From a starting point of exploring theatre games and exercises that unlock creativity and imagination, and that promote team-building and cooperation, a process will be undertaken which explores the need for active engagement in the tasks at hand, trust and collaboration as a means to success.

Over the duration of the Summer School students will participate in and develop a ‘Tool Box’ of skills to draw confidence from when working in the future and a simple set of rules to empower a group working towards making theatre. The structure of the week long residency will include all of the following elements, incorporating an informal ‘showing’ as the culmination of each day.

Group work & Team Building Day
Designed to examine cooperation between participants and the promotion of group sensitivity. Students will explore a variety of exercises aimed at the group working as a unit, with shared awareness and control of ‘moments’. A structure will be put in place in which participants can create a simple whole group improvisation. This work promotes trust, self-confidence, team work and communication skills. 

This day will be followed by a timetable of four skill areas - each designed to present a range of challenges to young people, but also containing ‘hidden development areas’:

1. Circus 
Students will be able to try a number of circus skills, with access to the following - Stilts, Unicycles, Low Wire, Rolla-Bolla, Juggling, Diablo, Spinning Plates and Devil Sticks.

2. Acrobatics and Physical Comedy
A variety of moves and set pieces will be taught : tumbling, lifts, and work in pairs - allowing students to put together their own sequences and routines. The focus of the work is very light, allowing very close physical work and trust and respect to be key learning outcomes. The atmosphere of ‘physical comedy’ allows young people to recreate with success slapstick ‘prat -falls’ and other acrobatic set pieces. 
(Both of these workshops aim to develop students understanding and awareness of their own flexibility, balance and coordination. They are also an opportunity to begin to develop trust and cooperation. These sessions will have elements of group teaching and demonstrations, but are aimed to be hands-on experiences. Deliberately fun and entertaining, this work develops self-esteem and confidence.

3. Mask work
Participants will have the opportunity to explore the use of masks as improvisational tools, as training devices and as opportunities to perform in immediately successful manner. Using character masks, a variety of exercises will be undertaken which allow students to discover their own physical habits and to develop silent storytelling pieces which are illuminated by the mask. Issues are explored, behaviour is challenged and young people have the opportunity of reflecting on the situations that the masks find themselves in. This is one of the most liberating and successful workshops Spike delivers with young people.

4. Puppetry and object animation.
These workshops are hands-on collaborative animation/performance sessions, allowing participants to concentrate on the creative processes of producing something to animate from scratch. As puppetry requires participants to work with others in ‘bringing to life’ the characters that they have made, it requires close participation and cooperation. With both the audience’s and the puppeteer’s focus on the puppet, less confident participants are able to discover skills and strengths that don’t require them to be centre of attention. They are able to be creative in their performance and animation because it is not ‘them’ who is the focus of the story or comic moment.

Spike Theatre is the trading name of Spike Theatre Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
Company Reg No: 663 4750. Charity Reg No: 1133362
Registered Office: 17 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BQ.

Tel: +44(0)151 727 3575
Email: mail@spiketheatre.com