Drama activities for Children
Sometimes children don’t know what drama actually is, but find at Holiday Academy that there is something for everyone. During the Holiday Academy day, the children will usually do one 40 minute session of drama per day within their age groups. Sometimes they will be so proud of their work they want to show their work to the other children, and everyone is very excited when that happens!
Drama Holiday Workshop in London
Holiday Academy wants to bring drama to more kids’ lives by providing them with plenty of diverse opportunities to work on musicals and plays of all kinds. From crew members to actors, singers, dancers, and more, your child can learn to confidently express himself or herself through this amazing art form. That’s why we have fun drama activities for children during each Holiday Academy camp.
At some holiday camps, we have a drama workshop and/or a musical workshop, during which we act and sing our hearts out. In the past, we have done fun and creative adaptations of famous plays by William Shakespeare, as well as ‘We Will Rock You’, drama improvisations, snippets from musicals, and more.
When kids excel in the arts, including in drama, they tend to do well in many other areas of their lives, including in school. The world of drama teaches kids how to be creative, as well as how to problem solve and work as part of a team. These skills can be transferred to the classroom and beyond.
Fun drama activities for Kids in London
Drama is a great way for kids to really get to know what it is like to enter the mind of a character and act out that part flawlessly. But even though most people think that only outgoing kids can participate in drama activities, the truth is that there are many roles that even less outgoing kids can fulfil.
For example, a shy child can play a major role in a dramatic production by working by assisting the session teacher with making and co-ordinating props, managing costumes, contributing to the direction of the scene – the interpretation or how it looks in order to ensure that the mini ‘production’ has maximum impact.
Each drama session and drama workshop for kids is aimed at the relevant age group, so you can rest assured that your child will be surrounded by peers and will be challenged in the best ways to promote growth and confidence in this area of the arts. Often, we are all invited into a session by the children to view a performance of something that they are very excited about. And then we work on making props in the art sessions available at the Holiday Academy so that everything connects perfectly and kids realise that all of the arts complement one another brilliantly.
Sometimes we will up the anti and extend the sessions and workshops to a drama camp for kids and have a session in the morning with a big workshop in the afternoon, and have the music and art sessions alongside teaching the relevant songs and making props and back drops, so please let us know if you would like Holiday Academy to do this.
Drama workshops for children at Holiday Academy
We’ve found some cracking leaders for our drama workshops over the years! There’s professional actor and singer Michael Park, who trains voices all over London and sings backing vocals for Russell Watson. We have vocal coach Lisa Panther, Theatre Arts specialist Ayo Oyelami, and don’t forget the founder Ruth, who’s a trained opera singer. These professionals come together to run exciting, inventive drama workshops for children as part of the Holiday Academy programme. Our current leader is Emma Stanford who is a trained primary school teacher, an actor, and has run the drama project and workshops – Dreamas. She has a very special and persuasive way of developing the children’s own ideas and making a performance that is enjoyable for every child. Drama is not some special thing – it is just a means of expressing oneself effectively! We are all about having high self-esteem, making friends and having fun at Holiday Academy. Embracing a challenge as a group always ticks that box!
The drama workshops for children are integrated into a day programme of art, dance, outdoor activities and sport. We run a fabulous timetable, with every activity run by a specialist, every school holiday. Because we’re not confined to a syllabus, our activities range from vocal training to kayaking, and we can bring in expert tutors that many primary schools can’t access. Drama workshops have become a much-loved part of the Holiday Academy!
Drama summer camps, London
Holiday Academy summer camps give your children an opportunity to broaden their horizons and try new things, and this includes drama. Don’t worry: even quiet children can enjoy the silliness and noise of our fun drama activities and might become involved in a way they weren’t expecting to enjoy!
Sometimes we will plan a special drama summer camp for those with a keen interest. During one of our drama summer camps we will usually focus on a big project, which the children will help to steer. As well as the characters, lots of children will launch themselves into prop-making, directing, or improvising scripts. Our drama sessions are very relaxed – we’re not preparing for competition or audition here! No way! So the kids are encouraged to be wonderfully imaginative and bring a twist to a traditional performance or narrative. At Holiday Academy we love mess and unconventional ideas. If your children would enjoy drama sessions in London as part of a creative day-camp, get in touch for details.