Drama

Dr J S Gill - Head Of Department

Ms J L Finnegan - Drama Teacher and Director (Maternity Leave)

L Rostron - Drama Teacher (Maternity Cover)

Dr A J Patchett - Head of Lighting

Mr J E Turner - Head of Set Design and Stage Manager

Mrs K E Plummer - Head of Makeup

Mrs Mary Shaw - Head of Costumes

Mrs K Siddle - Front of House Manager

Mr D Holroyd - Director of Music

Ms Louise Edge - Choregrapher

SPONSOR: TUBEDALE FILMS

Drama in the Lower School

One period each week is timetabled for Drama in Year 7. Then in Year 9 Drama is a timetabled option and students can choose to take it and there is a double lesson each week. Ms. Finnegan and Dr. Gill will take these classes.

Ms. Finnegan runs a Drama Club on Friday lunchtimes and there is an annual Lower School production, usually staged in March. Previous productions have included "Blood Brothers", "Bugsy Malone", "Dracula", "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" and "Our Day Out", directed by Ms. Finnegan. Lower School pupils can go on Theatre Club trips if they wish. Sometimes, as was the case in 2006 with "Les Miserables", Lower School pupils win important parts in Senior School productions.

We are fortunate to have excellent contacts with professional actors such as Samuel Roukin (who is an established film, stage and TV actor) who comes into school on average three times a year to run workshops. As more of our ex-students become professional actors- and Robin Morrisey, Chris Cooper and Arthur McBain are joining Robert Feltrup, Dan Abelson, Jon-Paul Hevey, David Lyon ,Peter Duncan and Samuel Roukin in the professional ranks- we hope that they will return to their roots, and take workshops.

Drama in the Middle School

AQA GCSE Drama is now established on the curriculum and is proving to be a popular choice among students. The course is both practical and academic: assessment is 60% by Practical exams including Acting, and 40% by written exam. The course is taught by Ms. Finnegan and Dr. Gill.

Middle School students audition for certain parts in Lower School productions, and for all Joint productions at MTGS and MTBS. They may go on Theatre Club trips if they wish.

Drama in the Senior School

At A level, AQA Drama and Theatre Studies is taught by Ms. Finnegan and Ms. Tickle in mixed classes of boys and girls at both schools. This is a popular course integrating the study of plays with practical work.

Extra Curricular Drama

A very strong tradition of excellence in Drama has been built up over many years of sustained achievement. Shakespeare, political plays, farce, serious drama, comedies and musicals have been produced to very high standards. In 2008 alone we produced "King Lear", "Dracula" and "Grease". A large number of our students have gone on to become professional actors, for instance Robin Morrisey is at RADA, Chris Cooper is at ADA ( New York Drama Academy) and Arthur McBain is at the Oxford School of Drama. A large number of staff, parents and friends of the school are involved with Drama in different capacities including our sponsors, Tubedale Films ( Paul and David Morrisey).

Over the last sixteen years we have produced many shows including "Grease" ( twice), "Nuremberg-The War Crimes Trial", "King Lear", "Macbeth", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "See How They Run!" ( twice), "Dry Rot", "An Inspector Calls" (twice) "Jesus Christ Superstar" (twice), "Cabaret", "West Side Story", "Les Miserables" and "Fame". Many of these productions have involved large casts and played to full houses of 500 people in The Williams Hall over a four or five night run; the level of excitement and enjoyment on show nights is, we feel, quite special.

We are very fortunate to have the co-operation of Mr. David Holroyd, Director of Music, whose fine musical skills and professionalism have supported our productions from "Our Day Out" in 1996 to "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2010.

Working in tandem with Ms. Sian Tickle, Head of Drama at MTGS, the main Joint Schools' production is performed in November each year at MTBS or MTGS on alternate years. A Lower School production is usually held in the summer term at MTBS. A Joint Senior School production is held around Easter each year at MTBS or MTGS on alternate years.

There is a thriving Stage Crew with Mr. J. E. Turner as Set Designer and Stage Manager and Dr. A. J. Patchett as Head of Lighting. Mrs. Karen Siddle runs Front of House and Mrs. Plummer organizes the Makeup Department. Mrs. Mary Shaw is in charge of Costumes. Several MTS students have gone on to work in the professional theatre such as Colin Wood and Andrew Graham.

Facilities

We are fortunate to have the stage in the Williams Hall which is professional in size; the hall itself accommodates a large audience. There are two Dressing Rooms under the Stage, a Workshop with storage, a Sound Control Box at the rear of the hall and a Lighting Box in the organ loft at the back of the hall. The Drama Studio has proved to be a popular environment for rehearsals as well as Drama lessons.

To sum up, here is our Mission Statement

Our main function is to stimulate a love of Drama which will last a lifetime.
We are very ambitious and industrious and produce a large number of shows of different kinds: West End musicals, farces, Shakespeare and political drama.
We do so because we strongly believe that Drama is very important to the emotional, social, political and spiritual development of students.
By introducing students to the process of audition, rehearsal and performance, they acquire a grounding in a work ethic which will bring them success in whatever avenue of life they travel along.
We strongly believe in the work ethic and also in the having fun ethic and we try to influence our students to work hard and enjoy their work.
We aim for excellent ticket sales but making money is not our top priority which is to stress the artistic, social and emotional benefits of Drama.
We are a stepping stone on the way to a professional career for those students interested in a career in the theatre.
Involvement in our productions, we hope, leads to increased self-confidence, the ability to speak in public, the ability to play a role, an understanding of teamwork and the sheer joy of performing.

Theatre Club

Once each half term, a dedicated band of theatre lovers board a coach outside MTS and are transported to the magical world of theatre. We have attended shows at Theatre Clywd, Royal Exchange in Manchester, The Liverpool Empire Theatre, The Charter Theatre in Preston and The Liverpool Playhouse and Everyman Theatres. Our aim is to visit every theatre in the North West of England. All members of the school and their families are welcome to join us.

JSG