Drama enthusiasts enhance acting skills |14 August 2018

Young people and adults alike who are passionate about drama are having the chance to enhance their acting skills through a two-week international workshop which started yesterday.

The aim of the workshop is to promote drama and theatre.

The workshop, being held at the Theatre Des Palmes, Mont Fleuri, has been organised by the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts (NCPA) and the School of Drama in collaboration with the Winchester University in England.

It is a continuation from last year’s workshop on drama training and once again Stephen Hall, head of Performing Arts at the British university, is conducting the workshop.

The workshop entails drama and theatre activities around comedies and some of Shakespeare’s plays. It also includes group work, writing and the making of short scenes, physical work, stand-up comedy, learning how to face the audience, among other acting techniques.

A performance in front of an audience is being planned at the end of the workshop.

As of yesterday until Friday this week, from 9am to 3pm, the workshop is being held for young actors above 10 years old while during the second week from Monday August 20 to Friday August 24, 2018, there will be another workshop for adults which will run from 4.40pm to 6pm.

While in Seychelles, Mr Hall will also have meetings with officials from NCPA, the Seychelles Qualification Agency (SQA) and from the culture department on how drama can be used to make a difference to people of all ages and for the community.

“While going round last year, I noticed a lot of community centres and I see there is a real opportunity there to get young people, with some of the teachers, to have the skills and to go out and address issues of importance to the particular location through their performances,” Mr Hall said, noting that he already did a white paper on the subject for the culture department through NCPA.

“We want people to understand that drama can tell stories about the Seychelles especially things that are important to the local communities. The skills that you can learn from being involved in performance can go into a much wider variety of careers whether in social care or business, working in retail, working in government, in schools etc.. and not forgetting the many issues that can also be addressed through acting,” he added.

The head of the NCPA, Pierre Joseph, said that as the School of Drama has no policy for the continuity of drama, the conservatoire is consulting with Mr Hall on a proper drama programme that can also be used in the school curriculum with the consent of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development.

“We want to bring drama and theatre if possible on the same level as the dance and music school,” said Mr Joseph.   

Mr Hall is helping NCPA to develop a standard drama programme with the assistance of SQA.

Yesterday, some 25 young students, mostly girls, some of whom are studying drama with the school, as well as other newcomers, turned up for the first session.

“Drama makes you see things that will attract your attention in the environment. Drama is not only about making you laugh but you can also learn lessons from drama which you can share with other people. You can go very far with drama as you can earn a lot of money,” said 10-year-old Annais Ernesta from La Rosière primary school.

The accompanying photographs show the participants during some practical sessions yesterday.