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

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1 May
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29 May
5 Jun
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17 Jul

Glug, glug! We're going Under The Sea.

Filled with fun ice-breaker games, we'll introduce this term's theme, Under The Sea, and welcome any new faces to the Perform family.

Following months of virtual classes, we'll be welcoming the children back to their usual venues and settling them back into life post-lockdown.

Here's a message from Perform Producer and Area Partner, Oli, to share a little more about what we can expect from the new term ahead.

Take a deep breath

Breathing exercises can help lower a child's anxiety and stress and give them a sense of control. We'll do some mindful breathing to show how it can help us focus and relax.

We'll explore some different breathing techniques and see how they can help to create confident, relaxed and healthy voices and consider why it's important to think about our breath when we act, sing and speak out loud.

Watch the video below to see Perform Producer, Abby, tell us more about what we can expect in class this week.

Meeting someone new

Creating a good first impression is a vital life skill. Through fun greeting games, we'll discover why saying 'hello' and using good eye contact, a modulated voice and a big smile are important.

Through improvisation and role-play we'll demonstrate how to deal with meeting new people and see just how much fun it is to make new friends.

In the video below, Perform Producer Hannah tells us how we'll be putting this focus into practice in class this week.

I am the one and only

Every one of us is unique. We have our own like and dislikes, opinions and views. We'll take some time to consider how special this is and how we should be proud of who we are.

Helping children to develop a positive mental attitude about themselves helps them feel more confident.

Find out more about what we'll be doing in class to bring this focus to life from Perform Producer, Emma.

Stand up for yourself

Being singled out or teased is never a nice experience and it is important for us to be able to stand up for what we believe in.

Watch the video below to see Perform Producer Catherine explain a little more about what to expect in our classes this week.

Often children lack assertiveness but this can be developed, enabling children to stand up for themselves and build resilience. We'll role-play scenarios to show what assertiveness means and workshop strategies for resilience and self-confidence.

Start something new

Trying new things can be scary and can take us out of our comfort zone and children can put up a barrier to trying new things, often preferring to stick with the familiar.

Through improvisation we learn that it can be very rewarding to start something new and can end up turning into something we love. We'll be encouraging the children to try something new in the week ahead too.

Perform Producer, Abby, shares more on what to expect in class in the video below.

Together power

The ability to play or work in a group does not always come naturally. We'll discover that working as a team is not only fun but extremely rewarding too.

Of course, we'll need to use excellent team work when rehearsing for our show too so we'll be putting that into practice as we start work on the next scene of our show.

It's also Open Workshop Week. Perform Producer, Grant, tells us more in the video below.

The same but different

This week, we'll celebrate the fact that we all have something special and different to bring to our Perform class and discuss how our class might be if we were all the same.

We're encouraging the children to share what makes them unique and teaching them to celebrate their individuality.

Karen and Septimus the Octopus share more about the class, and this important focus, in the video below.

When to use a loud voice

Many children lack awareness of their vocal volume, speaking too loudly in quiet places like libraries and too softly elsewhere.

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 us to develop healthy vocal projection as well as giving the children solo speaking activities to enhance their public speaking confidence.

Our Principal, Lucy Quick, tells us more about this focus in the video below.

Vocal expression

Vocal expression includes modulating our volume and rhythm. In this class, we'll bring some of our Under the Sea characters to life using some different funny voices.

We explore what vocal expression is and experiment with our voices to see how adding expression can improve a story.

I know how you feel

Caring about how others may be feeling is an important human trait, allowing us to be compassionate and kind. We'll show how important empathy is when making friends.

We'll consider how we can be welcoming to a new person in any situatuon and discuss how empathy can help us to develop and maintain relationships.

Making decisions

Every day we all have to make decisions and solve problems. When we give young children the tools for making decisions, they are better prepared for making major life choices as they get older.

Choosing what to wear or who to have a playdate with can be big decisions for young children but, in doing so, they are defining their personality and individuality. We'll bring this to life using role-play.

Happy thoughts

Learning to think positively leads to a happier life. We'll look on the bright side as we prepare to meet the Deep Sea Creature!

We'll encourage the children to think and share their happy thoughts - expanding their vocabulary - as we look at how we can turn a negative situation into a positive one.

Final rehearsal

Next week is show week so we spend a significant amount of the class going through our show and getting excited about dressing up, singing and dancing and performing for our families. We'll even invite the children to wear their costume if they'd like to.

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 Under The Sea show!

We'll be celebrating the work we have achieved since term started and everyone will go home with their very own Septimus the Octopusl.

12 Apr
17 Apr
24 Apr
1 May
8 May
15 May
22 May
29 May
5 Jun
12 Jun
19 Jun
26 Jun
3 Jul
10 Jul
17 Jul

Welcome to Ancient Greece

Introducing The Hercules Beat theme, we'll meet new friends and get the term off to a groovy Greek start with some high energy games and dancing.

Following months of virtual classes, we'll be welcoming the children back to their usual venues and settling them back into life post-lockdown.

Here's a message from Perform Producer and Area Partner, Oli, to share a little more about what we can expect from the new term ahead.

Just breathe

Stress or anxiety can make our breathing fast and shallow which makes us feel worse. Using mindful breathing, we'll show how controlling our breathing helps us calm down.

Watch the video below to see Perform Producer, Abby, tell us more about what we can expect in class this week.

First impressions

There is no second chance to make a good first impression! We practise using our best clear voices, confident posture and assertive eye contact as we take turns to introduce ourselves to the group.

Through improvisation and role-play we'll demonstrate the differences between a good and a bad first impression.

In the video below, Perform Producer Hannah tells us how we'll be putting this focus into practice in class this week.

Dare to be original

'Being yourself' means embracing and accepting who you are without trying to be someone else. We'll look at how it makes us feel when we are not really being ourselves as well as celebrating what makes us unique.

Helping children to develop a positive mental attitude about themselves helps them feel more confident.

It's a fantastic focus and something we always enjoy working on. Alison tells us more in the video below.

Be assertive

Assertiveness is used to communicate feelings, thoughts and beliefs in a respectful, clear and honest manner. In this class we'll look at how we can develop this skill.

Through improvisation we teach the children the importance of being assertive in situations and we discuss how we can be assertive and self-assured without being aggressive.

Develop yourself

You'll never know if you're good at something unless you try it and around every corner sits a new opportunity. Missing out due to a moment of hesitation or a lack of confidence can be frustrating, leading to feelings of regret.

We'll demonstrate that starting something new can reap rewards.

Lauren, and her puppet Wensley, tell us more about this focus in the video below.

We're in this together

Team work is a vital part of a drama class, as you can’t perform a show or play a game without working as a team. It’s essential that we learn to listen to each other and share ideas so we have a very exhilarating workshop concentrating on how to work effectively as a team member.

We'll demonstrate that being an effective team player is great for developing confidence and communication and instrumental in helping children understand their value within a team.

It's also Open Workshop Week. Perform Producer, Grant, tells us more in the video below.

Celebrate diversity

There are huge benefits in people being different and holding alternative views. We'll discuss what life would be like if there was no diversity in the world.

We role-play scenarios where we focus on the values someone has rather than what they look like and discuss how this makes us feel.

Here's Producer Charlotte to tell us more about the activities we'll be up to in class.

Project your voice

Effective vocal projection is essential for performers, making it possible for their voices to be heard. We'll have some fun bringing this to life using our Ancient Greek characters.

Our clarity and diction must always be excellent and that means paying attention to consonants too. We play a variety of games to work on how to have a healthy loud, well projected voice.

Find your voice

Many actors begin their interpretation of a character by finding a suitable voice. We'll look at expressive parameters such as pitch, pace, tone and intonation as we practise our skills.

We explore the process of developing a character and see how The Hercules Beat script can inform our development choices. We look at the combination of voice and movement and how actors use these to portray their character.

Excellent empathy

Developing empathy allows an actor to take on the emotions of the character they are portraying. We'll discuss the difference between sympathy and empathy and explore the power of emotional memory.

We'll explore what it's like to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and discuss how different people may feel differently about the same situation.

Be decisive

Every day we all have to make decisions and solve problems. When we give children the tools for making decisions, they are better prepared for making major life choices as they get older.

Teaching a child to make their own decisions benefits from encouragement and practise. We'll look at examples of good and bad decisions.

Positive power

Many children see the negatives of a situation before the positives. We'll look at turning tricky situations into wonderful opportunities.

We'll encourage the children to look on the bright side of things and, using improvisation, see how we can turn a negative situation into a positive one.