Teacher’s workshop day at the Riverfront in Newport, Wales

This month the Theatr Iolo team met with the teachers who are taking part in Playhouse in Newport this summer. Five teachers spent the day at the Riverfront Arts Centre with Kira, who is running Playhouse Cymru, along with staff from both Theatr Iolo and the Riverfront. 

Although we’d had lots of catch ups on email, over the phone and online, this was the first time we’d all met together in person. The Teacher’s Workshop Day is always a really fun day and one of our favourite times during the project, as the excitement builds for the final performances later in the summer! The day is designed to give the teachers taking part in the project time away from the classroom, where they can focus on Playhouse, get to know the staff who are running the project, and visit the theatre they will be performing in.

The morning started with coffee (an essential part of the day for all teachers!) and drama games that helped everyone get to know each other. The games and activities that Kira ran also provided the teachers with lots of ideas to take back to their schools. The games will become an essential part of the process, as the classes will use them to warm up before rehearsals, and start to explore everyone’s level of comfort with performing in front of audience.

Kira, the Playhouse Cymru project leader, ran a session with the teachers to talk about directing a large cast of children and to share some valuable tips. The group talked about their ideas and lots of questions were asked! Some of the teachers had taken part in Playhouse in previous years and others were new to the project, so this was a lovely opportunity for them to share their experiences, worries or ideas. There was lots of chat during the session and everyone was left feeling really inspired and ready to get back to the classroom to start working on their plays.

During the afternoon, we went over the schedule for the performances and there was an opportunity for the teachers to meet with the theatre technicians who will be looking after the lights, music and sound for each of the performances. Many of the teachers had no experience of taking a show to a professional theatre before, so this part of the day was really valuable for the teachers and will enable them to make informed and knowledgeable decisions during the rehearsal process, which will ensure the performances run smoothly and the teachers are able to focus on the children.

We rounded off the day with final questions and lots of well wishes for the coming weeks. All the teachers were excited about getting back to the classroom and telling the children about everything they had learnt. We can’t wait to see how the project progresses over the next few months and look forward to welcoming them back to Riverfront in July for their final performances!