By Ms Smith (Speech and Drama Teacher)
To conclude World Book Day, we were thrilled to be able to provide a performance opportunity as we opened up our very special Speech & Drama Poetry Collection to share with parents at a teatime concert on Thursday 5th March.
The event was compered by eight specially selected Senior School students from Years 10 to Lower Sixth who eloquently spoke about their Speech and Drama experiences (which for some span a decade) and the benefits they felt their involvement had given them which included confidence building, communication skills and enhanced imagination as well as assistance academically. Host Nivashini (Lower Sixth) introduced her mentee Erestina (Year 3) and spoke of her pleasure that as she completes her journey with Speech and Drama Erestina is embarking on her own.
The concert started with a book themed tableaux involving all performers which introduced the audience to the evening with the promise of poems on the theme of schools, dragons, unicorns, outside and strange things. The first four chapters featured solo, duet and group poems performed by Junior School students as well as trio of story related acting scenes and in the final chapter our hosts shared poems and sonnets they are preparing for their LAMDA Level 3 examinations and the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama including a humorous self-penned poem entitled Mr Mince Pie.
We know students’ participation in Speech and Drama strengthens their love of literature, sparks their imagination, and deepens their empathy as they explore experiences beyond their own through the texts they encounter, therefore it was very special to have this event on World Book Day.
Mr Marks (Director of Drama and Dance) said: “It was delightful to watch my first Speech and Drama Concert at BGS. The sight of so many students dressed in their imaginative costumes for World Book Day for the opening tableau was very entertaining, but I was not prepared for just how accomplished such a young cast of performers would be. They spoke with such clarity and with the confidence of students much older than their young years. It was equally as lovely to see these young performers accompanied by older girls, who compered the evening with great charisma. I take my hat off to the dedication and skill with which Jenaya Smith and Kate Coulson have guided them to such a high standard. Congratulations on a truly entertaining evening.”
A huge thank you to our students for all their hard work preparing for the performances, and to their families for cheering them on and investing in their daughters' Speech and Drama journey.
