Creative Drama Classes – 7 to 18 years

Enrolments are open until midday Tues 4 Aug

Cost: $115 for a nine-week term

An enrolment form must be completed for class attendance.

https://www.mairangiplayers.co.nz/files/New%20Application.pdf

Creative Drama Classes have been running in our purpose-built theatre, TheatreWorks, Recreation Drive, Birkenhead since 1997.

The final class of each term is a short presentation of what we have been working on during the term.

Drama 1 - Tues 15 Sep

Drama 2 - Wed 16 Sep

Drama 3 - Thur 17 Sep

In Term Three we will be looking at William Shakespeare’s history, “(The Life and Death of) King John”. The aim is to give an insight into Shakespeare, his life, why he remains popular today and to provide a foundation for or adjunct to when Shakespeare is studied at school. I want to share my passion for Shakespeare, as I certainly didn’t warm to it when it was taught at school, and it is only later in life that I really appreciated it.

Throughout the year the classes will cover a range of topics, with different emphases applied according to class level attended. Some of the topics covered are team-work, imagination stimulus, improvisation, mime, and movement. There is also stage-craft, performance skills, voice production, characterisation and character background, study of scripts, theatre terminology, a brief overview of theatre history and “who’s who” in the production process.

The classes are both constructive and enjoyable. There will be room for play, but there is the need also for work to gain any benefit. “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!”

The teacher, Robyn Donnelly, has been a member of TheatreWorks (aka Mairangi Players) since 1993 and has been teaching drama since 1997; for TheatreWorks, ACTA - a musical theatre academy, The NZ Improv Society and Bayview Drama.

Awarded a musical theatre scholarship, she went on to graduate with an “A” pass in the post-graduate Diploma in Drama from The University of Auckland.

In 2015, Robyn received the "Best Female Actor in a Leading Role" Award for Auckland Community Theatre. She has trained with various tutors in dance, drama, improvisation, piano, singing, speech, and theory of music. Her first performance was at the age of three, and she has since performed in both amateur and professional stage work, film, television and vocal recording, as well as writing, directing, producing, choreography, costume design and creation, stage-managing sound and lighting design and operation and doing other behind-the-scenes jobs. She was a long-time member of “The Aunties”, a children’s entertainment troupe, and started Thespianage in 2004.