Drama
I enjoy Drama as it inspires me to explore all aspects of my creativity and express it in different and interesting ways.
Year 9 Pupil
Drama Department
At Farnborough Hill we strive for the highest standards of excellence and aim to draw out skills and talents in each and every pupil. The Drama Department holds to this ethos and enjoys the process of self-discovery with the pupils in all stages of their education.
We do not teach acting per se but aim to build confidence in the pupils so that they can express life both comically and tragically in an environment which is fun and non-judgemental. Assessments are conducted constructively and in relation to stage knowledge and craft.
We acknowledge that Drama may not be for everyone but recognise its unique value:- to face personal challenges, to 'meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same', to work with others, to meet deadlines, to learn great speeches off by heart understanding that performance rests on hard work and high standards of professionalism and discipline.
Facilities
Farnborough Hill's excellent facilities include a recently refurbished black box theatre (Theatre on the Hill) seating 105, a black box studio performance and teaching space (Princess Studio) and the School Hall all with an extensive range of lighting and sound equipment. The Hall accommodates a large audience for our popular musical productions.
Beyond the Curriculum
Drama workshops at Farnborough Hill are an enrichment beyond the curriculum. They provide pupils with the opportunity to extend their skills and learn from high-achieving professionals. Workshops by Actor Trainer and Director Mr Geoff Colman and companies such as Frantic Assembly are ones that we hope to continue every year.
Frantic Assembly
Frantic Assembly is a company known for productions such as the 'Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', 'Things I know to be True', and 'Love Song'; and our pupils have studied their work and seen performances for many years.
This workshop is an outstanding opportunity to learn directly from the artists who have created such iconic work. Workshop leader, Mr Steve Kirkham, has worked with Frantic Assembly since its formation in 1994, as well as with Sir Matthew Bourne (in his ground-breaking 'Swan Lake') and George Lucas on the latest in the Star Wars series.
The workshop is physically demanding and pupils are led through a development process that enables them to take a string of simple movements and body shapes and use them as building blocks to begin to tell a story on stage.
Geoff Colman Workshop
Mr Geoff Colman, Actor Trainer and Director, provides a dynamic and explorative two-hour workshop for the GCSE Year 11 Drama group. As a much sought-after acting coach with extensive experience in theatre and film, and as a past Head of Acting at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama for 20 years, he explores deeper levels of script. Mr Colman takes the challenging angle that ‘the text is something which happens’ but that ‘the text isn’t the final experience’.
Exercises are designed to work with the fourth wall and hesitations in natural speech are ironed out, encouraging young actresses to become aware of a meta level of thinking.
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