Storytelling, drama, writing and oral history workshops
I facilitate storytelling, drama, writing (creative writing and life writing) and life history workshops and programs.
I am an Associate of the CoED Foundation, which works towards bringing principles of compassion into education and learning. The CoED Foundation forms partnerships with schools, colleges, universities and varied organisations, and creates innovative courses, conferences, and professional development workshops that promote the values of justice, equity and respect.
I am a researcher/tutor with The Brilliant Club, an award winning non-profit organisation that places doctoral and post doctoral researchers in non-selective state schools and sixth form colleges serving low participation communities. The Brilliant Club researchers/tutors design and deliver programmes of university style teaching to high performing pupils. A primary aim of The Brilliant Club is to motivate pupils and help them to develop the knowledge, skills and ambition to secure places at top universities. The Brilliant Club works with schools, colleges and universities to address educational disadvantage and widen access to top universities for outstanding pupils. The Brilliant Club researchers/tutors teach pupils from Year 6 through to Year 12 in more than 150 schools and colleges in London, the South East and the Midlands. This term (Spring 2015) I am teaching a course in Oral History methods to Year 9/10 pupils in East London.
I was a regular drama facilitator for Bigfoot Arts Education and taught drama and storytelling in primary and secondary schools throughout London (2012-2014).
I have taught people of all ages from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, in theatres, arts centres, libraries, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, community centres, churches and aged care centres.
I also facilitate professional development workshops and masterclasses for teachers and offer creative approaches to teaching the national curriculum through storytelling and drama.
I am a qualified primary and secondary (English and Drama) school teacher and I have been teaching for more than 16 years.
My workshops and programs are experiential and fun, and encourage participants to write and perform their stories creatively and confidently.
Storytelling, drama and playbuilding workshops focus on performance and devising skills including voice work, body awareness and movement, communicating with an audience, and improvisation.
Writing workshops focus on the craft of playwrighting and life writing.
I have devised and facilitated courses and workshops for: Foundling Museum London (2011), Creativity, Culture and Education London (2011), Curriculum Enrichment for the Common Era London (2011), Lone Twin Theatre London (2010-2011), Polka Theatre London (2009-2010), Shared Experience Youth Theatre London (2009), Intergenerational Centre London (2009), South London Tamil Welfare (2009), Healing Words Peacemaking Project in Israel and Palestine, in partnership with the International School of Storytelling (2009), Sydney Opera House Education Department (2006-2008), Australian Theatre for Young People Sydney (2005-2008), Campbelltown Arts Centre Sydney (2008), National Institute of Dramatic Art Sydney (2005-2006), Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (2005), Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary India (2004), National Theatre Melbourne (1999-2000), Melbourne Theatre Company Melbourne (1999) Mangala Studios of Creative Dance and Yoga (1998-99).
I design storytelling and writing workshops and programs to suit your specific interests and needs.
The following workshops and programmes are also available and can be tailored to suit different time-frames.
A Compassionate Response
Through an exploration of the ancient Buddhist story of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, this storytelling performance and workshop asks questions such as: How can we stop perpetuating a cycle of conflict and violence? What is kindness? What does it mean to be compassionate towards ourselves and others? Through drama and role play, students inquire into the seeds of violence that exist in all of us, and consider creative ways of transforming anger and violence into a force for peace and positive social change.
Generations of Stories
Storytelling weekend workshop for children and their grandparents.
Participants learn to share lively, captivating and timeless stories.
This weekend is a wonderful way for children and grandparents to enjoy being together and to take away stories to share with the whole family. In a safe, supportive and playful atmosphere, participants learn basic storytelling skills.
Young and old learn to tell:
No previous experience in telling stories is necessary. All grandparents and children 6 years and upwards are welcome.
Participants learn to share lively, captivating and timeless stories.
This weekend is a wonderful way for children and grandparents to enjoy being together and to take away stories to share with the whole family. In a safe, supportive and playful atmosphere, participants learn basic storytelling skills.
Young and old learn to tell:
- Traditional tales - fairytales, folktales, myths and legends from different cultures around the world
- Stories drawn from real life experience
- Spontaneous stories inspired by their imaginations
No previous experience in telling stories is necessary. All grandparents and children 6 years and upwards are welcome.
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace cultivates peacemaking, communication and creative skills. The first phase of the program features an interactive storytelling performance, drawing on peace stories from all continents and religions of the world. The second phase includes a series of drama workshops to recognise and understand the nature of conflict and the seeds of violence in ourselves, and find concrete ways of transforming these into a force for peace and positive social action. The third phase culminates in a performance inspired by the participants’ ideas and creative exploration.
The workshop program is designed around three core questions:
1. Why does conflict so often lead to violence?
2. How can we use conflict to understand ourselves and each other better?
3. What power do our words have to damage and destroy, or heal and empower our relationships?
The workshop program is designed around three core questions:
1. Why does conflict so often lead to violence?
2. How can we use conflict to understand ourselves and each other better?
3. What power do our words have to damage and destroy, or heal and empower our relationships?
Pass It On
Pass It On is an intergenerational program inspired by the real life stories of older people. Young people (from mid primary to secondary school aged students) learn from the words and memories of older people and develop a performance piece that celebrates the elders’ stories with respect, compassion and humour.
The Bold and the Brave
Nearly every story is a ‘quest’ story - where the hero goes in search of truth, justice, freedom or happiness. The Bold and the Brave uses biographical storytelling, creative writing, drama games and movement and encourages participants to write and tell stories from their own lives as epic quests and mythic adventures.
Beautiful Me
Beautiful Me is for adolescent girls and women in response to pressures on women in today’s world, particularly regarding body image. This program draws on drama games, movement, role play and traditional stories that reflect ideas of - sovereignty over our own lives, being true to ourselves, considering what true beauty is, and culminates in a group storytelling performance.
Sound Trax
Sound Trax draws on music to spark the creative imagination. Participants invent characters, and dramatic scenes and stories inspired by a wide range of different sound tracks.
Open Your Eyes
Open Your Eyes awakens the senses. Participants look around and draw and photograph what they see, and bring sketches and photographs to life through dramatic role play and improvisation.
In Your Shoes
In Your Shoes draws on traditional tales, folktales and biographical storytelling to develop the capacity to see things from different perspectives and points of view, and to cultivate empathy and listening skills.
Every Body Tells a Story
This weekend is an exploration (from the inside out) to discover the stories that each participants' body wants to tell.
Through engaging in creative movement and speech practices, working with image and metaphor and paying attention to our sensory experience we invite stories which emerge from the rich landscape of our bodies. We also look at how our physical language relates to our spoken language and how movement can generate the content of stories. At the end of the weekend each participant will perform their unique story to the group. Facilitated with Kate Hilder.
Through engaging in creative movement and speech practices, working with image and metaphor and paying attention to our sensory experience we invite stories which emerge from the rich landscape of our bodies. We also look at how our physical language relates to our spoken language and how movement can generate the content of stories. At the end of the weekend each participant will perform their unique story to the group. Facilitated with Kate Hilder.