A Frantic Few Days With Frantic Assembly

Courtesy of world renowned physical theatre company, Frantic Assembly, drama students got hectic, 27th, 28th Feb and 6th March, 2017. Students from GCSE, IB, and BTEC drama, as well as those from the Elements course Island Arts, were invited to workshops where they learnt physical movements, building blocks for movement sequences and the devising processes.

Frantic Assembly is an international company, celebrated for its physicality and distinct practices in its performances. The students were taught how to lift one another, how to create sequences of movements, and how to read stories from them. They were also invited to watch Frantic Assembly’s This Will All Be Gone, a show that used the same devices they had been taught in the workshop.

Sofie Burgoyne, one of the performers and workshop leaders, touched on pursuing theatre and other careers. She said: “When you’re young, I encourage you to just go for it. Fall over, cry, laugh and if you don’t enjoy something, just see what comes from that.”

Sophie Welsh, Head of Drama said: “The students were buzzing by the end of their sessions, and the drama teachers have seen an exciting new direction in the devising work they are producing. The students’ work is becoming more adventurous, the layering of ideas that Frantic gave them is already being seen in the studios.  The BTEC performance evening will be the first showcase of the work created using the Frantic method.”

By Nobel Chan, Media Team.