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Students shine at the North London Drama Festival

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 11 June, 2010

Everyone who attends after-school classes at The Playing Space took part in the North London Drama Festival on 8 and 9 May 2010. Each class prepared a group acting scene, and many students also entered in other categories. Across all age groups (from 4 to 17), we had sight readers, storytellers, verse and prose readers, monologuers, duologuers, and a public speaker. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part! What an amazing achievement it is to take what festival adjudicator Stephen Joseph called “the walk of fear” – those nervous steps from a chair in the auditorium up onto a large stage in an unfamilar room, knowing that in a few moments you will have to project your voice and movements to fill that room. You try to forget that family members, friends, and hundreds of strangers are watching you and an adjudicator’s pencil is hovering. From “Santa Claws” to Molière, via “The Day I Met the Queen” and “The Grapes of Wrath”, we were enormously proud of each and every one of our students. The festival is competitive, and there were prizes galore for The Playing Space. Much more important, though, is the fact that everyone came off stage happy and exhilarated. Though often nervewracking, the experience of performing for an audience has huge benefits for a young person’s confidence.

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Half-term drama workshop “more fun than Playstation”!

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 1 March, 2010

The Playing Space’s February half-term Pinocchio workshop was praised lavishly by the children who attended, as well as by their parents. Charlie loves computer games but declared that drama at The Playing Space was “even more fun than Playstation”! Tara “absolutely loved it”, and her Mum thanked The Playing Space for making the three days “so very enjoyable”. Molly had “lots of fun”. Judy told her mother that doing drama again would be “the best treat”. Clearly others agreed – the summer holiday workshops are already filling up. So please call us now to book a place and give your child an unforgettable week of fun!

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Photos of our 2009 Christmas showcase

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 4 January, 2010

The Playing Space 2009 Christmas LAMDA showcase ran on three nights from 14-17 December. On each night a different group of students performed a selection of their LAMDA exam pieces for an invited audience of parents. Each performance showed off the range and variety of work our students produce, from short memorised poems at Introductory level to classical duologues for the medal exams. Parents greatly enjoyed the chance to see what their children and other students had been working on during the term. Despite the nerve-wracking prospect of performing in front of an audience, students also benefited from the opportunity to watch their colleagues in other classes. Older students had a reminder of where they had started out, and younger students had a glimpse of what the future held for them! Each night’s performance was followed by Christmas presents for the students, and then refreshments and a chance for everyone to mingle and chat. The showcase was a huge success and is set to become a regular feature of The Playing Space’s annual calendar. Here are a few photos of the event…

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Fantastic Mr Fox show “better than the film”.

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 3 November, 2009

The Playing Space’s half-term Fantastic Mr Fox workshop was a big hit among all those who attended. Martino (age 6) called it “the best drama I’ve ever done”. Fellow participant Chad (7) agreed, declaring that he “just loved all of it!” During the week-long workshop, children took part in games and drama activities related to the theme, including Keep the Chicken in the Air, Sleeping Foxes and Bang! We also spent time exploring Roald Dahl’s unforgettable characters and improvising scenes from the story. The week culminated in a presentation for parents, which one audience member even judged to be “better than the film!” Melanie, 5, spoke for everyone when she said “I just can’t wait for the next drama camp!”

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“Very inspiring” summer workshops

By Steven Maddocks | Published: 10 September, 2009

Feedback on The Playing Space’s recent course of summer workshops was exceptionally positive. The workshops were described by all who attended as “very inspiring”. All parents agreed that children had come away “with loads of new ideas”. Asked whether the workshops had helped to improve their child’s confidence, communication and social skills, all parents said “yes” in all cases, with several noting that the small class sizes were an especially valuable feature. The workshops also fostered “a great sense of achievement”. Children enjoyed learning poems and rhymes and making new friends who live locally. Parents described the workshops as “a wonderful experience” and “a brilliant week” and said that their children had “absolutely loved it” and “enjoyed every minute”.

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