Reach Out does Storytelling

On Friday 19 June 2015 we welcomed nine local schools to our first Storytelling Day. 60 children attended the event with guest Storyteller Mike Payton. Focusing around the theme of Persian and Arabian tales, Mike created several short stories which would be combined with shadow puppets and music to create theatrical performances.

Each team worked closely with Mike on the different techniques of storytelling before coming together at the end of the day to rehearse with their selected sound effects and handmade puppets.

The final shadow puppet performance were recorded back at school by the NGHS Outreach Team and Robin Hood Primary were chosen as worthy winners for their excellent show and team work.

Aims

The day aimed to take a creative approach to storytelling and drama through shadow puppetry. By incorporating instruments and sound effects, children were able to take full creativity of their performances without the pressure of stage or live performance. The feedback from children was incredible - all realised that this took a huge amount of team effort to delegate, work efficiently and rehearse, but fully enjoyed it regardless.

Background

We host a lot of academic events that incorporate creativity, however, previous feedback has informed us that some schools would like to attend English and Drama sessions. We included both for this event.

Pupil Involvement

46 boys and girls from seven different primary schools were involved. Children also received a follow-up session where they shared their puppets shows to the Reach Out staff. A winning team was selected for their good team work and excellent story telling technique.