Arnold House has a wonderfully rich dramatic history and has always been a memorable part of boys' experiences at the school. Over the past couple of years we have completely overhauled the Drama curriculum. We now have the privilege of teaching every boy, from the time they start at Loudon Road all the way through till they leave in Year 8, giving us the opportunity to really get to know the boys and tailor the curriculum for their interests.
From Year 2, where imagination and ensemble are explored, through to Year 8, where the boys write and perform their own stand-up comedy sets, our skill based curriculum focuses on two core aspects: building confidence and encouraging creativity. We have been able to introduce a number of exciting new topics across the curriculum, including Mask Work in Year 6, Stage Combat in Year 5 and Puppetry in Year 4. Each year group has plenty of performance opportunities as we strive to harness a thriving hub of talent and to nourish wonderful creative appetite.
With the upgrading of the Canons Park Theatre, we are now able to offer much more in-depth technical theatre skills including set design, lighting, sound design and stage management. We have also brought dance to the curriculum, with a series of workshops where the boys have the opportunity to try out different styles of dance; excitingly this will be enhanced by our soon-to-be installed sprung-flooring.
The refurbishment of Canons Park’s Theatre space is very much under way. Over the holidays, we had a large amount of electrical work done. We won’t bore anyone with all the gory technical details, but this involved changing some 50 plug sockets from the old circular pinned sockets to square pinned 13 amp sockets. Cables have been run through ceiling hatches and ‘smart pods’ have been added to the end of the lighting bars.
All of this has paved the way for our new LED lighting fixtures, which, as we write this on a grey Monday morning, are travelling to Canons Park via courier. They will be installed by the time this instalment hits your inbox, and from next week, the boys will be able to light the stage with every known colour in the universe. As the world moves away from halogen fixtures, our new lights will be significantly environmentally friendlier, quieter and infinitely more capable.
Sound, curtains and projection are next on the list. We are very excited about new speakers to be installed, which will put an end to the dreaded low static crackle that has plagued previous ventures. Curtains will line the stage, to create wings and entrances, while hiding a projector screen that will be hung on the back-wall and which can be used for presentations and screenings.
Finally, a sprung-floor will be fitted across the stage area. As we look to bring dance into the curriculum, as well as more physical theatre, stage combat and more daring exploits, the floor will provide extra safety and support. Light-weight stage blocks will replace the old, very battered wooden blocks. These are safer, easier to move and store and won’t damage the new floor! Hopefully, by the end of term, the space will be utterly unrecognisable, with our aim to turn the space into an area that feels like a modern studio theatre, used by every boy in the school.
Joanna Rendell and Luke Ofield
Drama Department