Partnerships School Matinee Performance

Pupils at KES perform for visitors who are studying, as a set text, the play Macbeth. This is the pupils first live performance to an invited audience so enables them to experience the challenges of live performance prior to opening night. Visitors see the text in action and look at how it relates to staging, performance and costuming in a peer context and this can inform their learning in the classroom. 

Aims

To promote a lifelong love of theatrical performance through exposure to live theatre. To improve the quality of dramatic performances through live audience experience and build connections with partnership schools through a shared activity.

Background

This event was inspired through a willingness to work with partners in the local community at Secondary School age. The play, Macbeth, is suitable for an older pupil audience so finding partners who are studying the work and can find mutual benefit for live performance was a motivating factor.  

Resources

The school made the most of its resources with the Dobson Theatre showcased for an afternoon matinee. This included a full run with stage lighting, set, costumes and sound production to experience what an opening night would be like. KES also provided all transport costs. 

Impact

From the Lead Accompanying Teacher from St Anne's Catholic School: “Absolutely our pleasure, thank you so much again for giving our Year 8 girls the opportunity to see such a wonderful production of the play. All the cast were so professional and what a great feat to learn all that Shakespearean text. Thank you again and it will definitely be great to do something else together and keep the link.”

 

From KES pupil performer:

“It made it funny; they were cheering and clapping. They laughed and found aspects hilarious and their reactions were so loud it really made an impact on me. They literally jumped when McBeth stabbed young Siward. It was good training for what was to come.”

“I had some nerves before performing which meant I could focus my performance more. Having older, secondary pupils there was great too rather than working with primary age. We need more matinees!”

 

Pupil Involvement

KES Pupils: 43 (Years 10 - 13) 
St Anne's Catholic School: 190 (Year 8)

Total: 233

Frequency

This has been offered to our primary partners twice a year but adding secondary age partners is an exciting first time experience on which we hope to build.