Some 60 secondary and further education teachers met representatives from theatres all over London yesterday at EducationLive.
An annual event organised by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and Mousetrap Theatre Projects, EducationLive aims to inform teachers about the educational resources provided by London theatres and productions.
The event offers the chance for teachers to network with theatre professionals, as well as take part in a workshop providing ideas for classroom warm-up activities. Participants were also invited to attend a West End show following the event.
Representatives from hit London shows Billy Elliot The Musical, The 39 Steps, War Horse, The Lion King, The Railway Children and Stomp attended yesterday’s event alongside staff from the Theatre Royal Haymarket’s Masterclass programme, the Royal Opera House, the Unicorn theatre, Polka theatre, English National Opera and the Orange Tree theatre. Major theatre groups Delfont Mackintosh and Ambassador Theatre Group also attended.
Victoria Aspden, Development Officer at SOLT, and Nancy Shakerley, Programmes Manager at Mousetrap Theatre Projects, said: “We were delighted that EducationLive proved to be a sell-out success and thrilled by the enthusiasm of the teachers who enjoyed learning fun ‘theatre games’ they could use in the classroom. Professionals from the theatre industry were able to convey the fantastic range of educational opportunities London theatres and productions can offer, with networking opportunities provided over a delicious high tea! Planning for our next EducationLive event in 2011 (dates to be confirmed) is underway and it is hoped we will be able to increase capacity to enable even more teachers to enjoy this unique opportunity.”
EducationLive is an offshoot of www.learnaboutlondontheatre.co.uk, an online search engine created to enable teachers to find out about educational resources available across London theatres all year round.
CB