DRAMA students at Solihull Sixth-Form College have returned to face-to-face rehearsals – just in time for their assessed practical performances.
Year 13 A level Drama and Theatre students have been exploring contemporary theatre and performing in the style of Stanislavski.
They have rehearsed either monologues or duologues, starting this component online on Microsoft Teams during lockdown.
Since the return to face-to-face teaching, students have rehearsed with face-masks and regular sanitising of hands and equipment, enabling them to complete this aspect of the course. The final assessment will go towards their final teacher assessed grade.
The students chose a variety of hard-hitting performances for their focus on contemporary theatre, including ‘The Almighty Sometimes’ (by Kendall Feaver), ‘Pests’ (by Vivienne Franzmann), ‘The Quiet House’ (by Gareth Farr), ‘Mogadishu’ (by Vivienne Franzmann), ‘Pronoun’ (by Evan Placey), ‘Deposit’ (by Matt Hartley) and ‘Lava’ (by James Fritz).
The pieces tackled difficult storylines including mental illness, adjusting to gender reassignment, trying to conceive with IVF, relationships blighted by addiction, the interaction between a teacher and a troublesome student, young people struggling to get on the property ladder and struggling with grief and depression.
Drama teacher Nadia Kouhi said: “I’m so proud of the students for the work they have done and the way they adapted to difficult circumstances.
“Despite not being able to rehearse together earlier in the year, the engagement online was great and the students made the best of things.
“Since they have been back in College they have worked hard and supported each other to ensure the performances were as good as they could be.”
