SCHOOL HOLIDAY

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Here at Goat Track Theatre we run a comprehensive school holiday workshop program to keep the students engaged throughout the school holidays whilst we take a break from our regular weekly programming. 

The program is designed to spread 8 full day workshops across the school holiday calendar. Each workshop is designed to be 6 hours in length with two 30 minute breaks amongst it to allow for some refueling and down time for participants and workshop leaders. 

Goat Track Theatre workshops are designed to be run by two team members wherever possible to allow for Teacher Artists to team teach and to provide maximum support for both the teachers and the students. They are run across our community venues and we always try to vary the locations so that every campus gets at least one workshop per semester at their location. This ensures that any student who is an Annual Member is able to attend as close to their regular campus as possible using their 4 free workshop vouchers. 

The program covers a wide range of genres and styles and has been designed to not double up or interfere with the GTKids program that coincides with the current workshop year. This means that a student can join our GTKids program and not do the same content covered the current course they are undertaking. 

Included in the program outline below is the 3 year program, workshop plans, resources and marketing materials. Each workshop also includes the relevant overviews to guide the teacher artist in the right direction for learning objectives and possible outcomes. Whilst these workshops do not have video documentation of the actual workshops, you may be guided to our GTKids program for individual lessons and videos of how to run specific exercises. 

3 HOUR PUPPETRY WORKSHOP

Explore the world of PUPPETRY, specifically human puppets, hand puppets & banraku. They will learn all of the skills & techniques of how to use puppets as well as how to create their own characters. They will learn how to engage a live audience and most importantly how to create stories for live performance work. Whilst learning how to tell a story, they will learn the skills of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person through narration, mime and dialogue. The unit draws a lot of the skills and techniques from physical theatre, improvisation and character training. This is a fun unit which engages the child's natural sense of play and wonder.

 GTKIDS STREET THEATRE WORKSHOP (FULL DAY)

This workshop is designed to explore the world of Street Theatre. They will learn skills of complicity, le jue, unison, energy, clowning and improvisation. Part 1 of the workshop will be purely skill based and learning all of the important components that the actors need in order to successfully execute Street Theatre. Part 2 they will learn one of Goat Track Theatres most popular Street Theatre Acts The Happy Campers, and in Part 3 of the workshop they will devise their very own Street Theatre routine creating their own characters, walks and lazzis.

 GTKIDS MELODRAMA (FULL DAY)

This workshop is designed to explore the world of MELODRAMA. The students will learn all of the stock characters and conventions of melodrama in Part 1

 GTKIDS THE BIG GAME (FULL DAY)

The Students will develop an understanding of why we use games in drama and the important role they have in deepening knowledge and growing skills. They will be exposed to different types of games and then use the skills they have acquired to create their own style of game. Student’s will be able to identify the key components that make up different games and be able to recognise the learning that each game is teaching. By the completion of this workshops, there will be a collection of student devised drama games to add to our Goat Track Theatre Games Book.

GTKIDS ACTING 4 STAGE (FULL DAY)

The students will explore the technical aspects of constructing a scene with other actors and in particular the many ways the actor can create relationships with the audience through spatial dynamics. The students will explore the basic skills of blocking and direction as well as basic actor preparation techniques. This unit is a must have for students who are looking to foster their performance skills to a new level. Students will be able to integrate some of the more basic skills into giving speeches at school and stage presence in general.

 GTKIDS PROCESS DRAMA (FULL DAY)

Process Drama Workshop is designed to offer participants an enriching experience in the art of immersive storytelling and creative exploration. This workshop is structured to engage young performers with the dynamic practice of process drama, a method that provides a unique opportunity to delve deeply into narrative creation and character embodiment. The workshop focuses on three core aspects: storytelling mastery, emotional engagement, and interactive exploration. Participants will learn to shape stories through their creativity and spontaneity, discovering new perspectives in storytelling. This approach not only enhances narrative skills but also fosters a profound connection with characters and scenarios, encouraging empathy and personal growth.

Interactive group activities, improvisation exercises, and reflective discussions are integral parts of the workshop, offering a platform for participants to refine their storytelling prowess and communication abilities. These activities are designed to challenge and stimulate creative thinking, making the workshop an ideal fit for aspiring actors, passionate storytellers, drama students seeking more experience, or anyone curious about the transformative power of drama.

 GTKIDS SLAPSTICK (FULL DAY)

The SLAPSTICK Workshop aims to immerse students in the rich tradition of physical comedy, enhancing their understanding of timing, expression, and the art of non-verbal storytelling. Through interactive learning experiences, participants will explore the origins and evolution of slapstick. By engaging in practical exercises, students will develop their own comedic skills, honing their ability to convey humour and emotion without reliance on dialogue. This unit encourages creativity and collaboration, fostering an environment where students can take risks and experiment with their performances. Furthermore, the workshop encourages reflection on the impact of physical comedy, equipping students with the tools to innovate and contribute to contemporary storytelling in theatre, film, and beyond. Ultimately, the SLAPSTICK Workshop serves to cultivate not only technical skills but also an appreciation for the art form’s unique ability to connect people through laughter.

 GTKIDS STORY BLOCKS (FULL DAY)

In this masterclass they will be growing an understanding of the skills and techniques required to create a perfect scene from scratch. Using the concept of building blocks students will discover a number of devising techniques centred around Dramatic Context, Dramatic Structure & Dramatic Tension. Using GT Theatre’s very own Story Blocks, students will generate a number of randomly selected scene components to spark their creativity and guide their scene creation.

 FT PHYSICAL THEATRE (FULL DAY)

Students will explore the many ways in which movement can create story and meaning and furthermore how it can enhance the narrative and the emotional landscape of a piece of drama. The students will explore the basic skills of lifts, leans and balances, levels, transitions and then move on to more complex styles of physical theatre namely Laban, Suzuki, Stomp and Shakuhachi.