Stage1 Assistants

When you say you intend to spend three hours teaching 7-10 year olds about Greek Theatre, the looks you get range from sympathy, to amazement. The 7-10 year olds in question however, were Stage1, and I had a brilliant time. Throughout this term, I have been the senior assistant for Stage2’s younger subgroup, Stage1. Though the prospect was initially foreboding – involving over 20 under-10s – I have progressed in confidence as the term progressed. I started out being in charge of toilet trips and supervising lunchbreaks, but this Saturday I had the chance to lead a session myself. Though it was a challenging topic, I chose to run a week about Greek Theatre… where drama as we know it first began. Over the course of  the session we looked at the Greek alphabet, mythology, plays, stages and theatres. Despite my initial nervousness, the response was fantastic, from Greek alphabets being scribbled down left, right and centre, to a vote to move the break to later on so that we could keep on going. During the afternoon we played a variety of Stage1 favourites such with an Ancient Greek twist (such as the ‘Cat and Mouse’ game becoming ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’), along with a few of my own creation (including ‘Sleeping Centaurs’), and even did a little bit of mask-work. The group responded really well, especially to the discussion and learning sections where we talked about Greek Theatres and Choruses, and produced, when we finished, three performances of Greek myths translated into plays. Being a Stage1 assistant this term has been incredibly fun. I have learnt large amounts, and had a great time working with the younger members of Stage2, and I’d really recommend anybody who’s at all interested to apply. It’s a role that you really can shape yourself to get what you want out of it, whilst also being essential for the running of Stage1, and not to mention extremely fun! 
George Bandy (16) Mentor