Cardiff Schools Theatre Festival

In Partnership with Cardiff Council

Opportunity to perform in a professional theatre.
9 hours of contact time in school with one practitioner delivering.
4.5 Hours of Research and Development
4.5 Hours Creating and Rehearsing
The final pieces will be 15 minutes in length.
Proffesional Theatre Rehearsal
Final Performance for Friends, Family and other schools involved.
In line with the new National Curriculum framework

The Passport to the City supports children

and young people to enjoy the wide range of

world-class amenities that Cardiff has to offer.

Passport to the city

For more information on how to get your school involved please contact

thom-willa@hwbcymru.net or Admin@breakthroughtheatre.org

We facilitate the students to be the creative resources of the performance. They are the visionaries, directors and designers working in a co-creative way to devise their own theatre pieces.

The benefits of this to students is it allows all abilities, whether that is in terms of academic, disability or EAL to participate fully in the process of creation and performance.

Our practitioners are experienced in supporting students of all ages through this process. See more here

Theatre Making

This is Us

Why put on a show?

We are passionate about young people's acces to theatre. From Shakespeare to Co-created Devised works of the students. We know how a school production can change a student's memories of school from negative to positive. Not only that we have witnessed students' attitudes completely change, not only toward school but more importantly about themselves. Their mental health and well-being improving, their self worth soaring and their awareness of dreams being possible.

Our Teams' experience of doing this within the constraints of school also makes us acutely aware of how demanding it is on the very precious time of teachers. So the schools programme has been created.

Hire us in, we can be a part of your After School Club programme or come in during the day to suit each school's need.

It is not solely about performing there are opportunities for students to work on tech, set, costume, music and stage management.

Our current programmes are here, however if the school had a particular project they wanted to explore we would happily discuss how we can support them.

Find out more

Shakespeare Retold

Why put on a show?

Shakespeare Retold

Shakespeare can feel so far removed from us. The level of literacy required to sit and read it at GCSE is a barrier to so many. Enabling access to perform and create Shakespeare's plays from a young age can improve a students literary understanding immensely.

This programme can be adapted from Reception through to 6th Form

Schools' Bespoke Workshops

What we offer

What our schools have said

What we offer

We create workshops for pre-school - 6th form/College which focus on, but are not limited to, the following areas

Transitions

Team building

School Values & Faith

RSE

Bullying

Literacy

English Literature Set texts (GCSE & A level)

Headteachers, Heads of year/KS/House and Heads of Faculty are welcome to contact us to discuss their requirements, we tailor make a workshop to suit your school and its students. We meet them where they are and provide activities which will stretch and challenge them.

Time Scales

What our schools have said

What we offer

We are flexible with no advance notice limit.

Knowing that most schools need to plan events at least half a term - 3 months in advance we can be contacted and book you in when you need us.

Providing we have space in our diary and the practitioners, we are able to create our workshops within a short period. And can plan and deliver within a month if a topic arises, particularly with the new Welsh Curriculum style.

We are happy to travel outside of Cardiff.

Initial contact email

Meeting to discuss requirements and set date for delivery.

Planning

Delivery

Find out more

What our schools have said

"We booked ECSOPA to help support us with our primary to secondary transition and they were outstanding. The level of care, creativity and energy that they enthused was invaluable to help integrate our students into their tutor groups. Taking in from over 70 schools, ECSOPA were able to create bespoke drama workshops that really embedded our school values and allowed students to celebrate and settle into their new environment. Their practitioners went above and beyond to ensure that every student was engaged and every student felt valued.

We would recommend ECSOPA to any school who want to give their students an enriching, educational and personalised experience in their learning and in developing a community ethos."

Mr Pike Head of Year 7

St Mary Redcliffe & Temple School

INSETs & Staff CPD

Inside Shakespeare CPD for English Departments

Writing for actors on an empty stage, in a predominantly oral culture without the benefit of a director, Shakespeare embedded clues to performance in the language itself. Understanding these clues unlocks a visceral understanding of the text that literally brings it to life.

The Actors’ Workshop and ECSOPA have combined their knowledge of the Education System with the stagecraft of professional classical actors to create a CPD program for Secondary Schools in England and Wales. This is a unique CPD opportunity for those teachers who desire to deliver best practice.

In our experience, students who have learnt to work with Shakespearian verse as actors, to play the situation and understand it in the context of plot, character and dramaturgy for their monologues and drama school auditions with us have achieved higher than their GCSE and A level target grades in English Literature. This is in no doubt due to the combination of outstanding teaching in their school and the added insight that comes from working through Shakespeare for the reason it was intended, performance. If these results are extended to a whole cohort, the value added for these students could be a real win for a department looking to boost the D-C/3-5 and A-A*/7 – 8 grade boundaries.

We are offering a practical CPD to support English Teachers with the approaches to Shakespeare that we use with our students. You will be given the added confidence to take the Set Text plays from ‘page to stage’ or a breakout area away from their desks. We know Shakespeare was written for everyone, the stories are reflections of the human condition, and all students should feel they can access the texts.

This CPD will give you the key stagecraft skills, strategies, exercises, and resources to deliver them to your classes. The course is 2 hours and will be delivered by two coaches, using your department’s Set Texts choices. We can do this at a time to suit your school; during a Department Meeting Slot which is pinned for department development time or an INSET.

Find out more

Cardiff Schools Theatre Festival

In Partnership with Cardiff Council

Theatre Making

This is Us

Why put on a show?

Why put on a show?

Why put on a show?

Why put on a show?

Why put on a show?

Shakespeare Retold

Why put on a show?

Shakespeare Retold

Schools' Bespoke Workshops

What we offer

What our schools have said

What we offer

Time Scales

What our schools have said

What we offer

What our schools have said

What our schools have said

What our schools have said

INSETs & Staff CPD

Inside Shakespeare CPD for English Departments

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