Heartbreakingly good
- The Guardian, about Of Mice & Men (2011)
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Drama workshops for groups
We want as many people as possible to get involved with Mind the Gap and benefit from the increased confidence, communication and social skills that come from getting involved with drama and theatre activities.
Jointly led by members of Mind the Gap’s group of professional learning disabled actors and someone from our core staff team, we run fun and accessible workshops where everyone can fully participate.
Suitable for learning disabled and non-disabled people of all ages, we have a range of workshops and training activities for schools, colleges and groups. We can bring the workshop to you or host it on our own accessible building.
Contact us to talk about our current workshop programme and how we can work with you on 01274 487390 or email arts@mind-the-gap.org.uk
Current workshops
Come and See days
Would you like your group of young people to find out more about Mind the Gap, see our actors at work and take part in a session? Come and Sees offer the chance to spend the day with us and experience Mind the Gap methods and practises.
Come and Sees can be arranged on a day to suit you (where possible), and we run specific days throughout the year for Special Schools in West Yorkshire.
Express Yourself
Express Yourself is a 3 to 5 day series of inclusive participatory workshops for groups of people with learning disabilities.
The purpose of the workshops is to provide Forum Theatre techniques and tools through which people can safely express experiences, issues and concerns. Examples of where the Express Yourself model works well are in a schools linking or co-location environment, or in a care environment where open and honest feedback is being sought.
Where appropriate, the workshops culminate in a short performance / showing of the feedback from the sessions to an invited group of peers and/or support.
The 3-day course works to a pre-set agenda, looking at the high-level issues around Difference and Disability Awareness.
The 5-day course can be adapted to look at specific issues raised in advance, or raised by the group during the course.
The optimum number for the workshops is 12.
Past workshops
Here are is just a selection of the workshops we have run in the past to get you inspired about the kind of thing we could do.
Boo Who?
Who is Boo?
Does anyone know?
Jem and Scout think they do... but are they right?
Using the classic stone throwing scene in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' this 1.5 hour workshop explores both sides of the door: What it is to be young and experience peer pressure and what it is to be 'different'.
Suitable for special and mainstream schools, colleges and groups and organisations. Available as a one-off or an extended series of workshops, call us on 01274 487390 for more information
You and YouTube
From the 16th to 20th March 2009, Mind the Gap played host to students from Braithwaite and Parkside schools for a week long new media and live art project. Looking at how we interact with new media and our understanding of new media formats, the culmination of which was an 9 minute long video.
Working with Making Theatre and Mind the Gap’s own professional Acting Company the students have devised and created a 9 minute long video, available to view on the YouTube website.
Before the video was shown it was premiered on the Big Screen in Bradford's landmark Centenary Square. To accompany the showing the pupils also created a live art intervention that they performed for the audience of peers, friends and passers by that gathered to watch.
This is me
Developed in partnership with schools in West Yorkshire, to be relevant to the needs of students approaching school leaving age and considering college or work.
School-leavers with learning disabilities can feel disadvantaged in traditional interviews. We developed several techniques to familiarise students with interview situations, to use a group to help each individual to prepare, and to keep the whole experience light.
Using drama techniques to work on students’ self-presentation and self-awareness, students enjoyed a boost to their confidence when preparing for interviews for work or college.