Workshops for Schools / Drama Groups


be BIG, be FUNNY, be REAL!!!  
The following guest workshops (1-2 hours long) are currently available to drama students in schools located within 1 hour of Toronto. There is no charge. The workshops are intended to offer an example of the type of learning experiences we provide for students in the summer, and the instructor will bring along information for the attention of interested students. All workshops are designed as a professional development opportunity for the teachers, too.  

be BIG...
         ... in this workshop, students uncover the secrets of stage presence, storytelling and public presentation as they work through simple and fun drama exercises. We’ll use drama games, choral speaking, classic text and imagination exercises to ‘free’ the body, enliven the senses and exercise the imagination. Students discover how to speak so that others will sit up and listen!                

 

be FUNNY...
                 ....choose this option, and your students explore the workings of comedy! What is physical theatre, and how does it work? What do we find funny, and why? How can you deliver lines in a way that will make your audience laugh? Using provided scenarios, students examine what performances make them laugh - and why.                                             

be REAL...
             ...how does an actor create a fictional character that an audience will believe in? We’ll use exercises created by Stanislavsky, exploring the importance of imagination and observation through theatre games. Students create characters and them together as they rehearse short pieces of original theatre.  

Instructor Biography

Julie Hartley is a playwright, poet, theatre director and teacher. She has taught drama, English and creative writing in schools across Canada and the UK, and her plays have been performed extensively by youth groups in both continents. Hartley is a sessional instructor and guest director in the drama department of the University of Waterloo and teaches theatre at George Brown College. She was a presenter at this year’s CODE conference, has led workshops for the Shaw Festival Teachers’ Days and is currently working on a book for drama teachers.   We have only a limited number of workshop slots available. To book a workshop for your students,  call us at 416 766 7124.