Class Act at Greenland Community Centre

They were showcased ahead of of productions to be staged at a number of theatres in Northern Ireland.

The four to eight-year-old age group from the Academy’s Lower Primary classes took to the stage first.

Parents were intrigued to see how the fast-moving programme and the extensive curriculum would allow each child to develop their dramatic skills in a fun-filled way. With great energy and vitality, the students began by performing the dynamic introductory activities.

They demonstrated to their parents how the aims of the Academy to develop confidence, self-esteem and communication skills have progressed.

This was quickly followed by a demonstration of speech training which clearly emphasised this vital element of the curriculum can be enjoyable and active whilst teaching communication skills.

The highlight of their performance was the improvised play in which the students had been encouraged to develop their own lines through improvisation within a tightly structured creative plot. The children then went on to show individual work in short snippets which they had devised themselves from a given line or idea – hilarious, clever and stunningly creative especially for children so young.

Following this, the students from the Upper Primary class for the eight to 11 year-olds displayed more advanced skills. The showpiece of the day, after demonstrating clear vocal training, was the ‘Fuss Fuss Fuss Rap’, a rap version of the Goldilocks story with a modern ending.

This set a precedent for the rest of the evening as the audience was enthralled by the great variation in the modulation and energy in these young voices, not mention the fast pace and polished performance of the piece. Apart from the whole class improvised play which demonstrated superb improvisational skills the students performed several scripted plays to the end of the show. The scripts which were specially written for the Academy brought to the fore the children’s ability at character acting and humour.

At the end of the show, students received medals, trophies and certificates.

Lisa Semple, principal of the Academy, said: “It is fantastic to see the development of the children over the course of the term and the support of the parents and schools in the local community has been fantastic. We are very much looking forward to the summer productions, where every student gets an important part to play and is a culmination of the extensive work completed throughout the year.

“It is wonderful to see our unique self-development programme achieving such creative results in this area. With hundreds of students attending classes throughout Northern Ireland, Class Act Drama Academy is truly a community-based drama school.”

To find out about this unique programme, contact the office on 028 91464337.

E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.classactdramaacademy.com