TY Drama Workshop with Bernard Casey

by Ruby Gethin and Samuel Inoh, TY

On Monday, TY students in Athboy CS took part in a drama workshop with the special guest, Bernard Casey. The workshop gave students the opportunity to show their creativity in scenarios both given to them and made up on their own in an enjoyable two hour workshop. It was a fun and different experience because the students had the opportunity to be creative, work with other people, and express themselves through acting.

At the beginning, the group did some simple activities to warm up and get comfortable, helping them relax and feel more confident before starting the main activities. 

The first activity included students talking to each other to organise themselves into a diagonal line, an S-shape and a triangle. They all lined up in order of dates of birth (both year and month), first letter of their names and how far they lived from the school, which proved to be a struggle, but they were able to achieve it! To test their memories, Mr. Casey gave each shape a number and students had to get into their lines at random. 

The second activity got everyone’s thinking caps on as they had to imitate different things like a house and a piano. People got creative as they imitated not only the roof and walls, but also furniture and people in house and the actual keys of a piano with their hands. Next up, they made scenarios of whatever they pleased but it had to end with: ‘I didn’t see that coming.’

During the workshop, the group did different types of acting exercises. One of the activities involved recreating scenes and actions, which was interesting because the students had to think about how to use their bodies, facial expressions, and voices to make the scene believable. They also worked in small groups and performed different situations. Sometimes they had to improvise and had to think quickly and come up with ideas by themselves.

Finally, the group made an advertisement for a made-up product like a burial service so you can be buried with your tractor, and much more. The day was full of fun and got students to step out of their comfort zone and connect with their classmates 

Students particularly enjoyed the activities where they could use their imagination and create their own actions. Even when something did not go exactly as planned, it was still funny and they could learn from it. They learned that acting is not only about speaking or remembering lines, but also about showing emotions and communicating with other people.

The workshop also helped students to understand that teamwork is very important in drama. Everyone had to participate and listen to each other in order to make the scenes work. The students felt that the atmosphere was positive and relaxed, which made it easier to participate without worrying too much about making mistakes.

Overall, the TY’s really enjoyed the drama workshop. It was entertaining, creative, and a good way to spend time with classmates, helping them become more confident and have fun while acting.