How Perform helps

This Week's Focus

Below you can see what the children are focusing in classes this week. Click on other weeks to see what we've been doing or what is still to come.

Drama 4-7s
Drama 7-12s

1 Sep
4 Sep
11 Sep
18 Sep
25 Sep
2 Oct
9 Oct
16 Oct
23 Oct
30 Oct
6 Nov
13 Nov
20 Nov
27 Nov
4 Dec
11 Dec
4 Jan
10 Jan
17 Jan
24 Jan
31 Jan
7 Feb
14 Feb
26 Feb
5 March
12 March
19 March
26 March
2 April

Off to a fantastic start

After the summer break, we help the children lose any inhibitions using fun ice-breaker games.

We talk about the value of friendship and how great it is to be back! We welcome any new faces and help them to feel part of the Perform family.

Our journey to Outer Space

We're blasting off into a star-studded galaxy for an amazing intergalactic adventure.

Playing lots of fun games, we'll start to get to know each other and welcome any new children to the class.

Find out more about this term's theme here.

Exciting words

By modelling the use of sophisticated words, we can promote childrens' vocabulary growth and word consciousness.

Just as the Sparkly Spaceman sparkles, we'll look at how we can choose exciting words when we speak.

Wobble-free zone

Learning how to balance requires awareness of our bodies and good concentration.

In this fun session we'll learn about both static and dynamic balance.

Acting without words

Children love to play games like Charades and this is actually building their thinking and physical skills.

Using gesture and facial expression and movement, we'll show the children how we can act out a story without using words - this is called miming.

Confident body language

As body language provides important clues about people's emotions, intentions and motivations, it's important for children to learn about this unspoken form of communication.

We'll look at different emotions as we improvise confident body language.

Project but don't shout!

Teaching children to have a voice and be assertive - without shouting - is an important life skill.

The Little Green Alien brings this to life with some fun examples.

Exploring our emotions

Helping children recognise and understand their emotions is an important part of supporting their development.

We'll have a go at physicalizing some emotions using our bodies.

Have a happy heart!

When we do aerobic exercise, we breathe faster and take in more air which gives our heart a workout.

We'll hit the dance floor and see how long we can keep moving.

Storytelling

Telling stories allows children to experience different worlds, characters and emotions.

We'll look at how the way in which we tell a story can have an impact.

Pretty please

Children are natural persuaders, whether wanting an ice-cream or a trip to the toy shop!

We'll bring to life the difference between persuasion and coercion.

Learning to listen

Children who are good listeners often grow up to become good communicators.

Like a muscle, listening skills need regular exercise. We'll play fun games to check who's listening.

Using a clear voice

Knowing how - and when - to use a big strong voice is a huge part of the work we do at Perform.

Fun vocal exercises help children to develop healthy vocal projection and we'll use the right one at the right time.

Lights, camera, action

When the children perform our Outer Space show, they need to know where they need to stand and when, where their fellow actors will be, and what happens next.

We'll discover the art of stagecraft as we work through the scenes of our presentation.

Final rehearsal

It's the week before the show!

Our teachers take the children on a final run-through and get them to really work on their vocal projection in readiness for an audience, plus a reminder of where they stand in every scene. So much to remember!

Presentation week

The children show their parents, family and friends what they've been working on this term. It's time for our Outer Space show!

We'll be celebrating the work we have achieved since term started and everyone will go home with their very own Little Green Alien!

Welcome to The Jungle!

As we get ready for our trek into the jungle, we'll play lots of fun games to get to know each other and welcome any new children to the class.

Independence Day

Starting to become more independent helps children feel a sense of achievement as a direct result of their own actions.

We'll see if PF can be independent when he encounters a problem in the jungle.

Helping hands

Young children are innately helpful; they love being involved and thrive on reward and recognition of kind acts.

We'll se how our Jungle characters feel when they are helpful.

Considering others

Being impulsive is a natural childhood trait and learning to take a pause to think before speaking is a skill children can learn.

We'll demonstrate that what we say can affect how others feel.

Be heard and understood

Good articulation, which means clear enunciation when talking or singing, allows us to be correctly heard and understood.

We'll play some funny word games and tongue twisters to illustrate good and bad articulation.

Concentration is key

The ability to focus helps children learn which in turn will build their self-esteem.

Switching our listening ears on, we'll play a game where we try hard not to be distracted.

Imagine if...

Imagination is an essential component of childhood, helping children learn skills like creativity and problem-solving.

We'll bring this to life with some imaginative play.

Vocal projection the Perform way

Children can struggle to understand the difference between projection and shouting.

Using our specially designed PERFORM checklist, we'll practise projecting our voices with confidence.

Marvellous mistakes

Learning from our mistakes helps us learn how to take responsibility and develop wisdom.

We'll look at how a character in The Jungle story learn from his mistake.

I feel confident

When children feel confident, they're more likely to succeed in school and achieve personals goals in life.

Using some physical games, we'll look at confident and non-confident body language and explore how we feel when we use them

Final Rehearsal

A show run-through in costume!

Do help your children practise their lines for that final confidence boost.

Presentation Week

The children will show their parents, family and friends what they've been working on this term.

Celebrating friendship

We invite friends to come and try a free class and enjoy lots of games, singing and dancing to bring the spring term to a fabulous close.

1 Sep
4 Sep
11 Sep
18 Sep
25 Sep
2 Oct
9 Oct
16 Oct
23 Oct
30 Oct
6 Nov
13 Nov
20 Nov
27 Nov
4 Dec
11 Dec
4 Jan
10 Jan
17 Jan
24 Jan
31 Jan
7 Feb
14 Feb
26 Feb
5 March
12 March
19 March
26 March
2 April

Off to a fantastic start

After the summer break, we help the children lose any inhibitions using fun ice-breaker games.

We talk about the value of friendship and how great it is to be back! We welcome any new faces and help them to feel part of the Perform family.

Introducing Bluebeard's Bride

We'll get the term started with a high-energy class filled with ice-breaker getting to know each other games as we learn a few funky moves and grooves as a taste of what's to come.

The power of words

A wide vocabulary helps the children put their emotions into words, socialise with people, imagine and wonder.

We'll use exciting and imaginative language and discuss how it makes our story sound more interesting.

Balancing act

Being able to balance well requires good concentration and control, which can be useful for children in many areas, such as sport and when singing.

We'll see if we can maintain controlled body positions using fun, coordinated exercises.

The art of mime

Mime is a key aspect of learning drama as it helps children to understand the importance of using their whole body and not just their voices.

We'll demonstrate the art of mime and introduce techniques like visualisation and spatial awareness.

Actions speak louder than words!

Body language, gestures and facial expressions are unspoken elements of communication which complement spoken words.

We'll look at how we can use this to help express ourselves and how we can use the 'power-pose' to our advantage.

Vocal volume

Shouting to be heard can create a bad impression and dilute a message we may want to get across.

We'll learn about the importance of considering clarity and volume as we role-play some examples.

In touch with our feelings

It's important to help children understand emotions early as they are more likely to express themselves verbally if they know how they feel.

We'll demonstrate depth of feeling through movement and explore how we can use this to create an impact.

Dance your heart out

Cardiovascular exercise helps our heart work better at doing its main job, which is to pump oxygen to the rest of the body.

In this energetic session, we'll get our hearts racing!

What's the story?

Storytelling helps develop empathy as children are encouraged to put themselves in the position of the protagonist.

We'll discuss how our story and its characters makes us feel.

The power of persuasion

Children can learn to express ideas persuasively, with clarity and confidence.

We'll role-play scenarios where we persuade a classmate who holds a different point of view.

Received and understood

Listening is more than just hearing what is said, it's the ability to understand and relate to it.

We'll role-play the art of careful listening.

Delicious diction

Ensuring that people can hear what we're saying is an important part of communicating clearly.

We'll learn about diction, clarity and volume and practise speaking activities which enhance public speaking confidence.

Smart stagecraft

Great actors have strong stagecraft skills: they know where to stand and when, how to keep perfect timing, articulate well and avoid over-powering others.

We'll have a fun session as we look at how we'll stage our production of Bluebeard's Bride.

Final rehearsal

It's the week before the show!

Presentation week

The children show their parents, family and friends what they've been working on this term. It's time for Bluebeard's Bride show!

We celebrate everything we've acheived and everyone will go home with their very own cast t-shirt.

Introducing Rome 'n Jewels

We'll start the term with some high-energy moves and grooves from our thrilling new production, Rome 'n Jewels, a unique adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Flying solo

Independence pomotes a child's confidence and self-esteem as well as showing the value of motivation and perseverance in life.

We'll look at some examples of what it means to be independent.

Be a helpful hero

Helping others has a double benefit - it helps the beneficiary but also makes the helper feel good!

We'll look at ways that we can be hepful in this session filled with positive vibes.

T.H.I.N.K before you speak

Pausing to think before we speak allows us time to consider how the recipient may feel.

Using the THINK acronym, we'll look at whether what we're going to say is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary or Kind.

Articulate

Good articulation when acting is affected by tone, volume, pitch and diction.

We'll bring this to life with some fun role-playing involving Rome 'n Jewels characters.

Fabulous focus

With so many distractions in the modern world, good concentration skills can benefit a child's mental health.

We'll be on full alert this week during some concentration exercises.

It's all in your imagination

A child's imagination is enriched through practise and experience, enabling them to explore and create new knowledge and understand.

We'll get our creative juices flowing in this fun session.

Unlock your vocal power

Healthy projection means that your voice is amplified naturally and comfortablly and is perceived by the listener in the same way.

We'll demonstrate why it's important to project when performing.

It's okay to get it wrong

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new" said Albert Einstein, and we'll bring to life the fact that mistakes are always necessary to success as they allow us to do better in the future.