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Seven is considered a lucky number in many religions and cultures, revered as a symbol of perfection or completeness. For our Year 13 Drama and Theatre Studies students, it’s a particularly significant number, as they have now completed seven years of secondary school education. Similarly to Year 13, I have now completed a full school ‘cycle’ — the current leavers were my first Year 7 students when I arrived in 2018.
Therefore, as I write my highlights as Director of Drama, it feels fitting to reflect on the standard of the work students have produced in the department this year. Both curricular and co-curricular projects continue to surprise and challenge pupils and audiences alike. From Greek tragedies to twee comedies, grotesque physical theatre to polemical political plays, or the gender debate explored in feminist theatre — we aim to give each academic cohort a range of contrasting experiences.
Notably this year, Key Stage 4 and 5 students enjoyed ‘Backstage at the National Theatre’ — a highly successful trip offering a behind-the-scenes look at the home of British theatre. We witnessed a contemporary reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s classic farce The Importance of Being Earnest both in rehearsal and in performance. Highlights included seeing 3D-printed props of giant heads painted by scenic artists, and observing a technical sound check to ensure the cast’s microphones were correctly placed and balanced within the overall sound design, syncing with the music and sound effects.
Deepening one’s understanding of the full blend of skills that shape a production is essential for our GCSE and A Level students — both in their practical theatre-making and written exams. In a world where technology keeps offering shortcuts and algorithms refine our tastes, it’s increasingly important to challenge our preferences and preconceptions about the kind of work we consume.
As society continues to refine Artificial Intelligence in relation to humanity, it’s worth asking: does technology enhance the arts? In our experiments with ChatGPT in Drama, we’ve found AI’s ‘creativity’ to be lacking in authenticity — unsurprising, perhaps, since theatre is all about placing the human experience under a magnifying glass. Hatred, sympathy, love, disgust and comedy underpin all storytelling, so we will have to rely on humans to convey these experiences. Well, for now anyway. Who knows what the world will look like seven years from now? I can’t wait to see what the next Channing cycle will uncover in the imagination and inspiration of our actors, directors and designers.
The future of theatre-making is happening right now. Our younger students have been exploring design — participating in workshops on set and costume design and even learning how to create gruesome scars, cuts and bruises through special effects make-up. Finally, we were thrilled to contribute to the first Creative Arts Week with a podcast episode, in which I chaired a discussion between recent alumna Hannah Schlenker (now working as a set designer) and Channing parent and theatre director Carrie Cracknell. Our guests gave Year 11–13 students fascinating insights into careers in the creative industries, covering topics such as what a freelance job is really like, how to build networks, find inspiration and make use of new technologies — from both an early-stage and more established perspective.
Our co-curricular programme showcased the next generation of actors at Channing. Miss Vince writes of Daisy Pulls It Off:
“Deegan’s heartwarming play transported us to an all-girls’ boarding school in the 1920s, which at its core is a play about friendship, bravery and the way we all grow and learn together — often in the most unexpected of circumstances. The cast wowed me with their fearlessness and dedication, taking ownership of their characters and supporting each other throughout the rehearsal process, tackling character movement, singing the Heathcroft School song and perfecting their crisp RP (received pronunciation) accents.”
Discovering a play about women putting on plays seemed like a real stroke of luck when I stumbled across We Happy Few, written in 2003 by Imogen Stubbs. The plot centres on a fictionalised version of the Osiris Players, the first professional all-woman theatre company, founded by Nancy Hewins. They toured Britain during World War II, performing Greek tragedies and Shakespearean comedies in church halls and pubs — keeping the home fires burning.
Ms Hill, Director of Drama
LAMDA
Sixty four Year 8 and 9 students took the LAMDA Acting courses this year. The examiners were highly complimentary. One said: it was a joy to examine at your centre and inspiring to see so many polite and well prepared students; the others praised the department for providing such a wide range of pieces for the students to work on, saying the work had obvious student ownership, and how interesting and entertaining it made the exam sessions for them!
At the end of the course we ask students to fill in an evaluation of the course. Their comments are used in planning for the following year and they give a vivid representation of their time doing LAMDA.
Many students enjoyed: Being able to experiment with how we interpreted our characters; Working with new people; Having freedom on stage, and making friends; Getting to do more acting; Becoming more confident with speaking and performing. Other favourite things were: The way that the year is split in half with the first half on duologue and the second on monologue; Having the independence of choosing my own scenes; Slowly working on individual skills and weaknesses; The warm ups and fun bits on the side; Getting to know more people; The lessons are fun and truly do help you improve – especially the post-it feedback; Learning how to develop my pieces by myself and gaining the confidence to perform fluently in front of an audience; Spending time with my scene partner; Performing pieces with other people, to other people; Becoming more confident in analysing a scene and making my own interpretation; The showcase, even though it was nerve racking – it was exciting to be on stage! and *Seeing everybody else’s pieces; Also I loved rehearsing with my mum at home to be honest 🙂 *
Things they are proud of are: Being able to identify and have more contrasting voices and feelings; That I created 2 characters out of nothing and that they really came alive; How I was confident enough to do something I was uncomfortable with at the start; Becoming more flexible about other people’s ideas and always trying out new things; Selecting a complicated scene, but managing it nicely; Being able to deeply understand my character and convey it with nuance; Becoming better at acting due to LAMDA; Developing my character more and more; Sustaining the German accent; Being more expressive; Learning about how to show certain feelings and emotions through my physicality and tone; Improving my diction and pace; Being able to project my voice; I finally spoke loudly and I made huge progress from the beginning of the course; How I gained so much confidence from LAMDA – the big improvements I’ve seen in myself and in my performances overall; Feeling a lot more confident now in public speaking; Performing a tragic and a contemporary scene; How contrasting my scenes are; Creating my own take on a scene with my duologue partner, who I’ve become close with; I’m really proud that I stepped out of my comfort zone in the monologue; My monologue final creation; Actually doing the exam; Improving in all ways; I’m now just proud of myself.
In addition to increased confidence, vocal control, and happy memories other things the students value and take away from the course are: The ability to concentrate, generate ideas, stay positive and giving constructive feedback to oneself; Better collaboration and creative thinking; Finding close details in texts; The ability to analyse a scene; Courage of not being afraid to make a mistake; Improvisational skills; The ability to take on other people’s feelings and moods; Being able to analyse how humans behave; Understanding how to express more emotions. Also, learning how to: Refine work; Manage time; and Step outside my comfort zone.
One said: LAMDA this year was such an amazing experience, I have achieved more than I ever expected. Like her, we are so proud of each student and their individual journey in extending their skills and artistry, and of all their dynamic and creative contributions this year. Bravo!
Ms Penglase, LAMDA Teacher and Coordinator
