tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22421047265350348572024-03-12T20:59:02.251-07:00Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - PretoriaThe Helen O'Grady Drama Academy was started by Helen O' Grady in August 1979 in Perth Australia. Thirty years later the Academy has over 50 000,00 students attending classes each week across the globe! Using an international curriculum the Academy aims to develop confidence, self esteem, communication and performance skills.
We run classes in Annlin, Brooklyn, Beaulieu,Faerie Glen, Irene, Laudium, Lindo Park,Sagewood,Wierda ParkHelen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.comBlogger792125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-40558427709933296722021-06-04T11:35:00.002-07:002021-06-04T11:35:17.257-07:00Homeschool Students LOVE Our Program!<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">One of the reasons our Drama program is so successful is because it resonates with so many different types of children - those who need an outlet to perform, those who need to build their self confidence, those who need to develop their oral communication skills, those who need to channel their creativity and those that need to find their tribe!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For the child who is homeschooled our program offers the perfect balance of all of the above as well as developing important social skills! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">During this term we introduced our Dress Up Days for the younger students and it is just so noticeable how much the homeschool children love this activity! It gives them a chance to use their creativity and imagination to develop the most amazing outfits! Often homeschool parents use the dress up themes as a springboard to create a learning experience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Of course <i>ALL</i> students love this activity and our mainstream school students also blow us away with their incredible inventions, all of which come from items they have found in their houses, we don't expect anyone to go out and spend any money!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Take a look at some of these wonderful creations....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ueJhBVlx2xxAdpKf54EG8irREUKJfcl5joax8_Es4XDYaXxQ15HVU5A8UhCuxnJKNNA4J7Q2FhzDxmoLJFJCDXZjtzJBkI0MTqvAnhnct6acyO_Ia52N1_s2K3Edfh0HrsEkwFgHcMbM/s2000/on+the+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ueJhBVlx2xxAdpKf54EG8irREUKJfcl5joax8_Es4XDYaXxQ15HVU5A8UhCuxnJKNNA4J7Q2FhzDxmoLJFJCDXZjtzJBkI0MTqvAnhnct6acyO_Ia52N1_s2K3Edfh0HrsEkwFgHcMbM/w400-h320/on+the+farm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WPnm27cXK37Gf165tpTEjrTDoosdRwJd4VEWyhlSksi-r4gjxtK7A5jnXynF9fiZROYWG4-p_75mQPjvON3ayrOQm50MRgGHqZdqzqPvzghRMfTygL0Urq-yxezey_C4dsVb0FGRFVNL/s2000/investigaters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WPnm27cXK37Gf165tpTEjrTDoosdRwJd4VEWyhlSksi-r4gjxtK7A5jnXynF9fiZROYWG4-p_75mQPjvON3ayrOQm50MRgGHqZdqzqPvzghRMfTygL0Urq-yxezey_C4dsVb0FGRFVNL/w400-h320/investigaters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukA5rwBaNZPKnY12MPihZGhbK9zHGqfjaVTamly2ep5yxGsgG44Q4hyKwUEkeFs2U9kNTqhuISfGxWcUTSWWkf-ztzRxD3WqOmCPr39k2dgWD_aP6gZeLf_SPLE7q9-qS0oIRcq6DMOQQ/s2000/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukA5rwBaNZPKnY12MPihZGhbK9zHGqfjaVTamly2ep5yxGsgG44Q4hyKwUEkeFs2U9kNTqhuISfGxWcUTSWWkf-ztzRxD3WqOmCPr39k2dgWD_aP6gZeLf_SPLE7q9-qS0oIRcq6DMOQQ/w400-h320/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKa8Oi0Va8JG6tr0yeKI5dwf7GE8KKO_-n3nD_juix7LC0K1Vlh1XK9pN0J2nDmMKH5mXZu5SMzhBShAeS7hbjY4gsqwDSbZ4IOBFWMLVIzWThb8p5CYdNxQ1-MzY_pQwoyjbiLPJtYLeJ/s2000/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKa8Oi0Va8JG6tr0yeKI5dwf7GE8KKO_-n3nD_juix7LC0K1Vlh1XK9pN0J2nDmMKH5mXZu5SMzhBShAeS7hbjY4gsqwDSbZ4IOBFWMLVIzWThb8p5CYdNxQ1-MzY_pQwoyjbiLPJtYLeJ/w400-h320/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-50Bg2tJSFAlSi8Yf9tXyBn6kc_fimGO2gfwMWqVq1XZ9rO4CM4gw5PVZEpCGtFmbScGaa12yszoIjUsBGvIkHjHapscTRbLPWfuWWUm0oN9XEdUIyZuCir39S0bGvloMYDhag7i3gJP6/s2000/bats+to+grannies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-50Bg2tJSFAlSi8Yf9tXyBn6kc_fimGO2gfwMWqVq1XZ9rO4CM4gw5PVZEpCGtFmbScGaa12yszoIjUsBGvIkHjHapscTRbLPWfuWWUm0oN9XEdUIyZuCir39S0bGvloMYDhag7i3gJP6/w400-h320/bats+to+grannies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-32559516070863706632021-05-21T23:00:00.001-07:002021-05-21T23:00:00.228-07:00Drama must always be amazeballs!<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">
As a teacher, getting feedback from a parent is always invaluable. It can sometimes be hard to gauge how the children feel about the class or teacher, and having parents let us know is always a great help.
So when one of our teachers received this positive feedback from a mom recently, it was a great to hear:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i> “I want to commend you, T was OVER THE MOON when I picked her up. Direct quote: “<b>Best teacher I had in this school and my old school, she is so kind and lovely, mummy. Drama was amazeballs!</b>” T thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you again and a big well done!” </i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">So much of what our Helen O’Grady curriculum focus on are life skills based, like problem solving, creative thinking, confidence, teamwork, memorisation techniques, effective communication, body language, empathy, kindness and respect for others. If a child is happy and excited about being at Drama, they are open and receptive to new ideas and acquiring new skills. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Tapping into their creativity and expressing themselves becomes fun, and they become little sponges drinking in all the skills and techniques embedded in our activities.
It is of the utmost importance that we strive to create a space that the children love to be in, and that they look forward to be a part of, all within the boundaries of mutual respect and the discipline required to work constructively as a group. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Then we are able to have an impact socially, emotionally and even academically on our students.
Receiving feedback such as the message above, is the confirmation we need that we are successfully creating a learning environment that brings joy, as well as developing young lives to set them up for success.
</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgBDg4B1QPh8gn4b_9lUl1AnfNk4FAzymBRdlKYR8pCZUqw1cEqACJE8qb08wmMLUzp9pewsc5VEeMYw8DvKB8V_nD-9jgX94qNigXyWeiE6lsGRMYSdFpu55fSc7HgPTrJ-EriuOWCQh/s2048/IMG_3332.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgBDg4B1QPh8gn4b_9lUl1AnfNk4FAzymBRdlKYR8pCZUqw1cEqACJE8qb08wmMLUzp9pewsc5VEeMYw8DvKB8V_nD-9jgX94qNigXyWeiE6lsGRMYSdFpu55fSc7HgPTrJ-EriuOWCQh/w400-h300/IMG_3332.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTnNdB8Lgq97GlyQCeYXotZuNu4gmVO3aok4aIrGDSgsiykIApRHhNglkgN0Z34pxeUcV8k1U39AADiez4V36qEISuX2jhGZevPaDi3YgeRQHx20Boy4pkVdE-FlHyjzlA1YEwq-qob5Y/s2048/IMG_3352.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSTnNdB8Lgq97GlyQCeYXotZuNu4gmVO3aok4aIrGDSgsiykIApRHhNglkgN0Z34pxeUcV8k1U39AADiez4V36qEISuX2jhGZevPaDi3YgeRQHx20Boy4pkVdE-FlHyjzlA1YEwq-qob5Y/w300-h400/IMG_3352.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-29477898949801556162021-05-07T11:51:00.006-07:002021-05-07T11:51:52.727-07:00Never underestimate the impact you have on a child’s life ❤️<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> I think it is very easy to forget how big an impact you as a teacher can have on the life of a child. Sometimes we get so caught up in the deadlines and admin, and just getting through the day, that we forget that we are shaping lives and guiding our students to become better, stronger and more confident versions of themselves. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">One of the joys of being a Drama teacher is that we often get to see children develop from a young age in Kindy or Lower Primary, all the way to Upper Primary and then Youth Theatre. And sometimes, if you are very lucky, you witness a child conquering a fear, or mastering a skill, or literally finding their voice. These are the moments I think we all treasure the most. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I recently had the pleasure of exactly such a precious moment. I have a little girl in one of my Lower Primary classes whom I have been teaching for 5 years since she started with our Kindy program at age 3. She has always been painfully shy, having a real fear of performing in front of her group. Over the years she began participating in classroom discussions and answer questions but would never be comfortable standing up to say a poem or do a snippet or any other moment when all eyes are on her. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> Then a few weeks ago, to my surprise and utter delight, she stood up in front of a class of 25 students and said a Tongue Twister 5 times, out loud, without batting an eye! I was so amazed, for a moment I just stood there, at a total loss for words. Even the other children were completely blown away. Never have I ever wished I could hug someone more than at that moment. She did it! The one thing I never thought she would, but never stopped encouraging her to try. To believe in herself, trust herself and be brave enough to fight the fear of failure when all eyes were on her. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The spontaneous applause from the other children, and my genuine pride and celebration of this huge moment for her, just made her light up and stand a bit taller, lift her chin a bit higher and smile the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. I hope that this is the first step on her journey of becoming more confident and slowly building her self-esteem.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; text-align: center;">💗💗</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>- Charlotte Tervit </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>(Vice Principal - Helen O'Grady Drama Academy Pretoria and Midrand</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrd9gVP7SKKBwLlQPzNf7gqkY4GqO73-pxfV-gIaPfsds8uOV9Xx8HbmSJQDAvJPmvH8MRKo3VwJ6cdn6uaMdTflm4zWCMmuW6-HgZEfwRvy5xIHE0tDp0Ak-JhD5kDQlUb-z_OwTG5xrk/s2000/blog+photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrd9gVP7SKKBwLlQPzNf7gqkY4GqO73-pxfV-gIaPfsds8uOV9Xx8HbmSJQDAvJPmvH8MRKo3VwJ6cdn6uaMdTflm4zWCMmuW6-HgZEfwRvy5xIHE0tDp0Ak-JhD5kDQlUb-z_OwTG5xrk/w640-h512/blog+photo.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbP-vNUr7UlO2fNWqqgwgD_W_pzf8bPI1hyZkKHcaV1tjBbod92fmZCqdm2JuCRg1peNg4zYPfXePqDbQa0HAVyxApkXyRFeFiY12iIHUmevzTaAS_ArNSUZhB3JNJPGUYOKZmNYI3XGp/s2048/HOG+%2528185%2529+%2528Colleen+Tatz%2527s+conflicted+copy+2013-08-25%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-25242417374604426682021-04-23T23:00:00.001-07:002021-04-23T23:00:00.215-07:00Drama is a like a Brain Massage<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4po5dktavTmfyIkHOU3oh8HacPJcKNgTMLf8ocqbxqGsgJoMDaRKK0WFdmYahniEbD6HHC9SNXIy6YOg9B2z3WTXibLXZsF1LVutufkeexxOr3miFTvR0TvD9pVspBE2xCnIX_Auf7juu/s500/Quote.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4po5dktavTmfyIkHOU3oh8HacPJcKNgTMLf8ocqbxqGsgJoMDaRKK0WFdmYahniEbD6HHC9SNXIy6YOg9B2z3WTXibLXZsF1LVutufkeexxOr3miFTvR0TvD9pVspBE2xCnIX_Auf7juu/w400-h400/Quote.png" width="400" /></a>
</div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">
I don’t about you, but I love going for a massage. Nothing beats that feeling of
the stress melting away and you can just let go and forget about all the issues
of your week. Even just the physical space that you are in, with gentle music
playing and hushed voices, adds to that feeling of escaping the pressure of
life. It’s definitely one of my guilty pleasures and frankly something I need to
just get through the week sometimes. </span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Well, Drama is kind of the same thing, but
just for your brain. Now, hear me out. Just as the physical massage is a way to
escape and relax, Drama, as a right brain activity, is a way to escape from left
brain activities like logical, rational and analytical thinking. We all need to
break away from too much thinking and just do something creative - no analysing
or logic required. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Our kids a have to deal with a large amount of pressure of
academic achievement, which is mostly left brain centred, from a fairly young
age, and by the time they reach high school and especially grade 10 and up, this
can all become very overwhelming. And this is where Drama comes in: That one
hour a week where they can step away from all that stress and expectations, and
just relax and let their right brain take over and have some fun. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Right brain
activities can raise serotonin levels which reduces anxiety, stress, depression,
and can even improve sleep. As part of the Helen O’Grady curriculum, we also
teach breathing, stretching and relaxation techniques, which are often included
in coping techniques for stressful situations like writing exams, and classroom
and homework pressures. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">So, next time you have all those nasty knots expertly
worked out of your tensed up back or shoulders by the nimble fingers of a
masseuse, think about how, by letting your child do Drama, it helps to massage
their brains and work out all the stress of life by the expert teachers who
offer the fun, escape and the freedom their brains so desperately need.
</span><b></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12_9plx1PwFuxQX_ldVRKYG5QbFSuwHEVDBH2kbEAmjO3JpH3fT4JMdzS9yDykUuTXirp5Xu3a1GMc71KUlxhZUVSXNNjzYmJbn9i-ebpAI3lYq2xW_gPs3lIr1ScSXAyvo-5cWiDJOJ2/s2000/blog+photos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12_9plx1PwFuxQX_ldVRKYG5QbFSuwHEVDBH2kbEAmjO3JpH3fT4JMdzS9yDykUuTXirp5Xu3a1GMc71KUlxhZUVSXNNjzYmJbn9i-ebpAI3lYq2xW_gPs3lIr1ScSXAyvo-5cWiDJOJ2/w400-h320/blog+photos.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-38920551707357642252021-04-09T10:40:00.004-07:002021-04-09T10:46:55.066-07:00 In a world where you can be anything…<p> </p>
Sometimes, just when you think life cannot surprise you anymore, something seemingly quite insignificant can make you sit up and pay attention. This recently happened during one of our Drama activities and I can’t deny it put a huge smile on my face and gave me the warm-and-fuzzy’s all over.
First, some background info to set the scene: we teach drama to children at an upmarket private school in Midrand, so it’s safe to say that these children come from a more privileged background than a lot of children in South Africa.
A few weeks ago we did one of our quick-fire Intro activities, this one was about finding a tree in the jungle that has money growing on it instead of leaves. The children had to pick as much money as possible before I shouted “freeze”. As usual , I gave them a chance to comment on the activity and tell me what they would spend the money on.
Of course, I got the expected Ferrari’s, Bugatti’s, Mansions, rockets to the moon, the latest Xbox and games, apple gadgets etc. But what really made me sit up, was the number of children who said they would give half, or all the money to charity.
Some wanted to build houses for homeless people, or buy shoes, food, blankets and clothes. They wanted to give money to animal shelters, orphanages, cancer research and children’s hospitals. They wanted to build schools where children with no money can go to for free. I was honestly blown away!
Somewhere, someone is doing something right. Between the parents, teachers, school, and other influences that might have an impact on these children, we are bringing up a new generation who might just get it right. To hear children be aware of their privilege, and say they don’t need more money or stuff, they would rather make life better for people whom they know have so much less than they do was a truly humbling experience.
One of my favourite life mantras just kept playing over and over in my mind: <b>“In a world where you can be anything, be kind”</b>.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJHZXZTDx7guI7Yqdxn-jnhFK1A7i_g3eIEzeBn78dfvX-IYtuoIzIMW7kBde8phvsK8Dz-s_u7BUlhjZst0L7dZmLMo1oHIZdaQQt9lZCDUBjckrZJAGD-tTBArLZGiNVUuhEUmAIw2M/s1080/be+kind+%25281%2529.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJHZXZTDx7guI7Yqdxn-jnhFK1A7i_g3eIEzeBn78dfvX-IYtuoIzIMW7kBde8phvsK8Dz-s_u7BUlhjZst0L7dZmLMo1oHIZdaQQt9lZCDUBjckrZJAGD-tTBArLZGiNVUuhEUmAIw2M/s400/be+kind+%25281%2529.jpg"/></a></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-38400306096089555282021-03-17T22:31:00.001-07:002021-03-17T22:31:03.697-07:00The Art of Conversation<p> Conversations are at the true heart of all dramatic productions, be it a play, a movie or a TV show. They are all basically made up of a string of conversations, strung together by actions and a change of scenery – conversations interspersed by characters going to work, walking, running, eating, sleeping until they have their next conversation. </p><div> One of our favourite Drama activities takes things right back to the basics of conversation and is aimed specifically at developing this art, this skill to focus on one conversation at a time. I am of course talking about the humble Snippet. It is literally a snippet of conversation, as if overheard in passing, about something as random as a bucket, a lost item, or a Birthday Party.
It is quite amazing how much learning can be packed into an activity that takes all of 30 seconds to perform and perhaps 5 mins to teach and prepare. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4ZrHyxjxnc4m9ed6EQ36UgidqwM8g912rUTaAkBE_51aDeuDO4Vssz_y1yIwDRbQrQJSlc6QOJraOvT29arP-XE9pAIwaX4eAB8xyfjv2a0vka-kL_lt7NJhvZXiU6reGHG1eGkaThk8/s2048/IMG_0814.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4ZrHyxjxnc4m9ed6EQ36UgidqwM8g912rUTaAkBE_51aDeuDO4Vssz_y1yIwDRbQrQJSlc6QOJraOvT29arP-XE9pAIwaX4eAB8xyfjv2a0vka-kL_lt7NJhvZXiU6reGHG1eGkaThk8/s320/IMG_0814.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div>Firstly, we work on memorisation skills. The kick-off point of each Snippet is a few given lines that the children must memorise. We usually divide the children into groups of two, each child must assume a character, and is given a line or two to memorise that starts the conversation. </div><div><br /></div><div>We use a very effective memorisation technique that becomes the way in which children learn lines for much longer and more complicated scripts for scenes and plays, and ultimately improves their ability to retain information and recall it when required. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Next we focus on improvisation and creativity as the children have to complete the conversation using their own words. We encourage them to be creative and come up with an unusual, funny or surprising ending. They also have to think about their characters, the relationship between them and the setting for the conversation. </div><div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITwWEBDBdEKbxF_M8b5FNCfQLrvpwnozlDXkOhW8FyvQ60YdfoZsLtdb03jfVpSVpJyuYUKo7yRuskbKanoz6ZAF_cZJSIoOv_2ZcRSDNZDQ4zMhT41YCVA6fzgHfLhV8uJO3PIUEUvkt/s2048/IMG_0818.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITwWEBDBdEKbxF_M8b5FNCfQLrvpwnozlDXkOhW8FyvQ60YdfoZsLtdb03jfVpSVpJyuYUKo7yRuskbKanoz6ZAF_cZJSIoOv_2ZcRSDNZDQ4zMhT41YCVA6fzgHfLhV8uJO3PIUEUvkt/s320/IMG_0818.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A Snippet builds Teamwork. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgA-sn_XtjlGV959XOp5Qx37efylvoAAqONRDdsihcWdNGetGmUX8u9x8Eg2Pjsimzqm78nYQf9myzvzPSg68PwvLq_IPjmFZw8AP1BcVyuVZ2ByB-nWCxf7jqHMorg6cE_hQqEGpy55T/s2048/IMG_1075.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgA-sn_XtjlGV959XOp5Qx37efylvoAAqONRDdsihcWdNGetGmUX8u9x8Eg2Pjsimzqm78nYQf9myzvzPSg68PwvLq_IPjmFZw8AP1BcVyuVZ2ByB-nWCxf7jqHMorg6cE_hQqEGpy55T/s320/IMG_1075.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The children must work together as a team when coming up with the ending or resolution of the situation and rehearse what each one is going to say. Eventually they become so comfortable with these scenarios, that the entire Snippet can be improvised on the spot, using the given lines as a springboard. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnvJXtC7jm3UA49HVDiuG_7m8pa8XL5y2N5vKM3I4n6EKmgf7ckuWMFqFwZnhdrFf2OqG8GlrwumHa8XOO0OXzLLLYLfDGGAO_jmtLUCrpMWRFMKFCbaIfRYklNZl1VAq3ahh21IzLGP3/s2048/IMG_1583.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnvJXtC7jm3UA49HVDiuG_7m8pa8XL5y2N5vKM3I4n6EKmgf7ckuWMFqFwZnhdrFf2OqG8GlrwumHa8XOO0OXzLLLYLfDGGAO_jmtLUCrpMWRFMKFCbaIfRYklNZl1VAq3ahh21IzLGP3/s320/IMG_1583.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw4j4l1MtOWPLuN0VsT9CtjmMY6x4dj8lL89Jg0QWFXI9jJ16ME2-7sA-NgYoYT4vSGOblHgF4J4GV0MIfr294ilN8p6j6op82x6xzH8w4nU9Z-uXfA0Lod6wymaubdn0J2cUOCsq9tsd/s2048/IMG_1581.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw4j4l1MtOWPLuN0VsT9CtjmMY6x4dj8lL89Jg0QWFXI9jJ16ME2-7sA-NgYoYT4vSGOblHgF4J4GV0MIfr294ilN8p6j6op82x6xzH8w4nU9Z-uXfA0Lod6wymaubdn0J2cUOCsq9tsd/s320/IMG_1581.HEIC" width="320" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This demands a lot of trust and fast thinking from the children as their confidence and creativity grows. It is an excellent activity for new students to understand the basics of improv, memorisation and performance as a whole.</div><div><br style="color: black; text-align: left;" /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzw4j4l1MtOWPLuN0VsT9CtjmMY6x4dj8lL89Jg0QWFXI9jJ16ME2-7sA-NgYoYT4vSGOblHgF4J4GV0MIfr294ilN8p6j6op82x6xzH8w4nU9Z-uXfA0Lod6wymaubdn0J2cUOCsq9tsd/s2048/IMG_1581.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><br /><div><br /></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-19142863838290639692021-03-05T22:30:00.004-08:002021-03-05T22:30:04.407-08:00Up, up and away 2021!Hurray, hurray! All our Helen O’Grady Pretoria and Midrand Studio venues have opened at last! <div>And yes, I know, it’s the 6th of March already, but as with so many things lately, it has been a bit of a slow start.
But that does not mean we haven’t been busy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to Zoom, we were able to at least kick off 2021 with online classes until we were able to meet face to face once more. And what a pleasure it has been to see each other after such a long December and January holiday. </div><div><br /></div><div> Of course, we still offer Zoom classes for those who prefer to continue online, and we are still not free of all the protocols and precautionary measures brought on by COVID-19, but thanks to the support and trust of our students, parents and community, we are able to spread the love and joy of doing Drama, being creative, connecting with our peers and building confidence and life skills once again! </div><div><br /></div><div>We are so grateful and excited about this year and can’t wait to see what fantastical things it brings!
</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYwCgOBIP60CVkSZiyAWmBGA09im4079x0jTtB54DyFwK0A1zA9lBnOoyyI2UfCnRhWHpoRxLIicvd5aIcPKMRyQ4087E8U1YFuTVP3YHDZf8b0IF67MDSeug_CKa7CHBj5K9h5QDEyg3/s1080/Untitled+design+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYwCgOBIP60CVkSZiyAWmBGA09im4079x0jTtB54DyFwK0A1zA9lBnOoyyI2UfCnRhWHpoRxLIicvd5aIcPKMRyQ4087E8U1YFuTVP3YHDZf8b0IF67MDSeug_CKa7CHBj5K9h5QDEyg3/s320/Untitled+design+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkG6qEQM0HyoMZsYHFBZIQwVaybYuNawbA2YCkeIqZD7bXqx0gStI_E6-c6d5rHETlVGJqGqLLEUh9Pa2vS9zZCtL6EPuA-zXVynDm7r04kFqqV2I4HhQHkQqDtPta9NiAfsHBVyjphzE/s2048/IMG_1384.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYU_bVox2t9gpmTe2-ySyTz4A31hpUMmGmuVBAwG54BBpKH9VNBFx6c71KSa-LToDKvQKHmsTJOONQTWkNHCWOnTLUKQcG1q9C63UVw1kr0Q4JjaWrPOQNLuwcK_RBAD3EP92YZF_KKde/s1080/TEL+ZOOM+CONVERSATIONS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYU_bVox2t9gpmTe2-ySyTz4A31hpUMmGmuVBAwG54BBpKH9VNBFx6c71KSa-LToDKvQKHmsTJOONQTWkNHCWOnTLUKQcG1q9C63UVw1kr0Q4JjaWrPOQNLuwcK_RBAD3EP92YZF_KKde/s320/TEL+ZOOM+CONVERSATIONS.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-78650973460043942372020-12-11T22:19:00.004-08:002020-12-11T22:19:25.468-08:00Year-end Productions 2020We have reached the end of the year! We ended term 4 with a two week long
marathon of Year-end Productions. As with everything this year, we had to rework
and adjust to fit in with Covid protocols, but come what may, we were going to
end with a banger of a Show for each studio.<div><br /></div><div> In some cases, this meant a Show at a venue, drastically scaled down to only accommodate
the students and parents of one particular studio at a time, similar to how we would do our mid-year Drama
Presentations. Even though it was not as grand and elaborate as our usual
Year-end Productions, and looked quite different with all the Covid 19 protocols
like masks, shields, and social distancing, it certainly was wonderful to do a
live performance with a live audience to appreciate the hard work the students
did this term. It was also great to be able to hand out certificates and
trophies! </div><div><br /></div><div> For our remaining online students, we hosted our first virtual
Year-end Productions, which was also very exciting! We worked for several weeks
recording our plays, scene by scene and editing it all together. The whole
process was so different from what we usually do, but it was lots of fun and the
students really enjoyed being in their own movie. At the virtual show, we had a
viewing of the movie and presented the students with certificates and trophies!
After a long, interesting, and often challenging year, it was wonderful to end
it on such a positive and exciting note. Celebrating what we do best: performing
with our friends, in which ever shape or form, and having a great time!
</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8zKvRaA3y62-Hlh9UoeifQHaQY0O0UpsVDR4KR2-mq9cUXDxE3M3ZgLYgIDhMz64y-5VjlXRasRp1PXEchXwObisrFFjo2It-ELFNOFY9Z-B1GNKHjFiBzOcOs6OntW2m7FzkavXnQRs/s2048/IMG_5474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8zKvRaA3y62-Hlh9UoeifQHaQY0O0UpsVDR4KR2-mq9cUXDxE3M3ZgLYgIDhMz64y-5VjlXRasRp1PXEchXwObisrFFjo2It-ELFNOFY9Z-B1GNKHjFiBzOcOs6OntW2m7FzkavXnQRs/s320/IMG_5474.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldeyWRHyJ6QXsuViUVel0-cftDRhaQuI1QiyylvLra8XqHu8g6DAMyyPj-9iLA8M8_jkIsi5gwt9AtVjH047CzKVESMc060HQRN9d7YVIhmao2ucydVlXOa9JaMaWxfyzTcAGvSbUiS7V/s2048/IMG_5485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbUGp4gErJ6Li87AQDgCub2J0cSPkuXidjAM7eEEz5PqvvD163DF1VSuhAuhfqehF6_8nYlx2Pcd9r_XQ1-OymDJk7KEmgpsTtzdMr2qHasagLfA2r9BuyekpuWgqnfTgPNCIFlM6Riep/s940/Irene+Virtual+Show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbUGp4gErJ6Li87AQDgCub2J0cSPkuXidjAM7eEEz5PqvvD163DF1VSuhAuhfqehF6_8nYlx2Pcd9r_XQ1-OymDJk7KEmgpsTtzdMr2qHasagLfA2r9BuyekpuWgqnfTgPNCIFlM6Riep/s320/Irene+Virtual+Show.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Check out our Facebook page for lots more photos!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/helenogrady.pretoria" target="_blank">Helen O'Grady Pretoria</a></div><div><br /></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-52406751762267733932020-10-16T21:15:00.003-07:002020-10-16T21:15:36.336-07:00Welcome to Term 4!<p> Welcome to our final term for 2020. I can hardly believe we have only two months left of this most unusual school year! </p><p>Term 4 has, like the rest of 2020, brought new and exiting ways to teach Drama. At our Pretoria and Midrand studios we have adopted a hybrid system for the last push to the end of the year. We are still running Zoom classes, but we are happy to report that we have been able to also start ONSITE classes at some of our studios. It is such a pleasure to be in the same space as our students again, even if it is at a distance! </p><p> As it is not possible to go back to all our schools, YET, and the independent venues are not always practical for the parents, we are continuing with Zoom classes for anyone who prefers the online platform for now. </p><p> We have also started working on our year end productions, with onsite and Zoom students. How exciting! We can’t wait to show our families, friends and fans what we can achieve when we put our creative minds to it, in whichever way, shape or form we can!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">ONSITE.....</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkPR8o2gmYr6dQpoyefFPgvCO_qYQlIzAZKI-X845EJekBH5qcnSk3pd7mIT6dwhTdf77R85ZZ24L6Y6ZnBfwO8RyC1f1tiZ3euF2XBnH_ZaGc_Vcb1kK51eWSdlvP54cGAureTUMQEUl/s2048/IMG_7912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkPR8o2gmYr6dQpoyefFPgvCO_qYQlIzAZKI-X845EJekBH5qcnSk3pd7mIT6dwhTdf77R85ZZ24L6Y6ZnBfwO8RyC1f1tiZ3euF2XBnH_ZaGc_Vcb1kK51eWSdlvP54cGAureTUMQEUl/w331-h248/IMG_7912.JPG" width="331" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">ONLINE....</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FVZFf7FJQEw7VhyphenhyphenOBJogpI6FbEscDPSzAqxToSgNVTqSQRam5hys8vxJ1NjioFWQJk3AnG8AD6lur1095G8etOyLjPk-t_lS50y4op5pfX7AWeVGGIjjEsx4V51z6iFB8UVdxTLJN0_5/s2048/Screenshot+2020-10-13+at+14.57.56.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2048" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FVZFf7FJQEw7VhyphenhyphenOBJogpI6FbEscDPSzAqxToSgNVTqSQRam5hys8vxJ1NjioFWQJk3AnG8AD6lur1095G8etOyLjPk-t_lS50y4op5pfX7AWeVGGIjjEsx4V51z6iFB8UVdxTLJN0_5/w354-h210/Screenshot+2020-10-13+at+14.57.56.png" width="354" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The choice is yours!</span></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-2645024286029202682020-09-19T22:52:00.003-07:002020-09-19T22:52:52.516-07:00“SUPPER THEATRE” a roaring success at the Theatre Domicile <p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We ended off our third term with a Bang! All our Upper Primary students, and a selection of Lower Primary students hosted a re-imagined version of our Parent Presentations. Normally our students do a group Parent Presentation, where they get to show off what they learnt during the term. This term we had to put a bit of the twist on it and it was in the form of a Supper Theatre performance in their own homes.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="1654" data-original-width="1654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVh9ylId27VYFKYq3aeCNp3WhxANHp1taVK1Se1x4QHgiuq_Y_BCLILZCtk4PzRNN7b0GujVPuWCt2-zVSvfB4jRBCNWu1PrTrLvM2gNfswWMRm8NuMkibW_5JvakKYcqU3FPoCltgfCq7/s320/Family+Supper+Theatre+copy.jpg" /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">All students had to plan and perform a show, which included a 3-course meal, as well as a variety of items performed while the audience enjoy their various courses. They designed posters, tickets, menus, and programmes. They had to create a stage, set with props and costumes. They had to be the MC and the waiter, or enlist their siblings to help.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="595" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSAZ9JFOPBdGUpWqY7rgr-S-9rRuay4uWJ3wy1Hft1hMf1ltGUH_d_jNDmT9yrwm8-iKqV6UQ8kNcGc2CRghhMKc6HzD8WPCGjS761xX_NTmVQbmNVSojcrlF5RwGiz5drT9CvRAdcVIN/s320/99ee9d1b-50cc-47ec-aff7-ba515bd76a6a.JPG" />. <img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNpv7ySPgt6cLtI4UUY2-AIdY-rq_6SZjxbYrhzuhu1ebEgy5Q-uknH_ybk5EUcsps9L0TgVYbBScYLgf0EKatpJDOujcxLGiCv8M3I-ZKmdkT311PmBtvNTjgj9bZIv8zEsno0X-OeZZ/s320/IMG_4609.PNG" /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Upper Primary students had to perform a solo interpretation of a traditional Verbal Dynamics item, <i>Cities</i>, as well as a Monologue, and an improvised advertisement. The Lower Primary Students who chose to do the Supper Theatre, performed a dramatized prose, <i>We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,</i> by Michael Rosen, and a poem from our Term 3 selection.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We encouraged the students to be creative and put their personal stamp on the event, so some students wrote their own monologues and added items to their performance, changed the “supper” to a “picnic”, and helped prepare the food and used it for their advertisements.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We asked the students to take lots of photos and videos so we could all share in the fun, and from what we received, it was a roaring success all round. The parents clearly enjoyed the performances and the food, and the students loved showing off their work. When asked for feedback after their performance, the one word used to describe their show most often was “amazing”. Time and time again: “It was AMAZING!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">How wonderful that we could bring enjoyment, fun and excitement to our students’ homes and families. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFuV9VB8iv8NZyED2yA5xbC4vuZize6r8QBPE7wIg0Du91audDu5mQGH4OPSBfEnycIPG8ACFFDKaZznMXUntmyPLmID2UIQVI6jPkHeNbwaxm9hb1fCq662DDXouXAsqTbFCRZbQfI_d/s1800/IMG_4620.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IvMWh3lWpmkqao-_ZslIBHWzJ1oGn4oKYeCBylXtCM7eawsVyQeu5Z-MbfSDb-c7Rm29XFMso09voPwjLbpgqrNT1gVCjLDPEDf7jyXi30nQRUqtaEdSTxgvVpvg8UaIj-GUkPyUXf1d/w196-h347/93602e36-e3a3-47c7-9177-a6f683f747cf.JPG" width="196" /><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFuV9VB8iv8NZyED2yA5xbC4vuZize6r8QBPE7wIg0Du91audDu5mQGH4OPSBfEnycIPG8ACFFDKaZznMXUntmyPLmID2UIQVI6jPkHeNbwaxm9hb1fCq662DDXouXAsqTbFCRZbQfI_d/s320/IMG_4620.PNG" /></a></div><br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;">This year has been so challenging for everyone, but it has pushed us in so many ways to re-invent and re-imagine old favourites, and each time the result was so, well, amazing! </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Let’s keep this momentum and level of enthusiasm going into Term 4, where we are once again going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to make our year end productions live up to our tried, tested and much adored live shows.</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8OnINffr7dj5VQkRZZHoxGOF9DN1S4gwBj1a-DddZoLBrIrGqKWIpXFcC8dqwRC3zAZJ9cdc4dPcCIVe5zQEej0K79L5NvPKmHGWgzYAJpv24nDeLtHKO2GJsIbMxOqe9cI3uS22o13j/s1280/3ff6b7c8-754b-468d-afa6-f72d7cf435cc.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8OnINffr7dj5VQkRZZHoxGOF9DN1S4gwBj1a-DddZoLBrIrGqKWIpXFcC8dqwRC3zAZJ9cdc4dPcCIVe5zQEej0K79L5NvPKmHGWgzYAJpv24nDeLtHKO2GJsIbMxOqe9cI3uS22o13j/w320-h240/3ff6b7c8-754b-468d-afa6-f72d7cf435cc.JPG" width="320" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1_VZ4VTbsE3A5894zmCOoeT-vQmjf1BcS1PAeGnxVBB2uykJOT_V2z83yKZsYFXp98dbnS_AJI-CgZFOMLRftgQ_E8MKxEiDQKwf0c9rKRvOyF5V3CyAsmeauIQpCp_jBYMOaa5ldry8/w320-h240/50e3fa61-9d88-4098-a3b0-ea07d0049074.JPG" style="text-align: left;" width="320" /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-50193529823018296202020-09-13T05:15:00.001-07:002020-09-13T05:15:36.301-07:00🌟 O'Grady's Gauteng Competition 🌟<p> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;">Let's get creative during the month of September! Open to all ages... </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".Apple Color Emoji UI"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;">Contact us on ogradyspeechcomp@gmail.com</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;"> for more information </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".Apple Color Emoji UI"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">🤩</span></p><p><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".Apple Color Emoji UI"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpqKbtG7I2pM5LQVQvqnmMp24Kjf_pbV3hhMgLL2tCNFtE4fsS7vlSvwYfssbR1yOXwwyRFv_7VkorF7NjMSrESOWVwHI2f_uL0buTZJJvo-CEcxcWKEtQBHbCYyXCehY_3Bt1vRK48KF/s1080/INSTAGRAM++-+O%2527GRADY%2527S.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpqKbtG7I2pM5LQVQvqnmMp24Kjf_pbV3hhMgLL2tCNFtE4fsS7vlSvwYfssbR1yOXwwyRFv_7VkorF7NjMSrESOWVwHI2f_uL0buTZJJvo-CEcxcWKEtQBHbCYyXCehY_3Bt1vRK48KF/w625-h625/INSTAGRAM++-+O%2527GRADY%2527S.png" width="625" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".Apple Color Emoji UI"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span><p></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-58469971702153501592020-09-06T03:05:00.000-07:002020-09-06T03:05:05.110-07:00Teaching is a work of Heart - by Maryka Roux<div class="separator"><p class="MsoNormal" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0cm;"><br /></p></div><h1 style="text-align: center;"><b> <span face="" style="font-size: 11pt;">Happy Spring everyone! </span></b></h1><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16DRtwpOti74KPZipknCn9SE3TOUQF5JjEAw9yU0ftYyIR6q5gmj-CW6YS3dzonaDZCUDlVxjQ8hiKUjEwHr8ancGGbLrWgXGAlT72lN1gNVvaFNjKTkqPdwpWCw0LOMv-RS5J9Bics05/s879/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.56+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="872" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16DRtwpOti74KPZipknCn9SE3TOUQF5JjEAw9yU0ftYyIR6q5gmj-CW6YS3dzonaDZCUDlVxjQ8hiKUjEwHr8ancGGbLrWgXGAlT72lN1gNVvaFNjKTkqPdwpWCw0LOMv-RS5J9Bics05/w318-h320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.56+AM.jpeg" width="318" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"><b>It is a new season which means new opportunities to grow, just like the beautiful spring flowers! Spring always reminds me that new beginnings are possible and beautiful.</b></span></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">This was also the case 5 years and 5 months ago when I started teaching at <i>Helen O’Grady Drama Academy Pretoria</i>. I remember my interview with Principal Juliet like it was yesterday. I met her at the very studio where I still teach, and we just connected. The biggest thing I remember is us talking about how important Drama is for Confidence. Immediately I could feel we were on the same page, but I knew I had to await confirmation to know if she thought I would be fit to teach at such a prestige and astounding Academy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">Thankfully, I got a call a few days later and my new season started. I could feel that there was a Spring in my step and Spring flowers in my heart.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwDzohzS6xUJQMjgx08-6zKcsmTb3gO4stodrYg-sCAvjQcMzb-SvYIrORUccR-sK3Iv6MxG_QwbLipIzttUQYcAiJAzO8Z0YdAyfeoRMlQ_8u4ZU6RTzJu8WcrACyzMSiLON6R1xVDxV/s1280/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.53+AM+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwDzohzS6xUJQMjgx08-6zKcsmTb3gO4stodrYg-sCAvjQcMzb-SvYIrORUccR-sK3Iv6MxG_QwbLipIzttUQYcAiJAzO8Z0YdAyfeoRMlQ_8u4ZU6RTzJu8WcrACyzMSiLON6R1xVDxV/w180-h320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.53+AM+%25281%2529.jpeg" title="Juliet and Me at the Faerie Glen Studio where we first met!" width="180" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> You see, Drama is not just a form of gaining confidence, teaching it is as well. When you teach you grow in your skillset, your craft and in knowledge. With </span><i style="font-size: 11pt;">Helen O’Grady</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, that is exactly what happened. The curriculum is so well thought out, the exercises, scripts and activities are super great for confidence building and becoming acting-ready and the Drama Presentations encourage organizing and event planning with the wonderful showcases at the end of the year that take you into a true theatre atmosphere.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1rZ4TUlJGggowc-_vbQ0mVDwdmh18bigGOZ3w_yWfR6ZWWOlJgTlogMRoKIrADCpVbwIDELhvBV5iR2SYUxE9LJTG1mcjOjCndI5Koejo6LRs_AWI_b69gdpDJ2oYnRz7t9JEz9_te03/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.55+AM+%25281%2529.jpeg" style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;" width="320" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">As a teacher in different studios I have always felt loved and always see the confidence growing not just in myself but also the students. With new gained confidence it is only natural to become better at what you do. So as time progresses teaching becomes a work of art, a skill that is challenged and beautifully articulated every year, every season, and every term – we get the opportunity to teach and learn.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="859" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbj1SPwE834g1-7ErkzDsCI2H2ndbF2j3JsxC2YwDwFF8lJtZFfnOLeWb2zbWREV09IgHVo0odod6481tgy9hKMpn8H5LK4peYKEY5-uCpdnfqSSN9Fr_VeBuPdYdkUJkLbp1vv87Fjkn/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.53+AM.jpeg" /></p><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;">Now I can honestly say, I am still learning </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;">something new every day, not just because of the amazing </span><i style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;">Helen O’Grady</i><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;"> context and content, but also the amazing staff, teachers, and students who always aspire to grow. That is why teaching is more than just a work of art, but a work of </span><b style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;">heart ♥️</b><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: right;">. Loving what you do and loving people, makes life much more lovable ❣️</span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">My hope and true passion in life is to help everyone find their purpose, the one thing that makes them do their work with heart. I have found my calling and that is to teach. I hope to inspire and motivate others through my company <i>ButtonUp</i> to find the work of heart that they can do and love for the rest of their life!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">You know what they say, if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life. Thank you <i>Helen O’Grady</i> for not only providing me with a platform to do what I love but also to love and be loved.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="1174" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSoiI4o9g8KGP-vLTTjsKOx6C91LiPKLk6jMFSJACef2-VKTGqLbCvJ9B1wnZpWFDxFk1WEOQiwWmTLK4ZS-vAjAuVCMQ47l80Nhl78df4k-dd5x1M5d1vzNstciTMrqH4nL3zZVfzV_J/w238-h256/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.55+AM.jpeg" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" width="238" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><i style="font-size: 11pt;"> </i><img border="0" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="125" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_AozW8BJXiDG5f8GzB5ef0xGLw_ah6qW8U9DZvJsxy4G9TRsnX62DDMkz8nTV53opXrc14HNF81VG8dwWe1Ze1OUQSFeiFgvkzCygCO9-mN382obZEeKNlqLFWj9gIuBhQekIETVGbyw/w80-h82/Image+2020-09-06+at+11.58.jpg" width="80" /><i style="font-size: 11pt;"> ButtonUp</i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> is a Motivational Company specializing in Motivational Talks, Workshops, Courses to find your purpose and Individual Confidence Classes for all ages and all walks of life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The title of this blog was </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">inspired by a present given to me by an </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Alum</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">ni studen</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">t - it read: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 11pt;">Teaching is a work of heart.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRWxqM9MJyAO0x3uUus0AnK1UbiBIjnTq4-8ZmL57D-FqdlKWBL6_Fi8xiJQ-fgv-q5vLWOS-Z0RJ_qBhCV_7owXmlXso3DikQnQHdS3e1OzIsjQHD_JyBm4HbhD5VtqieiVtgF3-3v_U/w205-h154/PHOTO-2020-09-04-11-53-28.jpg" title="Teaching is a Work of Heart" width="205" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="1169" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwUS5EKuW4Gi8TqVZxomKV9PrJnHdZ0EjDXIKd7NaInQYet9Y4IQd9CfkuuEELeQC22e746iKYBf6VN-_Sd39FDeulu4Gz4iHeNevhZRQmI_lC0Aj8SmM5GvRveMh0Jn0Hfd_WxTdw4dg/w394-h400/WhatsApp+Image+2020-09-06+at+11.43.52+AM.jpeg" title="Amazing Group of Helen O'Grady Drama Teachers!" width="394" /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Written by Maryka Roux</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-34917081230576608762020-07-30T13:36:00.000-07:002020-07-30T13:36:28.089-07:00Me, myself and I<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The new term has started, and we are off to a running start.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As with everything we have been doing sinc</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">e the dreaded pandemic struck the globe, we have had to put a new twist on what we are teaching this term. For the most part we are still working online, and, in some cases, we have a bit of a hybrid system going.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The third term is usually when we start working on our year-end productions and planning on which plays we will be doing with our respective groups. This is by far one of the most exciting times in our calendar for teachers and students alike. But, for obvious reasons we had to relook our strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Helen O’Grady way is really based on a lot of teamwork and teaching the students how to be a part of a whole, having your moment in the limelight and giving your friends their chance to shine as well. Encouraging and helping each other to achieve a common goal. Many of our classroom activities, and especially our year-end productions are built around this. All of these are such amazingly valuable life skills for students to learn. As far as the productions are concerned, we will have to put this on ice and change things up a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, for example, this term we are challenging our Upper Primary students to focus more on individual performance skills using Monologues and adapting our Verbal Dynamics group activity to a one-person performance. It is actually very exciting to be able to give the students an opportunity to work on a different skill set focussing more intensively on the self with characterisation, speaking directly to the audience and communicating inner feelings. Making good eye contact (or speaking directly into the camera), and working on modulation techniques, like Pace, Pitch and Pause. And, how to use costumes and props to help with characterisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This will really push individual creativity and self-confidence. Especially for those who usually feel quite safe in the group activities and shy away from the individual challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are looking forward to what this term and this strange new world will bring! If there is one thing we have learnt this year is that our students are brilliant at adapting and doing whatever we throw at them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlcH3Yabijj4iWedkGq6B01d4CvOMp-XOD7Y-nOtOFrj8AkrQsd2rHd0_KIBH9EdTv3I8IpvgZFxEF1orQYg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><br /></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-39458527020955750112020-06-23T22:50:00.000-07:002020-06-23T22:50:07.197-07:00The Rah-Rah file by Charlotte Tervit (Vice Principal HOG Drama Academy Pretoria (Pty) Ltd)<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many moons ago when I worked as a PA in the corporate world, my boss, the MD of an insurance company, used to keep a </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rah-Rah file</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Simply put, it was a brag file, a thing of pride, stuffed full of articles and information about our company’s achievements and accomplishments. Every now and again, he would take out the file, dust it off and page through it with pride.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">This week’s post is dedicated to all the amazing Helen O’Grady drama teachers. As we come to the end of a truly unexpected, interesting, challenging and surprisingly fun term, I think we should all file this term and our mind-blowing achievements in our collective <i>Rah-Rah file</i>. In future, when we have a rough week, or just feel nostalgic, we can take it out, dust it off, page through it, and look around the room and say “Wow, we really did this! Well done me and well done all my amazing colleagues.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">There have been very few times in my life that I’ve been prouder to be part of an organisation as I am to be part of Helen O’Grady Drama Academy. And to be part of the greater fraternity of teachers everywhere, who worked so hard to bring education into the homes of our children during these unprecedented times, whilst navigating their own personal lockdown journey with their families at home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">So hats off to all you phenomenal ladies and gentlemen! Rah-Rah!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span><font color="#222222" face="arial, sans-serif">- Charlotte Tervit</font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrF7Re7wo05GaT0yN2mg0cTKbZ0OWZGeT5D9uCoMsSvZygdL5kU2NtleC18kihIJnl6PzS2bfsZCdE31bEX1QBN7dQNmWzabyRPqZxV_AB637-SRKD_gzZQa6b6fLfIdMDif50jTPwBETt/s1080/teachers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrF7Re7wo05GaT0yN2mg0cTKbZ0OWZGeT5D9uCoMsSvZygdL5kU2NtleC18kihIJnl6PzS2bfsZCdE31bEX1QBN7dQNmWzabyRPqZxV_AB637-SRKD_gzZQa6b6fLfIdMDif50jTPwBETt/w400-h400/teachers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;"><font face="verdana" size="5">Student Feedback</font></span><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;"><font face="verdana" size="5">:</font><font face="bradley hand itc"><o:p style="font-size: 12pt; font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><i>The Grade 1-3 Reddam students Charlotte teaches on Zoom were asked to send feedback to her...here are some of their comments:</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><font color="#d52c1f">"I love everyone thing in drama but my truly favourite thing is you!"</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><font color="#f57c00">"I really really really like the cruise ship one and I also like the one where we got to dress up as a bird it was really really fun, I love drama!" - HN</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><font color="#3367d6">"I like drama a lot. I like doing the guessing game we played today. I also enjoy intro activities and the Octopus activity it was fun. Thank you Teacher 👌😘"- PT</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><font color="#0b8043">"Thanks Charlotte that was fun 😂"- TB</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><b><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "bradley hand itc";"><font color="#9c27b0">"I really liked the drama exercise today teacher Charlotte because my mom and I acted it out" - HN</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;"><font face="verdana" size="5">Parent Feedback:</font><font face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><font face="verdana"><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;"><font face="">"</font></span><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;">Ahhh thanks ... and thank you to you guys as well for making it such a fun lesson" <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222;"><font face="verdana">"Thank you very much. My daughter is really enjoying every minute of class. The birdie mask, blanket, the matching colours... everything, she did on her own<v:shape alt="😂" id="Picture_x0020_9" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 18pt; visibility: visible; width: 18pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="😂" src="file:////Users/julietjordaan/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/TemporaryItems/msohtmlclip/clip_image002.png"></v:imagedata></v:shape> Thank you for being an awesome teacher too!"<o:p></o:p></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><font face="verdana">"Thank you Juliet! Super fun for A!" - NB</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><font face="verdana">"Class was awesome, Juliet!" - JP</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><font face="verdana">"Thank you, the session was brilliant!" - SZ</font></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-12884331075977492262020-06-06T02:39:00.000-07:002020-06-06T02:39:45.214-07:00Another Day, Another Plot Twist!<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="helvetica" size="4">One of my favourite sayings at the moment is:</font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><font face="helvetica" size="4">If something doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, just yell “plot twist” and continue to Sparkle! </font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQO1PA6PrYm6vPTJOwfKaOcH0_Tm17xtvUuz0hyk6uZjvTzdIn_29I3V_5ibtZKOtsuvzIsWT75FIYppo1qlK2SZp-093Gv9L5bY8FJJMpWgFxBmtpKvhhT7JDGpW-Hk1fluZ3b8rtBKo/s720/20200605_165922.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQO1PA6PrYm6vPTJOwfKaOcH0_Tm17xtvUuz0hyk6uZjvTzdIn_29I3V_5ibtZKOtsuvzIsWT75FIYppo1qlK2SZp-093Gv9L5bY8FJJMpWgFxBmtpKvhhT7JDGpW-Hk1fluZ3b8rtBKo/s320/20200605_165922.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><font face="helvetica" size="4">The one thing that is certain at the moment is that everything is <b><i>uncertain</i></b>. We plan and plot and just when we think we've got a handle on things, understand the game, someone yells “<i>Plot</i> <i>twist</i>” and the rules change and it's back to square one. And so the plot thickens.<br /><br />One such area is the reopening of schools and the rules and regulations around it. It is causing much frustration for parents, but sadly also confusion and even anxiety for our kids. While venting about this and processing my own frustration, it dawned on me that once again we have a wonderful teaching opportunity here. We can teach our kids to roll with the punches.<br /><br />Pre COVID 19 our lives, and importantly our children’s lives, were for the most part very structured (some lives more so than others) but nonetheless, it followed a very clear and certain path. All of a sudden it is all up in the air and things seem to change on a daily basis.<br /><br />Perhaps we can teach them the life lesson that things do change and that things don't always work out the way we planned. But we as humans <i>can</i> adapt, embrace the challenges and try to make the best of it - the whole life and lemon thing comes to mind....<br /><br />But even if there is not a jug of refreshing lemonade at the end of the tunnel, we can still roll with the punches, work through the tough times and make it to the other side. Pretending that going back to school under the new circumstances will be fun is possibly setting the children up for disappointment, but they will get through it and they will get used to it. Or if they are not going back to school at all, explaining that they won't be with their friends every day might seem like punishment, but they might end up looking at the world in a whole new way.<br /><br />Our drama classes can be a great example of how change is not always a bad thing. We have been able to bring high quality and fun drama lessons to all our kids making use of various digital platforms. But we can go back to face to face classes at any time and have awesome classes, or even do a hybrid of the two. We do not need to view the change from the one to the other as bad, just as a new chapter.<o:p></o:p></font></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><font face="helvetica" size="4">We, the teachers <i>and</i> students of Helen O’Grady Drama Academy, can adapt, change and embrace this new reality. As I’ve mentioned before, drama is so fluid and, well, creative that we can make great performance art out of almost anything and any situation we find ourselves in. Social Distancing? No problem, we just inflate our drama bubbles a bit and exploit a good opportunity to work on projection. Protective gear? Bring it on, we love dressing up – hazmat suits are the new black! </font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><font face="helvetica" size="4">Our classes are incredible, our content is pliable and we are even adapting our year-end productions to, not just a sad watered down version of what it used to be, but an exciting, thrilling new challenge that the children will love. (Watch this space for more on that!)<br /><br />The important thing is that we SHALL keep going and we SHALL be there for our drama students and we will come out of this in the end with bells on! </font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><font face="helvetica" size="4">So just yell “plot twist” and continue to sparkle!</font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pOiGWSLQVSMKqYqXRnYFszaKZoGD3e6szgNOZRLzPRTW7gNOXCA-tLckpu__KqAxJ3kv-hubTYd2vcqlFTQML5d_uo82W61h7rt9QdGwjkY7vdEoydkpbEEIU-RH6-ZLeOhB0Z_-cFZb/s333/20200605_135939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pOiGWSLQVSMKqYqXRnYFszaKZoGD3e6szgNOZRLzPRTW7gNOXCA-tLckpu__KqAxJ3kv-hubTYd2vcqlFTQML5d_uo82W61h7rt9QdGwjkY7vdEoydkpbEEIU-RH6-ZLeOhB0Z_-cFZb/s320/20200605_135939.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-61919055967521091872020-05-30T10:30:00.002-07:002020-05-30T10:30:48.334-07:00Drama Dress Up Day<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This term we introduced Virtual Drama Dress Up Days - the children have loved it! One of our favourites was when we all dressed up as birds, learning to fly for the first time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2XSJT66-p3vcgNh7beHfx8UEc1tqNYyYhruP4tkbAdkTuHi7_3oHo8eSZWCkv7aW3s3g7YLbA__MaGmpDYRfCabfkiKSFSDvnSm6hNnjtzrxRtyZZLuPpBUaiBcQJr1CkUiZL7kzF3C-/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2XSJT66-p3vcgNh7beHfx8UEc1tqNYyYhruP4tkbAdkTuHi7_3oHo8eSZWCkv7aW3s3g7YLbA__MaGmpDYRfCabfkiKSFSDvnSm6hNnjtzrxRtyZZLuPpBUaiBcQJr1CkUiZL7kzF3C-/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Dressing up is a great way to get children to transform into their characters and make the activity come to life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">By using objects they had at home, and clothes from their (and mom's) cupboards, and with a dash of creativity we had the most colourful and exciting birds in town! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The lockdown has presented us with a surprising bonus. In some schools or studios, it is just not practical for </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">children</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> to take part in our dress-up lessons. With everyone one being at home, this is a brilliant way to add another level of excitement and creativity to the lesson. They can use props, and even select a setting or “stage” where they can do the activity, like in the garden for the birds or the kitchen for the chef.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">TEN weeks is an extraordinarily long time to be confined to your house and unable to go anywhere fun and exciting. Giving </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">children</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> the opportunity to transform their house and garden into a forest or restaurant or desert island or haunted house is a great way to give them some ideas of how to start playing pretend more often and give them a break from their electronic devices to use their imaginations freely.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Electronic devices used to be their fun time, their “escape” whether to watch animated movies and programs or to play video games, and there is one thing these things all have in common – the children don’t have to use their imaginations much, the graphics and animation are so amazing these worlds seem real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">What a lucky happenstance it is then that we have a beautiful moment to teach our children how to step away from these devices, which is now a learning tool (and not only for fun as much) and reignite their own ability to create worlds and stories beyond anything they have ever been spoon-fed by popular culture. Let’s help them, through dress up and imaginative play to try new feelings, come up with fantastical ideas and let their imaginations soar!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-36152939341568170232020-05-10T06:32:00.000-07:002020-05-10T06:36:17.758-07:00Friend or foe, that is the question:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">January 2020:</span><br /><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">"Johnny, please go play outside, you've been on your iPad all day!"</span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">April 2020:</span><br /><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">"Johnny, please stop playing outside, you haven't been on your iPad all day!"</span></i><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Who would have thought a mere few months ago that our iPads, mobile phones and laptops would become our most valuable partners in education!</span><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Long gone are the days (well, actually not so long!) that we obsess about too much screen time and worrying that our children’s brains will turn to mush from looking at their mobile devices for more and an hour a day!</span><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">It's true that in many countries, like in North America and in Western Europe many education systems have successfully integrated technology and multimedia as part of their basic education platforms, but nothing like it is now and most certainly not in most of South Africa.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">It is actually phenomenal how we have been able to embrace technology as a teaching tool, and especially the mobile device, and how we have started using it, neigh, depending on it to bring all sorts of educational material and programs to our youth, as is the case with Helen O'Grady Drama Academy. We made an almost seamlessly smooth transition from face-to-face classes to delivering our classes on multiple platforms, from pre-recorded lessons on Facebook, to live Zoom lessons right in our students’ own homes. To be honest, there was a lot of frantic paddling beneath the surface for the first few weeks, but for all the world to see, it was swan-like and graceful </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif;">😊</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">And it has been a roaring success! Drama has just been one of those subjects or activities that works brilliantly on a screen. The children enjoy it, they participate with gusto and are incredibly creative under these conditions. Perhaps we should not be surprised - children have known for years how much fun it can be to stare at a screen and now we are capitalising on it.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">But it does beg the question though, what happens when this is all over? When life can go back to a more familiar routine of leaving the house, going to work and attending classes again face-to-face? Do we abandon all we have created and established during this dark time in our history and pretend it was just a bad dream, or do we continue with a hybrid system of face-to-face classes and an online offering to those who might not be able to attend classes in person? All our hard work and lessons learnt for the greater expansion and footprint of our amazing Academy?</span><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I guess only time will tell, but it would be interesting to watch. I, for one, am very excited about what our future holds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnp_KHFXdMXEM3j_krRzb9MYoasar7w7Ye_7KwSFr2xgyTrNUzXcZeCNOPyg19bBSSzSqCHyKO_Di418ElV5qa30jSRYAvPWIPCe1xTHR8Qj-6luR7V2jNhJXhId3J-F42QENg12c0GMW/s1600/Online.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="820" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnp_KHFXdMXEM3j_krRzb9MYoasar7w7Ye_7KwSFr2xgyTrNUzXcZeCNOPyg19bBSSzSqCHyKO_Di418ElV5qa30jSRYAvPWIPCe1xTHR8Qj-6luR7V2jNhJXhId3J-F42QENg12c0GMW/s400/Online.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Here are a few testimonials from Happy Parents:</span></i></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mrs Dinath</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">: You doing an awesome job with them </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "apple color emoji";">😘</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Thursday is the highlight of the week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mrs Govender</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">: Yes and the kids are loving it as well. This is the new way of life I guess until further notice </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "apple color emoji";">😊</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Mrs Paruk: </i>Thank you for introducing the kids to Zoom! Both Uzayr and Isa loved it!</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mrs Nel</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">: </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hi Juliet, G is enjoying the videos, thank you. We do one video per day. G likes me to participate with her. The length of the videos are perfect! Not too long and not too short, and they are wonderfully engaging. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And testimonials from Teachers:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hi Juliet! It was lovely. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m very impressed with how these kids stayed engaged. I was wondering how that would go and if they wouldn’t lose interest. You are such an amazing teacher even on screen</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "apple color emoji";">😉</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> – <b><i>Larisa Grove JP Drama Teacher Redhill</i></b></span><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The kids are loving the Zoom lessons! - <b><i>Tanya Gerasimo</i></b></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Reddam House Early Learning School</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">, </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Deputy Head</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">If are interested in finding out more about our Online Pre-recorded and Zoom Drama classes please feel free to contact, Principal Juliet Jordaan, on 0829091630 or email juliet@helenogrady.co.za<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-46833394195228718112020-05-01T21:51:00.001-07:002020-05-01T21:53:30.174-07:00Much needed Comic Relief<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We are now approaching our 6</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> week in Lockdown and the fatigue is starting to show. Parents are taking strain as they try to juggle work, home schooling and entertaining children during their off time, not to mention cooking and cleaning.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It is now more than ever we need to keep our Drama classes entertaining, fun and engaging for much needed Comic Relief. Many children are under immense pressure from school and their Parents who are, justifiably, concerned about their academic progress, as well as the inescapable boredom and cabin fever setting in. They also just miss their friends and the social interaction at school – children are (for the most part) social creatures who are at their happiest surrounded by their peers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This is where we step in – Drama is, in its simplest form, a form of escapism where students get to interact with their Drama friends and to just have fun, laugh and be silly – especially during lockdown! It is also a creative outlet where they can take a breath away from the books, as it were. And honestly speaking the kids just love the lessons! We even have some lessons continuing on the Public Holidays because the students couldn’t bear not doing Drama for a whole week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So, we just need to keep on bringing our A-game to each lesson. This is when our Parents are going to appreciate us the most and the children become lifelong devotees and so cement the future of Helen O’Grady Drama Academy whether online or face to face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-78443007754631950112020-04-17T02:34:00.001-07:002020-04-17T02:34:13.473-07:00The Show must go onLINE!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What an exciting few week this has been. Our online lessons have been running virtually flawlessly (see what I did there? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif;">😉</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">) and we are all getting into the rhythm of this new reality we are living. Our students have had an absolute ball doing online drama classes, those who were not able to join our live Zoom lessons have sent us videos of themselves following our online content posted on various platforms. It is quite amazing how good humans are at adapting to new circumstances!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And I have to say our students have been just amazing! They just took to this “new normal” like ducks to water. They are happy to go online to do their schoolwork, extra-mural activities and to see their friends. For the first time ever, they are not getting into trouble for the amount of “screen-time” they are having, and parents are encouraging them to go online! And surprisingly what I have witnessed at home and heard from friends is that children are choosing to spend time away from their screens playing outside, getting fresh air and exercise. Before this we couldn’t pry them away from their cell phones and iPads!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-10670017495995229982020-04-04T22:13:00.000-07:002020-04-04T22:14:36.588-07:00It was the worst of times, it was the best of times<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The title of this weeks’ blog is a bit of a play on the opening line of Charles Dickens’ novel, Tale of Two Cities. I changed it around a bit as I think this is really a tough time for all of us, maybe even the worst we have ever lived through. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty about our way of life and when things will go back to “normal” (whatever that may turn out to be).But the strange thing is that in some respects it has also become the best of times!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The best time for creativity and innovation - thinking outside the box - to keep the wheels turning and to keep people connected, be it for work or to connect with friends and family. And it is no different for us at Helen O’Grady Drama Academy here in Pretoria and all over South Africa, and in fact all around the world. We are having online staff meetings, making videos, meeting our students in chat rooms and creating online content.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To be honest it has been a load of fun to figure out the best way to connect, making and sending silly videos out to our Helen O’Grady family to keep the spirits up, and how we can transform our live lessons into <i>live streaming </i>lessons. Drama is perfect to go on-screen – it’s dynamic and exciting and gets the creative juices flowing. It forces the kids off the couch, to move their bodies, jump, dance and laugh, whether they are watching pre-recorded content or during a live streaming lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Not only can we do our conventional lessons in video format, but teaching our students on-camera performance techniques, how to film themselves using camera techniques like the best angles, lighting and camera shots, and how to use the latest technology to record and edit video clips are just an awesome by-products of our new line of attack. Even teaching them a universal skill like using online chat platforms like Zoom or Google Chat which they will be using in all walks of life in the future, from social interaction, to conference calling with colleagues and running online businesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It has also been really great for all the principals and teachers to discover new technology and forcing us to look at what we do in a new light and all the exciting possibilities that exist in the way we deliver and offer our Helen O’Grady lessons in the future. Online lessons could very well become part of the options we have available for students, especially students in areas where we do not currently have studios or opportunities for students from across the globe to connect with each other and collaborate in special projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Who knows?! …At the moment it feels like the possibilities are endless. And if this horrible, scary virus didn’t grip our planet in an icy grip of fear and uncertainty, we would never have explored these ideas and come up with all these awesome innovations to overcome an obstacle we never saw coming. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In closing we would like to give a shout out to everyone who follows our blog - during this time of lockdown and self–isolation….stay safe, stay healthy, stay focused and stay strong!</span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-46648958678318390192020-03-22T12:02:00.000-07:002020-03-22T12:02:04.015-07:00Dress up Day!<div class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Children love dressing up! It is just a universal truth. It transports them to a whole new fantastical world where imagination is the only limit. They can explore who they are, who they want to be and experiment with different characters. It is quite amazing to witness. The most timid of children can transform into a mighty ruler commanding respect when donning a cape and a crown, or the most serious child can become a frivolous fairy tale character or goofy court jester if they put on the right hat, or wings or shoes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYnf5b0Sq6xXtAdpSpGOA93Wwxw18lH22Rrh5W_nYyY2AxIikO0kND_MI191scRWXiUCnWiz-BTcv__UWBwbphnvlfzvpoCKfAA3B5SkceIGoN6iekCiRoCm_i7OVe9ZPeo2MuVSdYn0K/s1600/IMG_1251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYnf5b0Sq6xXtAdpSpGOA93Wwxw18lH22Rrh5W_nYyY2AxIikO0kND_MI191scRWXiUCnWiz-BTcv__UWBwbphnvlfzvpoCKfAA3B5SkceIGoN6iekCiRoCm_i7OVe9ZPeo2MuVSdYn0K/s200/IMG_1251.JPG" width="146" /><span style="clear: right; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></a><span style="clear: right; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOE2ZY4MK-OSXrdYKk66rIpIdXToK7NpNTt9KuCT1J8b7KJZPJZUFxQbLxBf8PauPs-MlD7lAeG0lBVf56PnHfajQyKTpP3_WPKbhwwxUrzF4Ac3lndV1p0RXPtY0wjJKrKDG-eMCjcTE/s1600/051269ab-b5db-44bc-a5be-4308462ec1d3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOE2ZY4MK-OSXrdYKk66rIpIdXToK7NpNTt9KuCT1J8b7KJZPJZUFxQbLxBf8PauPs-MlD7lAeG0lBVf56PnHfajQyKTpP3_WPKbhwwxUrzF4Ac3lndV1p0RXPtY0wjJKrKDG-eMCjcTE/s200/051269ab-b5db-44bc-a5be-4308462ec1d3.JPG" width="150" /></a></span><span style="clear: right; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ijPol3o6DNLQJ3RzLb4SrMoZny7nsyx8JO6JdprWTdcysNnSEhNea0sCVjU6AwbC7Wh16QWct2nIeXf2bIDu2mocJS2VmkIjTitshpeMd_vBJ3r67IgdSNzxDvT9twSZBRhVDHIAqPTo/s1600/a76b93f4-1f11-4940-993b-1833812079e8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ijPol3o6DNLQJ3RzLb4SrMoZny7nsyx8JO6JdprWTdcysNnSEhNea0sCVjU6AwbC7Wh16QWct2nIeXf2bIDu2mocJS2VmkIjTitshpeMd_vBJ3r67IgdSNzxDvT9twSZBRhVDHIAqPTo/s200/a76b93f4-1f11-4940-993b-1833812079e8.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think it is also about how tangible the character becomes. A prop or costume allows you to really become that character, live inside their skin as it were. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many of our activities are based on mime and using your imagination, pretending you are wearing a heavy coat or tool-belt or flowing skirt. But when they dress up, they can see and feel what it's like to be that character.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Frankly, I have a confession to make – we are amongst friends, right? I love the feeling of dressing up silly for a Fancy Dress party or Halloween. And secretly, I think all adults do. It adds a swagger to our step or invokes talking in an (often quite bad) accent. Even impersonating the character we have dressed as, swinging our pearls or looping our thumbs around our cowboy belt buckle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are allowed for a short while to just be kids again.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMsOB6fdQDdN6yVnRinLqsJK3nP0-Uaae4Aj8ZGmF3eEOWNtHsvdEcfRT73xXdtFgW96AJvhGZ2oqvv0pC_R1plB4AssWc43lgzoLjaCIj-ywurowaGmkW13SDz0XGZ6JXMXUOQGrXLk4/s1600/IMG_5400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMsOB6fdQDdN6yVnRinLqsJK3nP0-Uaae4Aj8ZGmF3eEOWNtHsvdEcfRT73xXdtFgW96AJvhGZ2oqvv0pC_R1plB4AssWc43lgzoLjaCIj-ywurowaGmkW13SDz0XGZ6JXMXUOQGrXLk4/s200/IMG_5400.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ffY7s2dpB1qSeTr9yh7pT2Z7wfTBgPL283ZnlZ7CpZDyxRFIbGNB3pysuN0ZnyPeCP2ftwuhdjlGJBE85BQ5V7IzRzsHYxoLajy8gPqlnpvGEacowI3Djoa6KNZBZz9e3w0wXndF3CcO/s1600/_DSC7657+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ffY7s2dpB1qSeTr9yh7pT2Z7wfTBgPL283ZnlZ7CpZDyxRFIbGNB3pysuN0ZnyPeCP2ftwuhdjlGJBE85BQ5V7IzRzsHYxoLajy8gPqlnpvGEacowI3Djoa6KNZBZz9e3w0wXndF3CcO/s200/_DSC7657+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunvK_hMwM97uyf6xbObxiOCFhbpdhdoknwdIVIDoZM7YndxjwdOtGgGfjEAX5Z4COGpcs7x3rfAQBBmuRCM-uTEZxzSOK-dEzcTSwV5PCIbHhF1YN8B09-95m1RciBMvbuajmxAsKBjlP/s1600/28237ff1-380d-4960-a949-b582f54ed73c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunvK_hMwM97uyf6xbObxiOCFhbpdhdoknwdIVIDoZM7YndxjwdOtGgGfjEAX5Z4COGpcs7x3rfAQBBmuRCM-uTEZxzSOK-dEzcTSwV5PCIbHhF1YN8B09-95m1RciBMvbuajmxAsKBjlP/s200/28237ff1-380d-4960-a949-b582f54ed73c.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Helen O’Grady Drama Academy we have a dress up activity for every lesson of Term 1, the students absolutely love it! They receive a list of what they need to dress up as each week and have to come up with their own costumes and or props – and the catch is, they are not allowed to go out and buy the costume, they have to use what they have at home... some even make their own costumes!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad943Yne3zBq96Zvj7oJfiDXSoS1AWSrdn7KTyg38l0PPJzuTwE_voLeHESNqp4CY4F_ufsWsmW5cQSgaDwMbC-ripFBk2HujyMp2nB0YicYENkoGhQyiFCqFEnx_hVn07rGAFew7T85N/s1600/IMG_1244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad943Yne3zBq96Zvj7oJfiDXSoS1AWSrdn7KTyg38l0PPJzuTwE_voLeHESNqp4CY4F_ufsWsmW5cQSgaDwMbC-ripFBk2HujyMp2nB0YicYENkoGhQyiFCqFEnx_hVn07rGAFew7T85N/s200/IMG_1244.JPG" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TopPXhxs82zkKzu03R_680eq49cSqw4VASurzjGVh3nz-QSCkKXn50lWfqYTOcUXW80uh3YmMdPHyyfhVdtHl7jeqR_GFC9Mu6xDJj46cvUhvZtapHgMZbzXmWx59lVd-0IMnizWr7vC/s1600/IMG_1090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TopPXhxs82zkKzu03R_680eq49cSqw4VASurzjGVh3nz-QSCkKXn50lWfqYTOcUXW80uh3YmMdPHyyfhVdtHl7jeqR_GFC9Mu6xDJj46cvUhvZtapHgMZbzXmWx59lVd-0IMnizWr7vC/s200/IMG_1090.JPG" width="200" /></a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu62vSIMBu3ynuBELDnL0WIzXyq-HOSeTUD5W-wlUUgIJW0nMK3sdrmz_BY_-KZRxISbAKJtSzb-perkrycGBV__racSysynJ96bJrdFRcwCcd4Z_uXJzsQmtisx5QqQozMP99SybNQEP3/s1600/7f146525-457b-479e-8633-4697bafae499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu62vSIMBu3ynuBELDnL0WIzXyq-HOSeTUD5W-wlUUgIJW0nMK3sdrmz_BY_-KZRxISbAKJtSzb-perkrycGBV__racSysynJ96bJrdFRcwCcd4Z_uXJzsQmtisx5QqQozMP99SybNQEP3/s200/7f146525-457b-479e-8633-4697bafae499.JPG" width="162" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a great creative exercise and helps to build the anticipation for their next lesson as they get a bit of a clue what the dress up activity will be about, but they don’t know exactly what they will be doing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRXVr6LTXVsD7WFvEiDDozn9m9zp7l4Doq3Qi0fM8B03NSNdH2kDMchKEl3_g7mSg9SMCYrsj53VXk740adwIgN7mYnHVwadg8m4pPmmXZC8hhe6dfy363UhzpmNDXd7TEDZ-aPfuheo6/s1600/f2709d30-b957-41e7-833b-bbd84d7d6df9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRXVr6LTXVsD7WFvEiDDozn9m9zp7l4Doq3Qi0fM8B03NSNdH2kDMchKEl3_g7mSg9SMCYrsj53VXk740adwIgN7mYnHVwadg8m4pPmmXZC8hhe6dfy363UhzpmNDXd7TEDZ-aPfuheo6/s200/f2709d30-b957-41e7-833b-bbd84d7d6df9.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1VZq4ijpVzVr0LPrKSAUsUuCch2Oo-OkndYGij-5y7LJuZQOlNtM7APDXtGfDMnNsogbdFmh67qHxO4zsiP0zPmClvAS1SIGzJtHvVFXGNnHr2BdRxe0u6uaNG8-vh2P1YrE52XGYZxW/s1600/IMG_0912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1VZq4ijpVzVr0LPrKSAUsUuCch2Oo-OkndYGij-5y7LJuZQOlNtM7APDXtGfDMnNsogbdFmh67qHxO4zsiP0zPmClvAS1SIGzJtHvVFXGNnHr2BdRxe0u6uaNG8-vh2P1YrE52XGYZxW/s200/IMG_0912.JPG" width="200" /></a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3oUZydIky8KpJbAmT46MYhDoXeQyCi9P9y9NwmFlUYw-qF0bIiZAAONu5J_wIdPqKzt3nBBjrdWD1RZ6Uz_3qmYU_Hee87gIKzpzDiycrGpqbTmMo9q4hdz06n6_WuUaRPZvhqmkUMun/s1600/IMG_2341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3oUZydIky8KpJbAmT46MYhDoXeQyCi9P9y9NwmFlUYw-qF0bIiZAAONu5J_wIdPqKzt3nBBjrdWD1RZ6Uz_3qmYU_Hee87gIKzpzDiycrGpqbTmMo9q4hdz06n6_WuUaRPZvhqmkUMun/s200/IMG_2341.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is also a great way to prepare the students for our year end productions which includes full costume. Now let’s be honest, as much as a costume can be the ultimate way to get into character, in more ways than one, a costume can also sometimes be a challenge. Most of the time children wear super comfy clothes to their drama class, something they can easily move around in. Whereas costumes can be stiff, or baggy or distracting. By doing the dress up days, children learn to be and stay in character even when they are not wearing their normal drama clothes and allowing the costume and props the enhance their character and not hinder them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUL0gOloX9m6hq8LjyLV87Gw2mirNRV1ZI0D3Wlqrxic-P35AiJqUtmbrZ4K-txSGhZMRjhcgIgQzAcLLdZ293uc9uovwbhKq9ZRgsB20hXXJNUqy6KetowI3w50qTNqoAnQXFOiVfaFn/s1600/IMG_5208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUL0gOloX9m6hq8LjyLV87Gw2mirNRV1ZI0D3Wlqrxic-P35AiJqUtmbrZ4K-txSGhZMRjhcgIgQzAcLLdZ293uc9uovwbhKq9ZRgsB20hXXJNUqy6KetowI3w50qTNqoAnQXFOiVfaFn/s200/IMG_5208.JPG" width="200" /></a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_OAQovj04VQaTdYID9ca8MfLJ8deSLcOFSf7RQavyUX34TSobqFM9SGNVObGDItV8Djc8yHgQon5WLRDCZGs3GuNwCWo_Vi70rqvi57a3gSApqsSgCZnuSdLSEpCAhNVKNzlsfr7-nkV/s1600/IMG_1442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_OAQovj04VQaTdYID9ca8MfLJ8deSLcOFSf7RQavyUX34TSobqFM9SGNVObGDItV8Djc8yHgQon5WLRDCZGs3GuNwCWo_Vi70rqvi57a3gSApqsSgCZnuSdLSEpCAhNVKNzlsfr7-nkV/s200/IMG_1442.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rVLWClRUrXRdlIQ69A-D-F5Y-S2iZHW5GCYviXAwP00JNUYTQ3egznSrLbYdxiK1wI6_TyyPRsg5Mue10FS1ub9B3AD0luZ5HsE7nKNWH_MFqYhBPT3U3jRIHYX_TTIdcZNOFh5Bbrl-/s1600/IMG_3342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rVLWClRUrXRdlIQ69A-D-F5Y-S2iZHW5GCYviXAwP00JNUYTQ3egznSrLbYdxiK1wI6_TyyPRsg5Mue10FS1ub9B3AD0luZ5HsE7nKNWH_MFqYhBPT3U3jRIHYX_TTIdcZNOFh5Bbrl-/s200/IMG_3342.JPG" width="142" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dressing up is also just a great way to entertain children and keep them busy for hours. Not a bad idea when we all need to come up with ways to entertain our </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">children</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> at home for the next few weeks!</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Written by Charlotte Tervit - Vice-Principal, Helen O'Grady Drama Academy Pretoria</b></div>
Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-44315547523417521352020-03-14T21:43:00.000-07:002020-03-20T22:32:10.642-07:00Let My People Go!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 18pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Helen O'Grady Pretoria and Midrand recently hosted a Cultural performance by an American performing group <i>Evelyn Graves Drama Productions</i> from Philadelphia, USA. Our students and parents were invited to join us for this wonderful opportunity to witness an American performance and interact with the performers after the show. Some of our own Helen O’ Grady students also took to the stage with a few fun Theatre Games to get the audience warmed up and ready for the main attraction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6By46z_ExckmhR_0upNKXVAp7T5eThlAaKZgj9jCuWa0nDQc6WYXB_9bvuyzf5GVK94f-4ej_VXzLj4lKdNjlR4oJDg7LDk2wLjlHM9nsuoTZp5oFMZMTLj83nIQaFSOV4ISK-C9z4LN/s1600/Simple+Pastel+Grid+Photo+Mood+Board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6By46z_ExckmhR_0upNKXVAp7T5eThlAaKZgj9jCuWa0nDQc6WYXB_9bvuyzf5GVK94f-4ej_VXzLj4lKdNjlR4oJDg7LDk2wLjlHM9nsuoTZp5oFMZMTLj83nIQaFSOV4ISK-C9z4LN/s320/Simple+Pastel+Grid+Photo+Mood+Board.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Evelyn Graves Drama Productions</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> was established in the 1970’s by Evelyn Graves and has been performing ever since. They performed two of their signature plays: “Behold the Man,” a production written by Evelyn Graves that dramatizes the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as "Let My People Go," a historical dramatic musical presentation dedicated to Black History in commemoration of how God sent Moses to deliver his people, the Israelites, from under the bondage of Pharaoh through song and dance. It depicts the bondage of the Black man and his escape to freedom focusing on Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Park, and other great leaders of the African American rich heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The morning was a huge success ending in a standing ovation for “Let My People Go”. The students and parents loved the whole experience and were moved and entertained, feeling the energy and excitement of a powerful live theatre performance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In a previous interview Cassandra Graves, who now heads the production company created by her mother, said “Our motto is ‘the healing arts.’ It heals you when you see a play like this, it grabs you to the very core. The healing arts are so powerful that it heals the performer, and it heals the audience as well. When you see a live performance on stage, and it’s done well, it just touches you and that’s a part of our mission.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">While some productions utilise only the spoken word, Graves described Evelyn Graves Productions as multi-faceted ones, which incorporates music, dance and drama. This, she said, has appealed to its audiences throughout the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Dr Cassandra Graves</i></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We also had the privilege of seeing members if the principle cast that’s been part of Evelyn Graves Productions for 10, 20, or 30 years, such as Vance Evans who played the role of Jesus in the production for some 30 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“It’s been a blessing ever since, I never thought I’d be playing ‘the man’,” Evans said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was such a wonderful learning opportunity for our students to see how to produce a powerful, engaging and entertaining performance with a bare stage, a few costumes and props and the most basic of sound systems (which was in fact a small portable speaker and the piano played on a smart phone). An excellent example of how to create multiple characters per cast member, use music in a performance, powerful and effective voice projection, and the use of a performance space. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And finally, to top it all, the chance to have conversations with the likes of Vance Evans and the wonderful Cassandra Graves herself added the final hurrah to an unforgettable morning for all, the audience and cast alike. What a wonderful experience to have people from opposite ends of the globe come together and find a common understanding and passion through the performing arts, transcending age, culture and history! #Dramarocks</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-85988253873109834962020-03-01T05:02:00.001-08:002020-03-01T05:02:58.591-08:00Life is a rollercoaster - of emotions! <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SxZIgCLwCYqLmxelUTQuTFYZJdhdyK7iS23K-XUcL3r88V1pfz9xsMnCoqRaietEpu9c1TmlE89famYba6a8F-xcRDbCI6BMsdNK32EVxq7L3vfEWXBzHcWeu15dvECNjkqV9Z4DzUW8/s1600/IMG_4738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SxZIgCLwCYqLmxelUTQuTFYZJdhdyK7iS23K-XUcL3r88V1pfz9xsMnCoqRaietEpu9c1TmlE89famYba6a8F-xcRDbCI6BMsdNK32EVxq7L3vfEWXBzHcWeu15dvECNjkqV9Z4DzUW8/s320/IMG_4738.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2llq9rD4KfUy-bfS4wJNrcLlNKIInzmMt68HFH2TM7Kt4XR6_RJiLjBWy_ABl_jIEn8fHDZ9A5Xn0TM9KTqsclhrraNKfgkRmzxUzGaq9o1rPmBwqmRT-Unw7CKXe9eGYwL3S86apLlf/s1600/IMG_8184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2llq9rD4KfUy-bfS4wJNrcLlNKIInzmMt68HFH2TM7Kt4XR6_RJiLjBWy_ABl_jIEn8fHDZ9A5Xn0TM9KTqsclhrraNKfgkRmzxUzGaq9o1rPmBwqmRT-Unw7CKXe9eGYwL3S86apLlf/s320/IMG_8184.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">We all feel a little sad 😞, angry 😡, frustrated 😖or overwhelmed sometimes. Some of us are better than others at managing our emotions and not letting it come with us into the classroom or even influence our working or personal relationships, but as adults we have at least a semblance of EQ to keep ourselves in check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">The same cannot always be said for the children we work with on a daily basis. 3 year olds’ tantrums, clinginess or attention seeking, all the way to petulant, aloof or insecure teenagers are just par for the course for most teachers, but let’s be honest, it can become fairly challenging with a room full of, shall we say more<i> flamboyant</i> personalities who are usually attracted to drama lessons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">It can truly be a test of your EQ and patience to manage such emotions or outbursts in class. This past week we had a discussion about emotions with our Kindy kids as part of their <i>All About Me</i> theme, and that got me thinking about how we can manage the emotions of children who attend our classes so that everyone in class can still have a productive day, but at the same time we must still validate the feelings of, and show empathy to the children who are having a bad day.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Now I’m sure any teacher out there will agree that that is a pretty tall order and I promise you there is no way I’m pretending that I have it down to a T!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> So, I did a bit or research and I’m happy to report that there is a plethora of information, articles and tips out there to help manage emotions in the classroom, like:<span style="background: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/11/12/how-to-handle-temper-tantrums/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">How To Handle Temper Tantrums, Emotional Outbursts, And Other Outrageously Immature Behavior</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> on </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">www.smartclassroommanagement.com</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/challenging-behaviour-in-the-classroom/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">How to Deal with Challenging Behaviour in the Classroom</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> on </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="file:///Users/julietjordaan/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail%20Downloads/9991E1EE-6A19-430D-85D8-9CCB8F1F358B/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">www.highspeedtraining.co.uk</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">And of course let’s remember our favourite quote by Ashleigh Warner:-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">“Beneath every behaviour there is a feeling. And beneath each feeling there is a need. And when we meet that need rather than focus on the behaviour, we begin to deal with the cause and not the symptom”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Sometimes you can also turn the emotional situation into a teaching opportunity by having a discussion about the particular emotion in question, or emotions in general, and how understanding our emotions can help us when we do character work. Then act out various emotions walking around, making sounds or sentences to express that emotion. You can even let them choose characters who are experiencing different emotions. Sometimes the group can even come up with some solutions of how they can manage their own emotions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Sadly, we live in a world where many kids face a multitude of challenges in their lives like bullying (physical, verbal and online) as well as enormous stresses and pressure academically, socially, at home, and even from the media, depending on their age. We need to be prepared and have a strategy to deal with unpredictable behaviour or risk losing valuable teaching time or even control of the classroom altogether. Once again, as I have said so often before, I believe that we are in a very privileged position to give the children a safe place to express their feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Finally, I often think, as I’m sure you will agree, a hug and validation go a long way and is sometimes just what a child needs to make them feel ok again!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">- Charlotte Tervit (Vice-Principal)</span></div>
Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-3934153800608462292020-02-16T09:31:00.001-08:002020-02-16T09:35:20.490-08:00All you need is Love <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Charlotte Tervit - Vice Principal </i></b></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">If you live on planet Earth (or at least South Africa) you would spent the past few weeks with a barrage of red hearts, love songs and mountains of chocolates - every shop selling heart shaped goodies, radio stations blurting out love songs and all tv channels airing rom coms. Even schools are on board with friendship days and anonymous cards and roses handed out by the dozen.<br /><br />This has made me think a lot about the "love" our kids experience when at school and at activities such as drama.<br /><br />In this context love equates, for me, to kindness, respect, acceptance and compassion. These are all principles we hold very dear at Helen O'Grady Drama Academy. One of our overarching rules is that you never hurt someone, their feelings or their bodies. We respect each other and always choose to be kind, rather than cruel, regardless. We embrace our differences and similarities and celebrate the wonderful diversity of our students.<br /><br />As one mom recently told me, part of her attraction to Helen O'Grady as a drama option for her son is the great diversity in cultures and backgrounds of the children in his class.<br /><br />But in order for the diversity of our students to work and be a positive aspect of our classes there needs to be a whole lot of kindness, respect, acceptance and compassion. In other words, LOVE.<br /><br />Interestingly we have spoken about love and kindness quite a lot since the start of the year with our Kindy students (ages 3-6), first about loving our pets and currently we are talking about loving ourselves. We read a wonderful book called "I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont in our theme called "All about Me"</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><br />I've often written about how drama classes must be a sanctuary for our students, a place where they feel completely comfortable being themselves, and it all starts with liking yourself, nay, LOVING yourself. And by not letting what other people might think or say about you get you down. Now, this is not easy for anyone, not even for adults, let alone tweens and teens! But drama is the perfect space to do exactly that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><br />In "I like Myself" my favourite lines are:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">"</span><i style="font-size: 13.3333px;">And I don't care in any way what someone else might think or say</i><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">."</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2y7Px7mujYVCnCtkBiMG3NbvjpMpz3fjiK9qqdo-CcOVStkXMz6NviiBDfkB9a94-IrZEg3xly5T67KUZF_QAdnQ88zzHh5yi4zop5v8dUYQwj8lRJr4Fb2tIecwjudYtZrNDihiv1Yn/s1600/0feaf047-e078-4723-bd57-a181be780aac.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2y7Px7mujYVCnCtkBiMG3NbvjpMpz3fjiK9qqdo-CcOVStkXMz6NviiBDfkB9a94-IrZEg3xly5T67KUZF_QAdnQ88zzHh5yi4zop5v8dUYQwj8lRJr4Fb2tIecwjudYtZrNDihiv1Yn/s320/0feaf047-e078-4723-bd57-a181be780aac.JPG" width="258" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><br /><br />"<i>I may be called a silly nut or crazy cuckoo bird - so what?<br />I'm having too much fun, you see, for anything to bother me!</i>"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSogidCiuX57n0_6WoO0-JR5DD8Qh3aryt5Eg9a2LuBTar1mW9a1lzemDimAaOIHNsTE3ptoVHLAz5unNFRfKf13t1uceI0EDOdqDRN4XgHneqHQLhIUq89AdJnukh9ztHw4AgRGvia5VH/s1600/ac6d2c73-12b6-4e6d-9f67-e61edd5f76b3.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSogidCiuX57n0_6WoO0-JR5DD8Qh3aryt5Eg9a2LuBTar1mW9a1lzemDimAaOIHNsTE3ptoVHLAz5unNFRfKf13t1uceI0EDOdqDRN4XgHneqHQLhIUq89AdJnukh9ztHw4AgRGvia5VH/s320/ac6d2c73-12b6-4e6d-9f67-e61edd5f76b3.JPG" width="240" /></a></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsbHCwVqsr-aBs_z55HXPUYZLBYTFAeD-CG6S2Bpcth3puHzwQ73LTcdYetxckaPDMN8cFEdk_HP_gCqqSqixr3qnd3_Y25EQwbrWPrYZ7TWtTqBgnbePZUR4tV3zKJVbIu9lV5NHYx2G/s1600/746bc701-1916-406d-be27-ac9f536cfebe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsbHCwVqsr-aBs_z55HXPUYZLBYTFAeD-CG6S2Bpcth3puHzwQ73LTcdYetxckaPDMN8cFEdk_HP_gCqqSqixr3qnd3_Y25EQwbrWPrYZ7TWtTqBgnbePZUR4tV3zKJVbIu9lV5NHYx2G/s320/746bc701-1916-406d-be27-ac9f536cfebe.JPG" width="260" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">"<i>No matter if they stop and stare,<br />no person<br />ever<br />anywhere<br />can make me feel that what they see is all there really is to me</i>."</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">What an amazing opportunity and privilege we have to make kids feel comfortable in their own skins, feel confident in their own "silly nuttiness" or "crazy cuckoo birdyness" and know that their true value lies in what is inside and not on the outside.</span><br />
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If that is how you see yourself you can't help but see and treat others in the same way - look past what is on the outside and really care about who people are on the inside. Respect them and show true kindness and compassion.<br /><br />So, in the end, all you really need is love </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">😊</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><i>Article by Charlotte Tervit</i></span></div>
Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242104726535034857.post-8595889932032320712020-02-13T11:55:00.000-08:002020-02-13T11:55:27.032-08:00I like to move it, move it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfODE8ZhjLuXaQtyXP0mXk-BXf-9jXfrdhF1qCa4mjDGtMjOCJRTzoaMJAaNvLvGZQUzjAdFwT1njlhP_3dctYKdRqxwrf_rmuGdtCYH7T1gXFC-pg5GevAWN6fZ4y9hWaJ8qqPf4sRgz/s1600/IMG_5641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1011" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfODE8ZhjLuXaQtyXP0mXk-BXf-9jXfrdhF1qCa4mjDGtMjOCJRTzoaMJAaNvLvGZQUzjAdFwT1njlhP_3dctYKdRqxwrf_rmuGdtCYH7T1gXFC-pg5GevAWN6fZ4y9hWaJ8qqPf4sRgz/s200/IMG_5641.JPG" width="126" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Every week we include Movement in our Drama Classes. Why? You may ask...Did you know that there are three main parts to acting?</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Creative work, voice work, and movement. It is vital that you embody your character both emotionally and physically, and this is one of the reasons why movement so is important!</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">There are other reasons, like self-awareness and spatial awareness. What is my personal space? How do I fit into and move around in the space I am performing in, be it a room or stage, or even a designated outdoor space. And very importantly, how do I share the space with my classmates?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJby7EqiZ34NHZ9pqDv2nW0rCjHk6tfV02O-KwpoLnL_UDdrYu-izQvKv-Q4yQNwQNo-stVOc_6WiUnCCVJLAiAGyGEXnxF1VSO5z37F9-BRsl84EybWJaK11cb7mXgBMicFgYwB7fYM7/s1600/b065bf96-f5cb-4218-8a77-a52c2dbf5ded.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJby7EqiZ34NHZ9pqDv2nW0rCjHk6tfV02O-KwpoLnL_UDdrYu-izQvKv-Q4yQNwQNo-stVOc_6WiUnCCVJLAiAGyGEXnxF1VSO5z37F9-BRsl84EybWJaK11cb7mXgBMicFgYwB7fYM7/s200/b065bf96-f5cb-4218-8a77-a52c2dbf5ded.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjvvy2YoksPQfQ1vYZ6JLBAGEd92GD4jPeVXpn5N6S01Jj9eJ1iMt0CH27PjC4BaVaAT0i9a7DeQWpbGADAzx9QAwGZKAt7Uok7SiUqiOkdPRklUWEOAHKEZk76vWpqiAUqThJOjW_za8/s1600/IMG_5956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjvvy2YoksPQfQ1vYZ6JLBAGEd92GD4jPeVXpn5N6S01Jj9eJ1iMt0CH27PjC4BaVaAT0i9a7DeQWpbGADAzx9QAwGZKAt7Uok7SiUqiOkdPRklUWEOAHKEZk76vWpqiAUqThJOjW_za8/s200/IMG_5956.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">During the past few weeks we have looked at rhythm and what the difference is between even and uneven rhythms. How do the even and uneven rhythms make us feel and how do we change the way we move when we change from the one to the other? We work on this step by step and eventually we apply this to character work during our Mime to Music activities. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Students love this part of the lesson where they can explore creative ways to move their bodies!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">When working closely with students on Parent Presentations or our Year End Productions one realizes how important it is to include movement skills as part of the drama lessons. While performing on stage, students have to know where to stand, where to move to and make sure they use different levels and their space effectively in order to make the show appealing to the audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px;">Movement activities help the students to be “stage fit” as they need to be able to move, talk and sing during a performance. During the course of the year, we work on this multitasking skill, so that they can perform with gusto and energy when the time comes for their Year End Production!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Helen O' Grady Drama Academy - Pretoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098222921165626759noreply@blogger.com0