Play In A Week 2019
Published on 10th July 2019.
Play In A Week 2019
‘Inclusive, Amazing, Character-building, Inspiring, Creative’ - Teachers from Victoria Park Primary School describe the week.
This spring we returned to Victoria Park Primary School for a week of off-timetable creativity, imagination and collaboration. The pupils worked with Travelling Light’s team of professional artists to create a unique new performance entirely from their ideas. As always, the play was themed around a topic the pupils are working on, this year students focused on bringing Myths and Legends to life on stage and off.
The 120 pupils from Years 3 & 4 were instrumental in every element of putting on the show. Not only did students have the chance to perform, they could also shape the design, music and even customer service operations, pupil teams included:
The design team: who worked with a professional designer to create the set, props and costumes for the performance.
The music team: who worked with a professional musician to compose, DJ and perform the musical soundscape of the show.
The dance team: who worked with a professional choreographer to create movement sequences and dances for the show.
The Actors: who concentrated on performing on the day.
The Customer Service Superheroes: who designed the illustrated tickets and posters, created programmes with interviews from cast members, decorated the front of house area and greeted audience members at the door.
During the week pupils have the chance to shape and take ownership of their area of production which gives them a special insight into their own capabilities, as well as those of their friends and classmates. Every year pupils reach unexpected milestones during the week. Seemingly small changes like being more willing to put their hand up or offer an idea have a big impact on their experience at school long after the performance has finished.
The off-timetable nature of the week allows children to try something new and enjoy different ways to learn and express themselves which they might not have tried or even considered before. One parent told us how her daughter had requested not to have a speaking part at the start of the week, but as her confidence and investment in the show grew by the end was excitedly waiting go on stage in a costume she had helped make and proudly say a line she had asked for. The parent had never seen her daughter speak on stage before.
Stacey Bunnett, Class teacher at Victoria Park Primary School said:
All children felt that their ideas were valued and therefore took pride in their performance… The children got so much from the experience and it was wonderful to watch them all shine!
This year the experience was supported by the Friends of Victoria Park Primary School, a collective of parents, past and present, who raise funds to support pupils to be able to take part in events like this. The Friends Of Victoria Park Primary said:
Play in a Week “ brings so much enjoyment to all the children involved and is such a unique experience for them. We feel privileged to be able to do this for our wonderful school “
You can find out more about Play In A Week and the other creative learning opportunities we offer for schools in our schools activity menu.