So we are fully underway with the Higher at Knox. We successfully performed the investigatives Drama’s (Unit One) last week in the Drama studio to packed audiences of Staff, pupils and parents. The Groups chose the themes of ‘Teenage Life’ and ‘Cruelty’ and created engaging plays based on a variety of topics including self-harm, eating disorders, animal cruelty and women’s rights to name a few. After tears, drama strops and a few shouting matches they really shone as Playwrights, Directors, Drama-turgs and Actors.

A lot of people don’t seem to understand the amount of work that the pupils have to do to achieve the first unit and parents were quite shocked at a) how mature they approached the topics being dealt and b) how much work they had put into achieving their first unit. The SQA ask that each pupils research a choosen topic and from their research write a play. Their written play is then directed by them and they have to liase with the technical pupils to light and sound their production. They must also act in their peers plays and all the plays had to link to make one whole production - phew even writing it i’m shattered!

So we’ve now moved on and we’re all a go go! for Unit Two we are studying ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles. I studied it when doing Higher and my Drama Teacher, Mrs Chetty, was passionate about the text that it’s last with me all these years! It’s such a great story and how amazing that it was written ove 2500 years ago and still relevant to the world today!

Unit 3 is Contemporary Scottish Theatre and again another passion of mine so it’s been great to start teaching this and seeing the pupils really engaging in the first two lessons (Lecture on National Theatre Scotland and an introduction to playwright Linda McLean). We are going to be studying ‘Passing Places’ by Stephen Greenhorn, ‘One Good Beating’ by Linda McLean, ‘Black Watch’ by Gregory Burke, ‘The Women of Lockerbie’ by Deborah Brevoort and ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ by M Spark.

So we are all go at Knox and through practical workshops our pupils will, hopefully, be ready for their acting exams in March/April and the written exam in May!

Well the S1 are coming to the end of their first unit in Drama. ‘Self-Control and Making it real’ is, for me, the most important unit in every drama course.

This is the unit that builds the stepping stones to not only creating a realistic piece of theatre but the confidence and skills needed in everyday life; skills such as communication, focus, concentration, team work and the ability to trust one another. It is funny at how many people think Drama is an ‘easy’ subject. It is always interesting to see people’s reactions (teachers included) when you say you’re a Teacher of Drama… the looks of ‘oh one of those’ or ‘don’t mind them… they’re from Glasgow’ comes across their face or over their eyes as they sip their coffee and I take a drink of my diet coke as I leap in the air and shout FAME! For me it was my Drama Teacher at school, Firrhill High School, that believed in what I was doing and gave me the confidence to not only go on and pursue my passion but also helped me gain my first job at Mothercare world. She taught me skills that I still use to this day. I will never forget my Miss Brodie… Mrs Chetty! When I left Max High I was upset as I knew I had inspired many students and I was so happy when my results came through to see my SG class all achieved credit/general.

Drama has the capacity to engage, discuss, critise, cry, laugh, argue, create and communicate about the world that is going on around us. It can be funny, it can sad, it can meaningful but most of all it can never be wrong!

I was talking to a fellow maths teacher today… I mentioned that in my previous school we had a lot of pre-level A students to which she replied ‘oh that’s ok for drama?’. I wonder what she meant by that, I’m still trying to figure it out. I wonder if she would still say it if she knew that the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Medicine would like each student to have Higher Drama as one of their subjects.  

In this unit my students have been statues, created a hospital disaster, been on holiday, robbed a house, found a robber in a house, created to music and learned valuable life long skills… whilst all the time keeping it real and applying self-control phew… all that in six weeks… and never once have we shouted FAME or been trees… Rock on!