York Theatre Royal works extensively throughout the York area to forge close partnerships with schools and colleges, offering activities, workshops and projects to teachers and students. Our experienced and dedicated educational practitioners work closely with teachers to create stimulating programmes in which productions are targeted, plays are unravelled and the processes of making and producing them is explored. Bespoke workshops, INSETS for teachers, tour and industry days are available upon request as well as education packs on selected productions.

In addition to these programmes York Theatre Royal has developed a focused Partnership with Education and Theatre (PET Project) which works with six schools (primary and secondary) every year to facilitate creative learning across all curriculum subjects. By allowing students to see the curriculum in action students can relate subjects they are studying to their practical use in the “real world” as solutions to our work.


Partnership with Education and Theatre (PET)
Supported by City of York Council

Each academic year, through the Partnership with Education and Theatre (PET Project) York Theatre Royal forges close partnerships with schools across both primary and secondary phases to facilitate creative learning across all curriculum subjects.

PET works with teachers from our partner schools to develop and deliver sustained and engaging projects that fit into and link many diverse subjects; from science to food technology, maths to art and history to literacy.

Various York Theatre Royal departments including; accounts, box office, café bar, marketing, production, wardrobe and our acting companies are actively involved in projects that allows schools to show students the curriculum in action.

The public rarely see the day to day work of ensuring the productions reach the stage, however through individually tailored PET projects we use these processes to evidence to students how subjects they are studying can be practically applied in the “real world” as solutions to our work.

Our PET schools for the next academic year 2008/2009 are:

Clifton with Rawcliffe Federation
Fishergate Primary
Park Grove Primary
St.Wilfrid's RC Primary
All Saints RC School
Joseph Rowntree School




Examples of past PET projects

Primary

• Links to work on Helen Keller. Drama Workshops that focus children to consider their different senses. Audio Description workshops - children visited theatre and we give a practical demonstration of how blind patrons can still experience the action of theatre.

• Two full day projects on aspects of Hindu culture and procession. Myths, legends and religious biographies all have story sequences and through taking this as a starting point we were able to build the project creatively.

• Lighting project initiated with model boxes - Using torches and small circuits to light the box- focus on shadows and light placement around the box.

• Story Settings - Using model boxes we explain that designers make sets as locations to help the story move to different places. Taking a story we all know we design and make basic model locations that can fit into the model box.

• Dressing Characters - Using a rail of random and specific clothing we consider which characters are in a story we all know and we try to dress characters appropriately and approximately using what we have on the rail - focus on colours, shapes, textures and sizes of items.

• D&T. Sandwich Snacks. Our cook went into school and gave a talk on health, safety and hygiene in the kitchen, discussed healthy eating and what a balanced diet should consist of and gave a demonstration on how to make a healthy sandwich and helped the class make their own sandwich.

• Emphasis on Ghost Stories - literacy/oracy. Tours of YTR where we explain the many stories and sightings of theatre ghosts. Three in-school workshops looking at approaches to creating own ghost stories using the ‘Grey Lady’ ghost story as a stimulus.

• WW2 evacuee’s experiences. Using drama techniques and games to explore the historical time frame of WW2, focussing on creating a story sequence that about young evacuees.

• Macbeth/Shakespeare – Half or full day drama workshop exploring the key themes and narrative of Macbeth. Students were left with a scene to work on which they performed on the main stage as part of a theatre tour.


Secondary

• Fields of Enquiry - Using Box Office data to study the distances, areas and locations YTR draws its audience from. Pupils produced analysis through text and graphs.

• Excel. A project working with YTR’s Chief Executive where students are introduced to our use of Excel spreadsheets and then given the brief using data from a current production to redesign an Excel system to better suit our purposes.

• Recruitment - A workshop that sees pupils visit YTR and take part in a recruitment process. Students are explained our process and then we practically play in out from writing a job description right through to interviewing and selecting (mock) candidates.

• Slavery. Using YTR’s production of African Snow to explore the social, political and historical context of slavery through role play techniques.

• English. Looking for JJ – approaches to text. Initial workshop introducing the themes of the play and exploring opinions based on the questions and dilemmas posed. Groups came to see the play. The writer, Anne Cassidy and director, Marcus Romer came into school and spoke about their individual approaches and answered questions. Each group had a further two workshops taking practical approaches to the text, exploring objectives, actions, subtext and approaches to developing character.

• RE. Shipwreck Project – Working over 7 weeks using drama games and role play to consider how a society that has been shipwrecked would form and sustain a society afresh.

• Graphics. Corporate Identity. Students are introduced to YTR’s existing merchandise and branding through meeting our Head of Marketing. They then return to school and begin process of research and development of new products/identities to be presented and displayed at the theatre.

• Food technology. Cake Competition. Cost & Considerations - Interview with our Catering Manager is shown to the pupils. We explain the needs and requirements of the cakes we stock and sell. Pupils then create a recipe for a cake that they feel would sell with our clientele, bake the cake and representatives from YTR taste them and a select a “winner” which we go on to sell at YTR

• Science. Forensics of Macbeth - a workshop using CSI officers from North Yorkshire Police and three actors from YTR. Using the story of Macbeth we examine whether modern forensic techniques would be helpful in incriminating Macbeth after the murder of King Duncan.

If you would like any further information about PET please contact Julian Ollive on 01904 658162 or email education@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk