Hull Truck Theatre Launches Hull Truck @ Home School

Hull Truck Theatre has stepped up with the launch of a new city-wide, month long learning programme for schools and educators to use as part of their lesson planning.

Running throughout February, Hull Truck @ Home School will introduce young audiences to drama and theatre making with a glimpse into a "behind the scenes" of the creative industry. The specialist programmes of work will engage both primary and secondary school learners, helping to harness both literacy and drama skills.

Key Stage 1 and 2 students (5 - 11 year olds) will have access to a twice weekly "drop" of video and downloadable printable learning resources, every Tuesday and Thursday, which can be accessed via a dedicated area on the Hull Truck website.

Entitled Create & Play the primary learning programme, will comprise of a series of eight online drama lessons (approximately 10 minutes each) which have been written specially for each Key Stage audience. Available on-demand, they can be accessed by anyone in Hull and beyond, at any time after the publication date and incorporated into weekly lesson plans.

Key Stage 1 resources will include engaging content, exercises and activities centred around famous children's stories, such as The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Key Stage 2 will cover a broad range of subjects from storytelling, to stand-up and poetry, and feature a number of famous faces who will help deliver the sessions, including Nicola Stephenson (BBC TV's adaptation of The Worst Witch) and Amy Thompson (Channel 5's Milkshake!).

Working with Hull-based secondary school pupils and their teachers, Hull Truck Theatre is also producing an original soap opera called Consequences. Set in the city during lockdown, writers, actors and a Hull Truck Theatre director will work with students to generate ideas, write scripts and guide direction, culminating in the production of a 25-minute weekly episode which will air on Hull Truck Theatre's YouTube channel every Friday at 5pm.

The project will comprise of 12 sessions, with two-hour classes taking place every day from Monday to Thursday. Classes will consist of drama exercises, dramatic writing, coaching and directing actors.

Janthi Mills-Ward, Hull Truck Theatre Executive Director, said: "We understand and empathise with the challenges facing teachers, parents and the city's young people, which is why as a key cultural contributor within the local community we felt passionate about stepping up to offer our support, creating something relevant, creative and engaging. The grant we received from Arts Council England as part of the Cultural Recovery Fund in October 2020 has been instrumental in ensuring we can deliver a project of this nature - vitally keeping creativity flowing, and our local communities connected.

"Although we're currently unable to reopen our doors to welcome audiences back to see work on-stage, we have been able to repurpose our creativity through designing a city-wide learning programme which will benefit Hull's young people and teachers. The content builds on key skills such as literacy, with an injection of theatre and drama. We're also proud that this project has enabled us to support the creative industry, as we've employed 20 freelancers to support the delivery of the project, including writers, composers and actors.

"Our Youth Theatre provision continues to be delivered weekly via the powers of Zoom. We have made these sessions free for participants for the rest of the term, using the donations kindly gifted by audiences who enjoyed Prince Charming's Christmas Cracker. This creative platform offers young people a much-needed outlet for escapism and some fun with their peers."

If you are educating from home and would like to access the Create & Play learning resources but have limited access to a computer or printing facilities, please contact Hull Truck Theatre via engagement@hulltruck.co.uk to arrange getting printed copies sent directly to your home address.

For more information about Hull Truck @ Home School, visit www.hulltruck.co.uk/homeschool

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