National Theatre Holds Drama Teacher Conference With Over 130 Drama Teachers Across The UK

This February half-term, over 130 drama teachers from across the UK will be congregating at the National Theatre for the annual Drama Teacher Conference 2019.

Now in its fifth year, the event gives teachers the chance to come together for two days of practical workshops, talks, panel discussions and masterclasses led by theatre-makers, artists and industry professionals. This exciting exploration of theatre practice offers teachers new ideas and inspiration to take back to their classrooms and drama studios.

Contributors include:

• Director Katie Mitchell (When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Cleansed, Waves at the National Theatre) exploring her practice in conversation with Dan Rebellato. She will also highlight the ways she works with text and actors, by working with actor Ben Whishaw (Julius Caesar at The Bridge Theatre & NT Live, Mary Poppins Returns, Skyfall)
• Director Sally Cookson (Treasure Ireland, Peter Pan and Jane Eyre at the National Theatre) delivering a practical workshop explore physical devising and directing, using props and costume
• Physical theatre company Frantic Assembly (Movement directors for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) leading practical workshops
• A range of exciting theatre-makers exploring design, sound, verbatim and voice

Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, The Drama Teacher Conference is a hugely important and exciting event in our calendar and it is such a joy to welcome so many dedicated drama teachers from across the UK to the NT. It is a fantastic opportunity to come together to share ideas, meet colleagues from right across the country, learn from each other and industry professionals and for teachers to have the space away from the classroom to explore practice and approaches they can take back to their students. Drama teachers are key partners for the NT, they play a vital role in schools and we hope our support can help keep drama and the arts an integral part of school life .

Taking part in the event for the first year, Sally Cookson said, Without my inspirational, brilliant drama teacher, I would never have had the courage to audition for drama school. It was during his lessons that I felt like 'me' - he introduced me to so many di erent aspects of theatre and I became much more curious about the world around me. We need passionate drama teachers now more than ever - so I am really delighted to be part of the NT drama teacher conference, to share stories together and take inspiration from them .

NT Learning has a range of programmes to support teachers with theatre-making in their schools and inspire young audiences through creative learning opportunities through programmes such as Connections and New Views. Let's Play provides everything that primary teachers need to create a brilliant school play and On Demand in Schools is a free streaming video service for teachers at Primary and Secondary schools across the UK. To find out more about these opportunities visit NT Learning.

The National Theatre's Partner for Learning is Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

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