Diary of a Summer School Student

In 2022, we asked Summer School student Rachelle to keep a diary of her highlights and learnings during her week with fellow Summer School students and facilitator Ellen Steele.

• Click here to learn more about our Summer and Winter School programs

Monday 

Today was a fun day which started with ensemble games, reimaging classics fairy tales and creating complex scenes from simple dialogue. I really enjoyed learning techniques on how to turn something pre-existing into something outrageous and new which created a performance 100 times more interesting and funnier.

Tuesday 

Today was a character development day where we got to explore the analytical and physical sides of developing our characters. I learnt new techniques that I will be able to incorporate into future performances which have also helped me understand which techniques I was more comfortable using and when.

Wednesday

Today we delved into physical theatre and some tools we can use to devise it.

I really enjoyed learning about the 6 list. It’s a useful tool for creating more interesting and engaging performances. It’s defiantly a tool I will be using in the future. I also loved the movement workshop where i got to feel intune with my body and move freely without the fear of being judged.

Thursday 

Today we did puppetry, which included making them, and object theatre. I found puppeteering quite challenging and is something I now know that I don’t really want to do. I did however, enjoy creating the puppet. I also love the improvisation of object theatre and how interesting and fun it was to create a scene base on a genre.

Friday

Today we compiled everything we learnt during the week and created a scene from a piece of dialogue. It was soo cool to see how everyone’s group did something initially different. My group decided to pick a genre for the dialogue that changed the feel and interpretation of the scene. It was lots of fun creating a scene so different to the dialogue. It’s a very interesting way of devising that would love to use again.

Summary 

I really enjoyed summer school. It has taught me a lot about myself, my likes and dislikes and different techniques I can use in the future. Of course it was scary at the start when you walk into the room with so many different personality, but at the end of the day we were all there for the same thing, the love and interest in theatre, which united us into one big family. I have met so many amazing people through this experience who i will treasure forever. I will especially cherish the hilarious memories we made this week. I had so much fun being as weird as I liked without the fear of being judged and I loved how I got to give it 100% and be imperfect in the space with people who truly support and want the best for you.