More Passion For Performance

It's that time of the year where my students apply to be part of the upcoming ISTA festival. As part of the application I ask them to write a brief explanation about why they love Performance and why they want to take part. The answers I receive affirm that this...

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The Scaredy Bear

As something a bit different I thought I would share a children's poem I wrote a few years ago. Hopefully it brings a smile to your face... ...

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Artist Toolbox: The Queen's Rules

A quick improv game to add to your toolbox. This one was taught to me by a student and I love it! But the students love it even more!! It's a great warmup and helps with getting students out of their shells. The Queen's Rules How to play: One student...

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Comics Which Pack More Than Punches

Recently I've delved into the world of comics and discovered to my delight that not all comics are the pulp of the standard superhero story. Although I have enjoyed reading some Marvel and DC, the sugary shallowness of the majority of their lines can't come close...

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My ISB twitter group

If you are part of the ISB community, you may find this Twitter group I created useful. @CarlERobinson/isb  ...

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Mood Music

These are the playlists I use frequently in my teaching. They're great if you need a particular atmosphere or emotion in the room. Although there are already thousands of these playlists on Youtube, it's always useful to have some of particular moods. So, check...

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Haiku of my thoughts

haiku of my thoughts/ a fresh way to explain them/ makes feedback anew// Why not ask students to give their feedback on their colleagues' performances in the form of a haiku? They will have to choose their words carefully and present them in a creative way....

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Artist Toolbox: Theatre Whispers (Telephone)

As well as being hilarious, this is a great activity for practicing precise, expressive movement scores. We have just started a unit on masks and I decided to use one of my favourite exercises as a lead into the unit and I found that it was of great use in explaining...

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1 + 1 = 2! (Building Up To Devising)

Getting started in a devising project can be difficult. A group of students who are given a broad stimulus or a task can have trouble getting past the ideas stage and into making. Here's my 3-step tip for drama teachers to get their students kick-started into...

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Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Drama Teacher Bonus)

If you haven't already read them, go back and see my posts about the modern world of board games here and here. Now, here are some great board games that you can use in drama class: For Quick Thinking Improvisation And Role Playing Snake Oil - one player...

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Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Part 2)

So you've read Part 1 of this post and the game is still on. You'd like to know more about some great games to get into the modern world of board gaming? Well then, hold on to your meeples, people coz here we go!! The Best Game To Play In 20 Minutes (With Your...

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Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Part 1)

As well as being a drama teacher, I am also a massive geek and one of my main geekeries is Board Games!!!! Now, I'm sorry to break it to you. I know you loved it when you Passed Go and received 200 big ones!! OK, I know it was usually a pain when you went to...

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Alice vs Wonderland: wonderful video production

We're very lucky at ISB to have a talented video production expert- Lisa O'Leary (Lisa on twitter). She does some fantastic work with the students and also for our productions. I wanted to show off the work she did on Alice vs Wonderland this year, so please...

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Walking for water: an immersive adventure in Grade 4

It's days like this that make my job so special! To get Grade 4 students thinking about the people all around the world who have to walk long distances to collect water, we took students on an 'adventure' through the woods. Students role-played detectives...

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Launching Narrative: grade 2 storytelling project in Expressive Arts

Recently, I had the pleasure of working with our Grade 2 students on a short project to launch their upcoming unit on story writing. To get the students excited and stimulated to start writing their own invented narratives, the Grade 2 team and I devised a...

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Short time. Short film. Great minds. Great results.

Just 40 minutes, a stimulus, a smart phone and a group of brilliant young minds produces this... This video was produced by a group of ISB Middle and High School students at our recent devising weekend lead by Gemma Paintin from the performance company Action...

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Artist Toolbox: Chance Encounters

Favourite exercise for generating movement: 'Chance Encounters' This is an exercise in chance encounters and can be really useful for stimulating storylines, situations and movements scores. As a whole group, in a clearly visible place like on a white-board...

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Artist Toolbox: Architect's Brother

Here is some fascinating art that I find particularly inspirational for using as directives when making performance. It comes from the work of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison. Check them out!! The Architect's Brother portfolio The Counterpoint...

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