production of The Magic Flute.
• Peter Rees shared Unitec’s Shakespeare Season coming up in June and featuring productions of As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale. Details here.
• Helen Sheehan shared details for Silo Theatre’s school matinee for Medea on 21^st June, 11am. Details here.
• Taylor Griffin from Simple Truth Theatre alerted us to the fact that tickets are now on sale for their season of Toa Fraser’s Bare at Auckland’s Pumphouse Theatre, May 26-28^th. It later tours to Taupo and Palmerston North with public seasons and schools tours available. Details here.
• Deanna Borren from The Basement Theatre in Auckland shared details about new-work, Thomus, written entirely in iambic pentameter, being performed at the Basement Theatre at the end of August. "Thomus looks at a modern world through the epic scope of Shakespearean drama; all from the point of view of a kiwi teen in Year 13". More here.
• Ella Becroft from RED LEAP Theatre alerted subscribers to the Dust Pilgrim performance tour coming to Hamilton, New Plymouth and Wellington which is supported by an excellent education resource which targets 2016 examination specifications and is supported by a full recording of the piece. More here. (and here).
• Tim Bray Productions advertised their July production of Bad Jelly the Witch with booking details, here.

Events and Workshops:

• Morag Carter shared details of an opportunity to have fight choreography specialist, Alexander Holloway visit South Island locations in mid-May to hold workshops. This generated a lot of interest on the list.
• Peter Rees shared the exciting news of Unitec’s awesome props making workshop opportunity for drama students and teachers coming up in July. Details here.
• Lisa Brickell is offering a clowning workshop, June 5^th & 6^th in Albany, Auckland. Details here.
• Youth Arts Space shared info for a performance and workshop series event, Matariki Rhythmz. Details here.

Professional Learning and Development:

• Drama New Zealand our national subject association for drama in education, held their annual conference in Wellington last month and by all accounts this was a huge success. The AGM which is traditionally part of the conference event also went ahead and the new national executive committee were introduced for the coming year. Again, our congratulations to the exec and the Wellington Branch conference committee for the work that went into bringing everyone together at the river.
• An opportunity for teachers of Speech & Drama and Musical Theatre is coming to Christchurch and Auckland on May 28-29^th.
• NZQA Assessor Support is being provided in the form of a "Making Assessment Judgements" BPW in Auckland on Tuesday 14^th June. Details and registration link, here.
• Drama New Zealand Auckland Branch are hosting a PLD event titled “Arts Ed – Cross Over” on Friday 17^th June at the Auckland Theatre Company rehearsal studios which brings together drama teachers, tertiary and industry practitioners for a night of networking and sharing practice(s). Registration details here.
• For those in drama departments who offer Dance but do not have fully established or stand-alone dance departments, or for those who are HOFs or HODs with dance teaching staff in your departments – I shared the details of how to join the Dance Subject Association of New Zealand (DSANZ). Details here.

Professional Reading & Viewing:

• A refreshing article outlining some of the questions and thought processes that are at play during the teaching as inquiry cycle was outlined, here.
• The Arts Online Newsletter for April featured a guest editorial by Drama New Zealand Vice-President, Charles Bisley titled Rite of Passage looking at drama experiences and student responses to these as they transition to secondary education. See it again, here.
• David Chambers shared this great opinion piece by Philip Aldridge (which I saw doing the rounds on many social media feeds too) on the value of the arts in NZ.
• I shared two readings: ‘How We’ve Got it All Wrong About The Arts’ and ‘Enriching Britain: Culture, Creativity and Growth’ which made me think a great deal on the directions we are taking in education and the arts in education here. Read them here.
• Susan Battye shared an article she wrote for the e-newsletter Tomorrow’s Schools Today NZ titled, Drama in the Classroom Moves Centre Stage. A great read! Find it again, here. Later, Susan also shared this report on theatre in the UK, What are Theatre’s Hopes and Fears for the Next 10 Years?
• Kim Bonnington shared the Secondary Student Achievement Contract group’s National Newsletter: The Arts for Term 2.

As always, this summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Kia pai to wiki – have a great week (Week 3 already!!!),

Ryan 

Dramanet Summary to 21st February

Kia ora koutou,

I hope you’re all finding your feet in the classroom once again as timetables and rolls finally settle [or have they?], major annual events like Athletics/House Day, Swimming Sports and scholars/leaders assemblies get out of the way and attention turns, once relationships are firmly established, on really sinking our teeth into these rich contexts that shape and drive our work in the classroom for Term 1.

Here’s your summary of activity for Week 3 on Dramanet…

Note-Worthy:

• Our esteemed colleague Kerry Lynch shared the exciting news that his play Dream Seer is now published and available for purchase from Playmarket. “A stunning story from one of New Zealand's most skilled advocates for the arts in education. This play is a real gift for young people with its themes, tone, and authenticity.” Oscar Kightley. Congratulations Kerry!
• Also, I shared this list of ‘quick-clicks’ for easily navigating the NZQA and TKI sitesand particularly those areas which are high traffic areas for drama teachers. Initialexternal assessment specifications for the 2016 Drama examinations are available now as well. I will keep the community posted if changes occur.

A Primary Focus – for teachers of learners in Years 1-8:

Robert Dil is facilitating a great workshop for primary teachers in puppetry with no previous experience needed, read on:

“Puppet Play” in Wellington; Saturday 5th March from 9am -12pm. 

Location: St. Mark's Church School, 13 Dufferin Street, Basin Reserve, Wellington. Cost: $60 per participant. 

“This interactive workshop will explore how puppets can be used in the classroom and other theatre contexts to engage young people, create a fun environment, and promote literacy and the performing arts.”

Full details and registration info, here.

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko – A voice of help and support:

• Shakespeare: Discussion continued on from Luke’s previous thread re: suggested scenes for Shakespearean theatre form internal assessments. Click the link for the full thread from the beginning again. Later, Luke also shared this compiled list of features of Elizabethan Theatre for others to use. Patrice O’Brien also shared the TES link to a wealth of resources for teaching Shakespeare.
• Rosie Moxey was after some suggestions for scripts for assessing techniques at level two.
• Bronwyn Fenwick asked about plays for Scholarship Drama and about sticking to the prescribed plays and playwrights. Thanks for the many responses and discussion on this.
• Gail Denver from Maverick Musicals shared their range of senior school plays available for purchase and performance.
• Kate Moetaua asked about flooring for new school drama and dance studios.
• Katie Howes asked whether anyone knows about the health and safety requirements and rules regarding staging height. A timely question with an answer we all need to be familiar with…
• Tabitha Kaiser is looking for ideas for teaching and exploring drunk driving through drama with Year 10 students.

EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Marama Tracey Lloydd reminded our community of the school matinees available at the Auckland Arts Festival.
• Peter Rees shared details for Unitec’s graduating third year actors’ Shakespeare season, with school matinees available for both As You Like It and A Winter’s Tale.Student and teacher tickets are only $5 each!
• Jenny McArthur shared details for teachers to have Echolalia performed at your school as it tours secondary schools from March 30^th –April 15^th and May 2^nd – May 20^th.
• Julia Campbell shared details of The Lord Lackbeards tour of both Hamlet and Ophelia Thinks Harder to schools throughout May.
• Bianca Till shared details for the New Zealand Land and Home youth performance.Performances times still available in Hamilton.
• There are Q&As available for The Tempest performances at the Pop-Up Globe for the Auckland Summer Shakespeare season. Details here.

Events and Workshops:

• Jane Cotty shared this great opportunity in May for students from Auckland and Wellington to see free screenings of international documentaries.
• Emma Bishop reminded us that Junior Theatre NZ presents Cindy Ripley from America– a professional development opportunity for teachers and students with a passion for musical theatre.
• There is a “big dreams gathering” in Wellington on March 3^rd for all performing arts practitioners making work by, with and for young people in Aotearoa.
• The Auckland Shakespeare Company shared yet more opportunities for school workshops at the Pop-Up Globe in Auckland to support the productions being performed there.
• Emma Bishop reminded subscribers about the Improvisation and Mask workshops with Steve Jarand for students, teachers and practitioners happening on March 2^nd and 3^rdat Westpoint Performing Arts Centre in Point Chev, Auckland.
• Jackie James advertised a screen acting workshop with Miranda Harcourt aimed at young teens at Scots College in Wellington.

In the [social] media:

• Robert Dil shared this Facebook page dedicated to promoting the arts for young people in the Wellington region. Head over and give it a ‘like’!

Professional Learning and Development Opportunities:

• There are two Drama New Zealand scholarships available which enable [1] a beginning teacher and [2] a rural teacher to access and attend the forth coming national conference in Wellington.
• I shared the link to NZQA’s new range of Assessor Support Options for 2016. The one most closely connected to former BPWs is the Making Assessor Judgements (MAJ) workshops which you must register your interest in attending before NZQA will make arrangements for these to operate. I urge you all to do this early for both Drama and Performing Arts Technologies workshops!

Professional Reading & Viewing:

I was interested to read this article from the Huffington Post education website this week, about mental-health strategies in the classroom:

• How These Educators Approach Mental Health In The Classroom

Although it focussed on primary-aged students, with well-being and mindfulness becoming increasingly important considerations within our sector I wondered what thoughts this conjures up for drama teachers about how we too ‘deal with’ or ‘address’ mental health and related issues in the drama classroom? We would all agree, I am sure, that for many students Drama is that ‘safe place’ but building that safe place takes considerable work and conscious effort too. Perhaps some of you might share how you actively tie activity related to mindfulness, well-being or mental health into your drama programmes? Anyway, food for thought...

This summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username“artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Kia pai tō wiki,

Ryan

Dramanet Summary to 13^th February

Kia ora koutou,

It’s always a great time of year in Term 1. Don’t get me wrong, I know how busy we all are and the exhaustion felt as we get back into the swing of things after a long-enjoyed summer break, but the vibe of a school in term one is always a happy one – for students and staff alike. I hope this summary finds you all well, re-adjusted and enjoying the warm (actually, let’s face it ‘hot’!) months for teaching and learning…

This summary combines all of the threads and discussions held over the summer break and recent ‘back to school’ period as we head already into Week 3 of 2016…

Note-Worthy:

• My email last week welcoming our 770 subscribers to 2016 gives some timely reminders about how best to utilise the range of resources available to you, all completely FREE, on both Arts Online and within our Dramanet community.
• Also, I hope you did not miss K.C. Kelly’s message, Welcome back educators, which shared the Washington Post photo essay: “How Classrooms look around the world in 15 amazing photographs”. For me, these images made and make for a great talking point with students; writing in role exercises; devising stimuli; and are a spring board for discussion around global equity and equality concerns in education. Print them, laminate them and go from there!

A Primary Focus – for teachers of learners in Years 1-8:

This year will see an increased focus from the AOL team on reaching out to our primary sector to support their delivery of arts programmes and, in particular, on unpacking and exemplifying student and programme learning progressions in the early curriculum levels (1-3), for all strands. This section of our summary provides targeted advice to our primary subscribers:

• A dedicated primary teachers professional learning and development workshop titled: “Getting on Top of It: Drama in the Classroom” is being run by the Drama New Zealand Auckland Branch on Wednesday 24^th February, 4.30-7.00pm at St. Kentigern College in Auckland and facilitated by Dr Elizabeth Anderson from the University of Auckland. I highly recommend any workshop facilitated by Elizabeth – you will walk away with ideas and things you can use straight away in your own classroom the next day!
• This message from Amanda Stone may be helpful to primary teachers wanting to pick and stage a musical production at their school – with scripts, music files, staging suggestions and more all available to “download and go” in an instant!
• Gail Denver from Maverick Musicals also shared to two new release intermediate level productions now available for schools.

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko – A voice of help and support:

• Lyndee Hurley asked, regarding 3.2 & 3.8 and 1.6, 2.6, 3.6 & 3.9 - can you use them together?
• Gayle Spence was seeking a Year 10 unit of work for Greek Theatre of Melodrama. Later, Gayle also shared her rules for the drama classroom, framed around our drama techniques vocabulary for others to download and use/adapt.
• Lucy Duffield asked about combining assessments for 2.1 and 2.4.
• Jennifer Gregg started a thread to share our favourite website and books for warm up activities; getting into character and monologue ideas to start the year.
• Gemma Carter asked about designing a programme to meet the needs of a combined Level 1 and Level 3 drama class. She later asked about directing at level 3 and the requirements for assessing this.
• Jane Bennett asked for advice around designing a level three devising task around a study of Brecht.
• I advised subscribers that NZQA’s new Assessor Support options will be announced soon; replacing the previously available Best Practice Workshops.
• Angela Harland asked, apart from the basic assessment support materials on NZQA’s website, where to find some great resources to support teaching and learning towards the PATs. Lots of discussion followed.
• Emily Miller-Matcham re-opened a discussion around drama spaces from late last year.
• Vivien Smith urged subscribers to check with school EO’s around the presence or absence of tagged Arts Coordination funding in schools’ operations grants. [Side-note: I can say that we at Arts Online have not been made aware of any changes to this funding and it should still, to my knowledge, be attached to the operations funding drops schools receive quarterly.]
• Viv Aitken announced our newest drama education community “doctor in the house” – Carrie Swanson. Our heart-felt congratulations to your Carrie on this achievement!
• Jay Versteeg asked for suggestions of short scripted scenes written by New Zealand playwrights which would be suitable for use with junior students; along the line of Ann Cartwright’s Forty Short Plays.
• Gayle Spence also asked for suggestions for good websites for departments to source play resources and copies of play scripts of all types from, in addition to our local Playmarket in NZ.
• Joy Pratt asked for suggestions for open scripts to use with Year 12 students exploring techniques. Some great scripts, activities and opinions were shared. It would be great to see some of the great resources shared on this thread also uploaded to the TRE – hint, hint! J
• Philip Biddlecombe asked a really interesting and exciting question around using online platforms to enable one of his students to work with students in another area/school for 90997. Thanks to those who responded and in particular to Bridget Crooks for seeing the rich learning opportunities an idea like this provides before seeing assessment barriers.
• Megan Herd asked for suggestions of essential texts/books to have in a drama department.
• Bruce Rawson needed access to 16 copies of Caucasian Chalk Circle in a couple of weeks’ time.
• Kim Bonnington was looking to touch base with any early childhood educators who utilise drama in their practice as part of a conference project.
• Belinda Cannan sought advice around hiring microphones for the school musical – thanks to those who put forward suggestions.
• Danielle Rieter was looking for help with finding costumes and set pieces for their musical production of Grease.
• Tracey Dwyer asked about requirements for a student completing level two set design 27704.
• Luke Devery shared and encouraged people adding to a list of Shakespearean scenes for theatre form internal assessments.
• Kristina Walton asked for advice from dance/drama teachers about how best to cater for a Year 13 student who would like to study level 3 dance independently this year.
• Angela Clayton asked for suggestion for good music collections to use in drama classes – great thread Angela, thank you!
• Susan Battye shared this update on the inclusion of Drama in the UK English Baccalaureate.

SGCNZ UOSWSF Dates and Co-ordinator Posts:

• Auckland North – 8^th and 9^th April
• Central Auckland - 8^th and 9^th April
• West Auckland – 12^th and 13^th April
• South Auckland – 10^th April
• Canterbury – 30^th March – 3^rd April. There is a SGCNZ UOSWSF preparation workshop for Canterbury drama teachers and student directors, 20^th February.
• South Waikato – 12^th April

EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• The Young Auckland Shakespeare Company present Much Adoe About Nothing at the Pop-Up Globe in Auckland, Sunday 21^st February at 1pm and 7pm
• Amie Moffat shared the news that RED LEAP Theatre are touring the 2015 work, Dust Pilgrim to Hamilton, New Plymouth ad Wellington, details here. [Side note: I highly recommend this piece for teachers and students, and gained some really pleasing external assessment results for my own students who studied the work for their live performance examinations at all three levels in 2015. Exploring themes of oppression and being trapped, the richly visual and physical RED LEAP style also makes for an excellent influential model to follow for students’ devised works.]
• Marama Tracey Lloydd from the Auckland Arts Festival shared details for The James Plays and other theatre opportunities for schools, students and teachers.
• Bhavisha Singh from Indian Ink shared details for their tour of recent-work The Elephant Thief – check here for a performance near you.
• Helen Sheehan advertised the details for the highly popular The Book of Everything tour, coming to a north island town near you.
• EnsembleImpact present the Eglantyne tour with dance for schools still available to book!
• Yana from Tim Bray productions advertised their 2016 lineup.
• Taylor Griffin reminded teachers to book for the BARE SCHOOLS TOUR coming Auckland, Waikato and Manawatu areas.
• Basement Theatre in Auckland also announced its partner schools for 2016.
• Flaxworks Theatre Company in Auckland present their new work Miss Jean Batten at the Basement Theatre from 29^th March – 9^th April and have a special offer for schools.

Events and Workshops for learners:

• Emma Bishop shared some exciting news: The Amici Trusts’ Junior Theatre New Zealand present “Train the Trainers” on 12^th March in Auckland for ages Year 5 and up + teachers and practitioners with an interest in musical theatre. Robert Dil followed-up with this reminder as well.
• Hawkins Theatre, Papakura in Auckland are showing Branagh Theatre Live: A Winter’s Tale and NT Live: Hamlet on the 15^th and 22^nd February respectively. Details here.
• Public Works Performing Arts Collective in Association with Drama New Zealand present Steve Jarand (Canada) in Auckland for four workshops including a student workshop on Improvisation; teachers workshop focusing on using improvisation as a means of devising and character development and two public workshops with one on Mask and another on Improvisation.

Professional Learning and Development Opportunities:

• Registrations are open for the Drama New Zealand national conference “Tutakina mai ahau ki te Awa – Meet me at the River” being held in Wellington in April. Details here. All queries to dnzconference2016@gmail.com
• Drama New Zealand Auckland Branch offer both primary and secondary options in their first PLD workshops for the year: UPSKILL, happening on Wednesday 24^th February at St. Kentigern College, 2.30-7.00pm (secondary) and 4.30-7.00pm (primary – no relief required!). Register NOW!
• Louise Tourelle is facilitating a workshop in Wellington on Saturday 12^th March at Toi Whakaari focussing on teaching strategies for working with Stanislavski, Brecht and Artaud concepts and practices.

Professional Reading & Viewing:

• Re-share: items from Sir Ken Robinson on the importance of creativity in teaching are always worth a read!
• Megan Herd shared a great PDF resource explaining and exploring the devised work and processes of UK company, Complicite

Teacher Resource Exchange – from the community; for the community:

Two new resources were published on the TRE this week:

• The Drama Elements, Conventions and Techniques posters developed and shared by Ben Moore at Avondale College, which have been very well-received and hugely popular as people dress their classrooms for the year.
• This level two PAT lighting workbook to support standard 27700 was published by Stacey Harrison, HOD Dance and Drama at Rosehill College, who has led dedicated NCEA courses in PAT there for many years.

Our thanks again for these contributions! 

This summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Kia pai tō rā,

Ryan Benjamin

Arts Online Community Facilitator – Dramanet

@artsonline1

http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/

Dramanet Summary to 14^th December [Our Final Wrap-Up for 2015!]

Well here we are at the end of 2015 with most secondary schools already wrapped and the majority of our primary friends joining the rest over the course of this week.

Can I start this final Dramanet summary of the year by extending a massive thank you to everyone who has started, contributed or responded to, or shared their point of view (either privately or publicly) in our discussions this year. A special, personal thanks from me also for all the awhi and support I’ve felt during my first six months as your facilitator; as I’ve slowly got a handle on the job – your messages have been really encouraging so thank you!

I saw the following image was posted by Drama NZ on Facebook this morning and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the summary this week….

​

…it is all the many of you and your constant sharing and giving which make Dramanet the highly successful professional network and still one of the best forms of constant and on-going professional learning that it remains. Now then, let’s wrap up the final stretch of the year…

Note Worthy:

• Tamsin Dashfield-Speight’s request for help finding succinct and inspiring creative quotes led to many great ideas being bounced about on the list – several would make for great print-outs to display in classrooms or down the drama or performing arts corridors at your schools! A great summer project perhaps? 

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko: A voice of help and support…

• Janelle Pitout from the Corelli International School of the Arts shared details of a new part-time Year 14 performance programme they have planned for students in 2016.
• Scott Chalmers asked for advice around using Arthur Miller for his combined Level 2 and 3 programme next year leading to a number of possible achievement standard combinations...
• Chris Burton raised an important discussion around Realism and New Zealand Drama at Level 3 – it would be great to hear more discussion round his thoughts/questions…
• Gayle Spence asked for suggestions about the ‘best ever resources’subscribers have acquired for their drama and performing arts programmes. A timely discussion as people consider what their budget will be spent on early in 2016... Later she also sought ideas for Year 9/10 units for drama (or dance).
• Jonathan Dutton asked for ideas from other schools and what they do as he plans his new Year 7 and 8 programme for 2016. Thanks to Sherie Harrison, Emma Bishop and Petra Jaeger for your ideas and contribution here. More about this later...
• Alister Emerson raised discussion around Question 2 of the Level One theatre form external examination. There were several responses –see them all here.
• I started off a thread to allow discussion around the Level Two external examinations for Drama. Click to have a read of some subscribers’ reflections about the examinations at this level.
• K.C. Kelly shared his reflections after attending the Creative New Zealand forum. Later, his discussion around ‘feel good factor’ provided further food for thought…
• Gail from Maverick Musicals shared details about a new junior/intermedia musical called, Compass Rose and the Birdnesters.Later she reminded teachers about the range of Mark Wheeler playsavailable.
• Angela Harland asked about teacher quals and our training/journeys into teaching Drama. Later, Angela asked about Sole Teacher Deptsand generated more good discussion around the duties expected vs. remuneration vs. time for drama teachers…
• David Chambers raised questions/suggestions regarding how to best align and interpret the explanatory notes from the standard and the clarifications documents available from NZQA which unpack thestandard 91513 (Level Three Devising).
• Katie Howes asked what others are doing to collect evidence for Drama 2.5 (91217), where students examine the work of a playwright, as she reviews her programme for 2016.
• Marcus Stewart asked for guidance around how best to provideassessment marking/grade rationale/feedback after assessments back to students…
• Kerry Lynch shared the exciting news that his play, Dream Seer is being re-published and will be available in January. Details here.
• Colette Nickelsen asked some good questions around directing at Level 3.
• Lana Delamere asked for suggestions for a play for production with a multi-level class which might serve the requirements for each of Drama 1.6, 2.6 and 3.6 assessments.
• Andrea Hanson asked for advice about the duties involved with/around an ‘HOF Arts’ position…
• Gail Denver informed subscribers that Mark Wheeler’s plays – Hard to Swallow and Missing Dan Nolan will become set texts under new GCSE specifications in 2016 for two of the UK’s four examination boards (Eduqas and OCR).

Events, EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Natalie Beran from The Actors’ Program alerted subscribers to the University of Auckland’s annual summer Shakespeare, The Tempest – this year playing at the Pop-Up Globe with pre and/or post show Q&A sessions available. Details here.
• Ella Becroft from Red Leap Theatre announced their north island tour of recent work Dust Pilgrim happening in June/July 2016.
• Whetu Silver from Auckland Theatre Company shared the details of their 2016 season and schools programme.
• Marama Tracey Lloydd from the Auckland Arts Festival updated us on their theatre programme for schools.
• Helen Sheehan from Silo Theatre in Auckland shared their 2016 seasonwhich centres around productions of The Book of Everything andMedea.
• Deanna from Auckland’s Basement Theatre sheared the exciting news that Hart, an Australian play about the stolen generation, will tour Auckland and Wellington in February 2016 – details here.
• Dates for the Canterbury SGCNZ UOSWSF were posted – available here.
• Taki Rua Productions and Aotearoa Aerial Theatre Company presentTiki Taane Mahuta – a thrilling blend of dance, drama, music, te reo Māori and kapa haka - with school matinee times and prices available in several centres around the country as well as (limited numbers of) follow up workshops. Details here.
• Emma Deakin shared the New Zealand Festival’s SchoolFest programme for 2016.

Professional Development Opportunities and Workshops:

• Suzy Hawes shared information about a clowning workshop in Palmerston North, 19^th & 20^th December.
• Rachel Steele reminded subscribers to submit their applications to present at the “Meet Me at the River” national Drama New Zealand conference in Wellington next April. Applications closed on 30^th November but, as Emma Bishop pointed out, have since been extended to December 16^th so do get your ideas to Rachel and the organising committee ASAP!
• Fergus Aitken shared details of the one-day Mime & Movement workshop scheduled for Sunday 17^th January in Wellington at the Toi Poneke Art Centre. Details here.
• Corinna Di Niro brings a 3.5 hour workshop in commedia, improve, comic acting, devising and characterisation to Auckland (Thursday 21^st January) and Wellington (Friday 29^th January) – more details here.
• Belinda Meares shared details for InterPlay in January and February:Sunday 24 January at the Addington Haven, Christchurch, 19 Church Square and Sunday 14 February in the Union Chapel, 40 Winchester St, Lyttelton. More info here.
• Jackie James shared details of a screen acting workshop with Miranda Harcourt for teens aged 12-15 in April 2016. Details here.

Professional Reading & Viewing:

• The Arts Online Newsletter for November was shared.
• This podcast from Theatrefolk: “Theatre Beyond the Stage” is worth a listen. 

In the Spotlight: “A Primary Focus”

In the spirit of highlighting the sheer power, value and importance of collaboration for our subject – especially for those who are in isolated areas or in ‘departments of one’ – I wanted use this space one final time this year, to draw our primary audience's attention to, and to highlight the power a simple discussion on this list can have in providing ideas and leadership for others to follow and use as a model or idea for their own practice…

Below I copy, direct from our list, a brief discussion held between four of our subscribers – Jonathan Dutton (the catalyst for this discussion), Sherie Harrison, Emma Bishop and Petra Jaeger-Letts. While three of them may have only considered that they were responding to Jonathan’s original request for ideas, by having this discussion on the list everyone was invited in and could therefore be influenced and informed by the discussion/collaboration happening between our colleagues…

Year 7 and 8 Drama Programming

 

Jonathan: I am running a new year 7 - 8 drama program at my school next year and was wondering what other schools do. Does anyone have units of work they would be willing to share or point me in the direction of? 

 

Sherie: How often do you see the kids and for how long (session wise and cycle)? I teach Dance and Drama at Mt Maunganui Intermediate. I see them twice a week for 1.5hrs each time. They get 11-13 sessions per cycle. Although mixed with Dance, we do cover Theatresports, Devised Drama, Musical Theatre (y7 only), Puppetry (y8 only) and if time, work with mini scripts. If any of this looks helpful then let me know.

 

Emma: We have year 7 rotation – 9 weeks three 50min lessons per seven day cycle – during this time we cover basic performance skills and stage craft intro to techniques and end with a unit called party products where they create an infomercial for a party product and then perform on one of the last classes and end with the party with all the products…This rotation is compulsory for all classes. Year 8 is a semester option class – so 19 weeks of 3 times per 7 day cycle: We do a fairy tales elements unit; Mr Men/Little Miss Techniques unit; A process drama – Giraffes can’t dance or a war based process drama both using story books as the foundation stimulus. Happy to discuss off line – feel free to email me directly.

 

Petra: We are doing something a bit different.  We are planning a full-year collaborative project involving all the arts. We get 2 periods per week with our 7/8 students. We used to have the students rotate across the four arts, but we felt we didn’t really have long enough to get stuck into something in one term. This is what we came up with as a solution. The stimulus for next year is migration. The students have a 6-week rotation through Drama, Music, Visual Art and Dance at the start of term 1. In the rotation they will learn about the different creating, producing and performing roles in each area. They will then put in an application for the area they wish to work in, explaining what they like to do, any previous experience, etc. At the end of term one we will begin our creating sessions, with sharing and feedback to the whole group. They will then go into producing at the end of term through to term 4.  Finally performing in term 4, we should have a pretty special piece of work which was completely generated by the students. The key competencies will be the main driver in our planning and work. We envision visual arts creating masks, costumes, backdrops etc. Dance will come up with some interpretive pieces. Music will do soundscapes for some of the work and drama (my area) will create a storyline and the main drama which holds the piece together. We’re trying this for the first time, we’re a bit nervous because it is tricky trying to anticipate all the things that can come unstuck when you are working collaboratively with about 160 students and across four arts disciplines, but we’re definitely looking forward to trying something new.

Each suggestion given here was significantly different to the prior. Each suggestion had immediate uses and possibility for Jonathan (and us all!!) who had originally posed the question. Each suggestion took their own school context into consideration and worked with or around their timetabling constraints. And finally, I hope just by reading the discussion, that teachers of Year 7 and/or 8 students anywhere out there were able to see ideas and ‘ways-into’ (whether they are a drama specialist or primary classroom teacher) putting drama into your work with students.

This summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Meri kirihimete whānau!

Ryan Benjamin

Arts Online Community Facilitator - Dramanet
http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/
https://twitter.com/artsonline1

Dramanet: Summary to 21^st November

"Time waits for no man..." especially us drama teachers, huh?! Sorry for the slackness on my part recently in getting these to you but November has certainly seen the march of time power through at full-force, for sure! This summary is the combination of what I have counted to be some 924 emails through the list-serve to-date this month – impressive work from the nearly 750 of you who subscribe, post, read, or just lurk (yes you!) on the list…Thank you all!

So here’s what been going down – enjoy!

Note Worthy:

• Letters to a first-year you …is a touching and timely thread which I was inspired to put out there by a recent talk I gave at the University of Auckland to the out-going class of secondary drama teacher trainees. I have been warmed this week reading the beautifully articulate notes that have been posted by some of you since (special thanks to Amy for getting that ball rolling…) and hope more of you will share your gems of advice and reflection into the coming week too – men, it would be great to hear your perspectives! Follow them all at the link above and like many have suggested – print them and put them somewhere you’ll look often!
• In other news worthy of note, David Chambers raised the robust and respectful debate many of you contributed to,“Are YOU ready for a Showdown?” This raised some great points for me around celebration (vs.) (and) competition (vs.) (and) collaboration. While, all responses have been insightful to review, if there is one response I can particularly point all subscribers to it would be the one from Leigh Sykes who pointed out the things our colleagues in Dance (a community many of us are also a part of) does to emphasise celebration and collaboration in the art form with less focus on competition. Food for thought….

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko: A voice of help and support…

• I canvased experiences and opinions from subscribers on their thoughts around additional/extra/study-leave tutorialsfor external standards in Drama.
• Paul Willis and Nicole Eichstaedt were seeking suggestions for musicals which can be staged with the use of backing tracks/pre-recorded music; without the need for live performed music from a show band or orchestra.
• Brent Morrison asked about combining work towards 3.4 (theatre form) and 3.6 (production) – thanks to those who contributed to ideas here.
• Leigh Sykes asked what DVD creation software people were using to prepare Scholarship Drama materials.
• Tracey Dwyer asked how teachers were incorporatingstorytelling into work they assess for 1.1 (90006)?
• Tim Dagger asked about combining 91515 and 91516.Thanks to NZQA for providing an answer to this one and thank you Tim for asking the question – good luck with the project!
• Celia Mann share her Year 9 term plan for her course but was keen to have more ideas shared about how to engage (often shy) reluctant participants in order to increase Year 10 numbers the following year – thanks for starting this one Celia, it’s  great to have a thread focussed on junior programmes!
• Richard Conlon, a UK playwright contacting us all the way from the ever-cooling north, generously shared how teachers can access and download a free copy of his new play, Brothers in Arms which targets a young cast and explores WWI as its core theme. I took him up of the offer and enjoyed reading his work. Thank you Richard!
• Emily Miller-Matcham was seeking advice for the new black-box space she is getting at her school – discussions around wall colours followed. Always a great thread and topic to read for people exploring specialist drama space upgrades and developments at their schools. Read the discussions here.
• Sandra Mohekey had some play script sets to give away. Thanks this generous offer to the community Sandra.
• We discussed the format and content of the NCEA Level Three drama external examinations. For theatre form, here. For live performance, here. Thanks for all the contributions to this one – we look forward to discussing the level two and level one examinations in due course as well.
• Amy Edwards asked about pairing 1.5 with 1.6 or 1.1 and for suggestions for good realism texts for year 10 students.
• Jane Larsen was on the lookout for suggestions from teachers for purchasing a class set of chairs which are both neutral for use on stage but also durable for classroom use when required.
• Rosie Moxey asked, regarding Melodrama and assessment 1.4, if students need to complete a whole melodrama with all its characters included or is a scene with just two characters okay?
• Marcus Stewart raised a thread about digital assessmentand whether schools are using Office365 or Google Apps for Education or (insert other here…) in their programmes. I, for one, am a huge GAFE supporter and avid user. If anything, so far the responses reveal significantly that this usually in a school comes down to school management and teaching staff majority ‘personal preferences’ and the school-wide applied uses for the platform but is well worth reading always to hear those many different ways digital platforms and devices for learning are being incorporated into drama programmes and schools. Thanks Marcus!
• Lyndee Hurley asked about combining 3.8, 3.9 and 2.6.

Events, EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Taylor Griffin at Simple Truth Theatre alerted us to Toa Fraser’s BARE, which will be produced by their young emerging theatre company at The Pumphouse in Auckland, 25^th – 28^th May; consisting of several evening public shows as well as a series of schools matinee performances which is the main focus of the production including workshops and interaction for high school students! More details here.
• Julia Campbell announced The Lord Lackbeards Touring Company will be touring Hamlet and Ophelia Thinks Harder around the North Island in May 2016! More details here.
• Gillian Payne shared that Titirangi Theatre in West Auckland were looking for a director for their youth production to be staged in April 2016.
• Shiro Binks shared a reminder for Waikato drama teachers about the Waikato Junior Shakespeare Festival coming up on Monday 30^th November, 10am.
• It was great to hear from Ella Becroft at Red Leap Theatre Company, their newly appointed Education and Outreach Manager who shared a flier showing the range of ways RED LEAP can work with and support drama programmes, teachers and students.  
• Marama from AAF shared the final three shows making up the theatre programme for the Auckland Arts Festival 2016.
• Bridget Donovan asked: “Do you have a fabulous 13, 14, 15 year old student who would like to audition for this amazing opportunity?” …to perform in the new work Te Pō to be produced as part of the AAF offerings in Marc h 2016.
• Bhavisha Patel from Indian Ink Theatre invited subscribers to the preview night for their new work The Elephant Thiefon Friday 4^th December, 8pm. Details here.
• Must Be Dreaming Productions shared the a cast of 12-17 year old students from a range of high schools in the greater Wellington region who will perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at BATS Theatre. What an amazing project! Details and ticketing information here.
• K.C. Kelly added Wellington to the list, with some specific dates for their area to book for the upcoming tour of Ensemble Impact’s The Power Plays and Eglantyne. We also read what we actually do by supporting Ensemble Impact, here.
• Tim Bray productions were looking for two adult or young adult performers to play minor (unpaid) acting roles in their upcoming The Santa Claus Show 2015. Details here.
• Paul Collins shared the opportunity for teachers and students in the Whanganui, Manawatu and Taranaki areas to see an outdoor performance of Macbeth in the botanical gardens with a schools performance scheduled for Thursday 11^th February. More details here.
• Aaron from Youth Arts Space shared the upcoming workshops for senior students to be involved with in December and January. I’ve had students from Years 11 and13 involved in earlier YAS workshops back in April this – they are outstandingly operated, multi-disciplinary events with fantastic industry partnerships. My girls took a lot away from their experience with YAS so I highly endorse these FREE additional opportunities for our students to take part in.
• Rita Stone, artistic director at YASC shared the exciting news that the Young Auckland Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing will return to play at the Pop-Up Globe in for two shows only in February 2016.Details and audition notices here.

Professional Development Opportunities and Workshops:

• A highlight recently has been the announcement of the Drama New Zealand national conference for 2016, “Meet Me at the River” to be hosted by our Wellington branch and their call for presenters which closes on Monday 30^thNovember. It’s awesome to see such a variety of presentation options being designed and crafted for this conference in April. Our thanks in advance for the work completed so far, and for the work that will continue to be put in to this conference by the organising committee in Wellington. Thank you all! Delegate registrations will open 1^st February 2016.
• New NZQA moderator’s newsletters were shared and include two new publications – one targeting Drama standards and the other focussing on Performing Arts Technology standards. Details and links to view these, here.

Employment Opportunities:

• Avondale College in Auckland are advertising for a Head of Drama which was shared on the list. Details here.
• An Arts Facilitator position is available on the Secondary Student Achievement Contract with Team Solutions.

In the Spotlight: “A Primary Focus:

This week I'd like to share a link for our primary drama educator community to a 'case study' from our Learner Examples section of the Arts Online website. It is the time of year when many primary schools will be looking to the ‘drama staff member’ (if they’re lucky enough to have you...) to put on the school’s Christmas concert or whole-school “production” - this link looks at how one school did this: 

• WHOLE SCHOOL DRAMA: This case student was developed by Evelyn Mann in consultation with teacher Bonnie Leask (Half Moon Bay School, Stewart Island) for the children of Half Moon Bay School, Stewart Island. All 28 children in the school were involved in the drama – from new entrants to year 8.

While it deals with a completely different context, the structure and method of developing a school drama showcase can be easily applied to frameworks such as “The Christmas Story”; “Christmas Celebrations around the World” or “The Kiwi Christmas” as just three possible examples. Check it out and even if you don’t go full-hog with a school production – the ideas provide great suggestions for fun, active and engaging drama lessons to see the year through…

As always, this summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Ngā mihi me na manaakitanga,

Ryan Benjamin

Arts Online Community Facilitator - Dramanet
http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/
https://twitter.com/artsonline1

Dramanet Weekly Summary to 17^th October

And so we find ourselves at the end of the first week of Term 4 – how did that happen? I’d like to say that I hope the first week wasn’t too full on, but I fear that any such suggestions for any of us at this time of year are somewhat redundant. So, I hope at least you can put your feet up a bit this weekend!  This summary combines all the activity on the list over the term break period as well as the posts and discussions over this first week.

Note-Worthy:

• I shared and explained some of the content in the recently released 2015 edition of the Playmarket Annual. It’s a print booklet containing some fantastic editorials, articles and interviews focusing in particular on ‘why we write’; ‘what we write’ and other discussions about the ‘state of play’ out there in New Zealand theatre currently. A fantastic resource for senior drama students’ wider reading – order yours today!  

He Reo Āwhina, He Reo Tautoko: A voice of help and support...

• Amber asked if anyone managed to record or access When Sun and Moon Collide from its 2012 screening on Maori Television?
• Grant Lloyd was on the hunt for, preferably orange, yellow and green shades of Pantomime ‘goo’…
• James Manser shared his experience of using the app “Stop&Go” for running sound cues in a recent production – this sparked some good further discussions and other suggestions and products were compared. Thanks for starting this valuable thread James!
• Katie Howes sought suggestions for plays/texts with large casts and significant numbers of male roles. On that note, Rosaleen Moxey was also looking for suggestion for a Year 10 production with a small cast of 6 boys and 3 girls.
• Belinda Coffey asked if anyone already has some ‘job descriptions’ for the roles of Director and Producers for productions.
• Later on, Belinda also asked for help regarding the Dance exam DVD labels – I would highly recommend outlining your situation and giving our colleagues who subscribe to Dancenet a quick message at dancenet@lists.tki.org.nz for this one, Belinda.
• I was seeking reflections and experiences from people who have delivered Level 3 programmes with assessment opportunities taken from a combination of drama, dance and even other learning areas in combination? Thank to those who have sent me feedback and ideas!
• Chris Burton asked about using external agencies for ticketing school productions.
• Katy van Deventer sought advice for a situation where two level 2 students need to complete an assessment but one of the pair has lost their voice for an extended period of time – how can she get around this situation and complete the assessment, especially for the ‘well-voiced’ of the two... Thanks to those who have suggested solutions.
• Erica Newlands also asked whether it was okay for a level two student who has performed in a production of “Whistle Down the Wind” and has seen a different performance for the same play, to write about this for the live performance external – thanks for the response from subscribers and it’s a ‘yes from me’ too Erica!
• Robynne Jephson wanted support about how to incorporate “knowledge of NZ theatre” in the Scholarship Drama exam; to help her student who is performing a piece from King John and a devised piece about constrictions.
• Natasha McHattan was seeking help with contacts for technicians or experts in Auckland who might be able to sort out her sound system difficulties.

Events, EOTC & Live Performance Opportunities:

• Deanna Borren advertised the Young and Hungry Festival which is currently playing at Auckland’s Basement Theatre and continues through to October 24^th.
• K.C. Kelly shared details for EnsembleImpact’s touring work EGLANTYNE, “a one woman play exploring the life of Eglantyne Jebb, human rights activist, humanitarian, social reformer and co-founder of Save the Children”. Dates are available for schools to book in February (Wellington); March (Christchurch) and April (Auckland).
• The National Youth Drama School annual intensive workshop series for students held over a week of the school holidays in April 2016 is already half full with larger enrolment numbers for this time of year than ever before. If you plan to send students or if your students wish to take part – get in quick!
• Erica Newlands gave her endorsement for the Talking House verbatim works which are soon to tour Wellington – Be | Longing & The Keys are in the Margarine.
• Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information which triggered lots of discussion from those who’d seen it recently in Australia is coming to Auckland’s Basement Theatre presented by Last Tapes Theatre and The Actors’ Program, 18-21 November.
• Our original Dramanet facilitator, Evelyn Mann, from Drama Workz posted an Audition Notice for a national theatre in education tour funded by the Ministry of Health – paid roles – details here.
• Bhavisha Patel, advertised The Elephant Thief playing at Hamilton’s Meteor Theatre from December 4-12 – tickets are selling fast.
• Taylor Griffin and Peter Rees shared information about the upcoming Unitec 3^rd Year acting students graduation show 2063 – and original devised piece which will play at Q Theatre in Auckland from 13-20 November.

Professional Development Opportunities and Workshops:

Drama New Zealand are in Wellington today (as we speak) for yet another in the series of Scholarship Drama workshops for teachers and students that President, Emma Bishop has been touring the country to facilitate.

• Drama New Zealand are also offering a Waikato Term 4 Professional Development workshop for teachers – Wednesday 21^st October, 4-8pm at the Education Leadership Centre, Waikato University. Topics include: Scholarship know-how; junior programming and NCEA preparation.
• There is a one-day workshop coming up in Auckland at St Cuthbert’s College on Tuesday 10^th November from 8.30am -3pm focussing on the key drama theorists – Stanislavski, Brecht and Artaud – and understanding their key concepts with practical strategies for teachers to use with students.

Professional Reading/Viewing:

• The Ministry of Education’s Secondary Arts Newsletter for Term 4 was shared by Kim Bonnington on behalf of the Secondary Student Achievement national facilitation team.

Employment Opportunities:

• Nina Burchett, director at Shine School of Confidence was looking for an experienced Speech and Drama teacher for 3-5+ hours per week.

In the Spotlight: “A Primary Focus”

Primary teachers – can I send out this challenge to you all this term? Make “Mantle of the Expert” http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/about-moe/articles/  your go to site and revolutionise your classroom! This site has many interesting papers on Drama and the Mantle of the Expert. All articles are available as PDF files vary in length from quick reads to extended pieces but all make fantastic suggestions for how you can integrate drama education into your classroom as the driving force behind delivery of other learning areas.

If you are new to Mantle of the Expert pedagogy, then start with Luke Abbott’s Mantle of the expert – an attempt to understand the misunderstood to get you started. Heed the call – you’ll enjoy the adventure and your students will even more!

This summary will be uploaded to the Dramanet VLN group and our Twitter feed @ArtsOnline1. To access any of the threads on the Arts Online website archive simply type the username “artsonline” and the password “mailinglist” to do this.

Kia pai to mutunga wiki!

Ryan Benjamin

Arts Online Community Facilitator - Dramanet
http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/
https://twitter.com/artsonline1