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Contact the Conference Coordinator, CONFERENCES 2007 (report and appraisal) and 2008 LIVERPOOL REGION CONFERENCE 2008 THURSDAY 14th AUGUST From 3pm FRIDAY 15th AUGUST Teaching SATURDAY 16th AUGUST Movement Gala Dinner 9.30 – 10 : Forum – How do you see the future? FURTHER INFORMATION FROM Print, complete, detach and return this booking form with cheque (plus s.a.e. for receipt) to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Address ................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .....................................................................postcode ............................. Tel. No /Email:......................................................................................... Membership PIN .........................(for insurance) Friday – Day only £ 100 ________ Saturday - day only £ 100 ________ Sunday day-only rate £ 20 ________ Please reserve .......... extra place(s) TOTAL CHEQUE ENCLOSED payable to “STSD” £________ Please indicate if a ground-floor room is required ............Yes/No. Have you any dietary needs e.g. vegetarian/diabetic/nut or gluten free? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Reports and Appraisals of the Conferences in 2007 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY An Actor’s approach to Language & Character What an excellent workshop leader Roz Symon is! Her breadth of knowledge and technical expertise was always evident. However, what made this Sunday morning session so memorable was also due to Roz’s own personality – her enthusiasm, her energy, her sense of fun and the warmth of her laugh which made everyone feel at ease. Any little muddles or mistakes were merely fun so that everyone felt free to let go and to explore all potential learning opportunities. Following a ‘get-to-know-you’ session, Roz told us a little about herself. One thing in particular struck a personal chord. The topic was poetry in schools or, more to the point, the lack of it. Roz commented that her grandmother at 99 could recite Tennyson. This was, I suspect, true for many of us. In Primary School in the 1970s classes were expected to learn one new poem each week yet Roz’s son, in his six years at Primary School, had not learnt one poem. Thankfully, moving to France the family are enjoying a very different experience. I think that we would all agree with Roz that it is vital that the Education System changes so where any of us can have any influence let us use it to encourage the addition of the learning of poetry to the Curriculum. Think of it as a crusade. Preparatory work on inflection and finding vocal variation led us to dig below the surface so that in groups we were able to create a soundscape of the island in The Tempest. The mingling sweet airs, the animals, a thousand twanging instruments were indeed quite magical. Some of Shakespeare’s most familiar lines were then used so that in pairs we were able to explore and illustrate their imagery. In preparation for work on a scene from The Taming of the Shrew the group worked in pairs constantly to change the status on using six simple lines: (a) Tea or coffee. It is always amazing how so many varied characters can be developed. This exercise helped in the realisation that we are so often what people tell us we are and therefore gave us more insight into the characters of Katherine and Bianca. We were able to question why their personalities may have developed and what led to the sibling rivalry, etc. In pairs the group tried different means by which Kate may have managed to tie up Bianca. How did she drag her on to the stage? We certainly finished this section of work on Shakespeare’s text with a deeper understanding of the need constantly to question and scratch below the surface - to construct we must so often deconstruct. To finish, we returned to games Cobra, Antiques Roadshow, spontaneous poetry (not easy but hilarious) and finally Liar to bring us to a quiet and concentrated conclusion of what had been an informative and exhilarating morning session which, if facial expressions were to be believed, was enjoyed by all. “Shakespeare in Rehearsal” As ever, teachers swiftly and happily adopted the student role; inhibitions disappeared with hilarity at times, while serious attention was always applied. Roz, ever gently vigilant, advised, corrected and encouraged throughout with great good humour and knowledge, always ready to adapt if necessary. Well-prepared printed sheets of scripts and exercise stimuli were circulated. Voice exercises were followed by text work, experiment, improvisation, physical reaction and performance. The sessions were much appreciated and hugely enjoyable; our thanks to Roz and debt to Shakespeare - our dear Will – ended in warm applause. We left with much to share with our students. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUCKINGHAMSHIRE REGION CONFERENCE 2007 ‘BUCKS FIZZ' THURSDAY 16TH AUGUST 2007 Regional Representatives' Meeting Opening Ceremony with BBQ Sponsored by Victoria College (www.vcmexams.com) On the terrace of the beautiful Manor House we sipped Bucks Fizz and listened to a most interesting and entertaining speech delivered by the Countess of Buckinghamshire who formally opened our proceedings. A Scot, educated in Edinburgh in true Jean Brodie fashion, she regaled us with stories about her adopted home and her life as wife of the Earl. She was keen to point out that she had no formal training in Public Speaking and found the prospect of addressing a garden full of Speech and Drama teachers a little daunting. Her trepidation was of course completely unfounded. She was fascinating and we could have listened and enjoyed her for much longer. A delicious BBQ was eaten outside whilst we listened to Mike and Simon Stephenson playing relaxing background music giving us all the opportunity to re-acquaint ourselves with old friends and be introduced to new ones. The cocktail was served to perfection. With coffee, or something stronger, we later sat in the comfortable armchairs in the beautiful sitting room of the Manor House completing our evening. Off to bed to re-charge our batteries and be ready for the morrow. Good food, good wine and good company. What more was required? FRIDAY 17TH AUGUST 2007 OPERA – “From Page to Stage” with Dr. Anita Downey (Sponsored by ESB www.esbuk.org) Mozart himself was a great dramatist---his music requires no dynamic markings---if it is sung or played as written, all the ‘louds’ and ‘quiets’ are there where they are needed and the same with tempo. He never wrote any ritenutos or rallentandos—if he wanted the music to sound slower, he just made the notes longer. He was also excited by the fact that in opera several people could be “speaking” at once, all saying their piece in harmony with the others, and still their voice being heard. So the piece which Anita Downey chose combined all of these elements, and added another dimension which is close to children of all ages (including adults!), that of magic, The Magic Flute. She demonstrated how to perform this opera at differing levels of ability and with different cultures—she has used these techniques with Geishas in Japan and children of varying ability, including the profoundly deaf. We were all involved, right from the very first scene to the last! The first character to grace the stage is a dragon - how dramatic is that! Anita showed us that this creature could be used as an exercise for all the students (a) moving to the music and (b) using the hoops for the dragon’s frame as a breathing exercise. The other characters in the drama are Tamino, the hero with his romantic music; Pamina, the heroine and daughter of The Queen of the Night, with her gentle innocent music. Her mother’s music and that of her “Ladies of the Night” is, as you might imagine, light and staccato, almost like stars twinkling, whereas that of her husband Sarastro and his cohorts is, by contrast, dark and menacing. Anita let us listen to that, to show how movement and voice would be related to the characteristics of the music. When producing it ourselves, we would obviously have more time to explore these facets and Anita did suggest different ways of tackling these problems depending on time available and level of production. The beauty of Anita’s demonstration was guided by her enthusiasm - it was set to galvanise us into action and believe that all things are possible. She had also prepared a booklet containing all her suggestions, including a note of the CD which she used, with the tracks annotated. (I have already bought mine!) Her ideas for costumes were also very practical, yet effective. Again, these were suggestions designed to stimulate ideas, and props were all able to be accessed from store cupboards or Sports shops. (eg. the flags used to simulate the fiery volcano). Not only are these effective, but involve motor skills which would be particularly good for children with special needs. One last observation---there is a moral aspect to this story, of which, no doubt the parents would approve. GOOD triumphs over EVIL in the end. Perhaps that puts it a bit simplistically, but certainly the POWER struggle which winds its way through all strata of the story is resolved to the satisfaction of those involved and those watching, and all to the accompaniment of Mozart’s glorious music. Thank you to him and to Dr. Downey for showing us that it is possible to perform this and other operas with children. Her enthusiasm and drive was an inspiration….so…what are you waiting for?
The Wycombe Swan Theatre opened in 1922 and it is owned by Wycombe District Council. There are three venues that are used by the Swan Theatre. The Swan itself holds 1,076, the Town Hall holds between 150-600 and there is the Oak Room which holds between 90-130. Many youth projects are run by the Wycombe Swan and Wycombe has the largest international dance festival outside London. Mike said that when he started at the Swan he actively wanted to promote youth work. They have a youth policy. This states that ability is no bar to participation and the aim is to introduce people to the joy of live theatre and celebrate the success of young people. The Youth Theatre has three strands. These are the Youth Dance Project, The Youth Theatre and the Youth Project. In the Youth Dance Project they have introduced three dance styles. The first is Tavaziva a contemporary African influenced dance - the second is Banxy a break-dance specialist and the third is the Richard Alston Dance Company. The Youth Theatre was established in 1992. One show a year is performed. The theatre has between 50 and 70 members. As an audition the youngsters have to give a speech or perform a song. The show is performed in February. The last term of the Youth Theatre consists of a series of workshops. The third strand is the Youth Project. This was established in 1986. Auditions are held in April for the places at the summer two week school in August. The young people have ten days to rehearse a musical and they give four performances over three days to four thousand people. Sixty percent of the audience are not related to the performers. The Youth Project chooses a charity and they have a gala night when money is raised. Thirteen thousand pounds has so far been raised for good causes. The Project is a challenging and busy fortnight but the young people benefit greatly from the experience. Mike Ockwell's enthusiasm for his job and the arts shone through his delivery. He sees himself as a catalyst to the creative process. Glenys Groves, Royal Opera Covent Garden Glenys then charted her career for us; some of it serendipitous, some the result of hard work. She started at D’Oyley Carte where she learned good diction along with the singing and also how the theatre worked as she went along; all the information about walking properly in costume, using fans, general stagecraft in fact. Glenys explained a lot of the intricacies of using one’s voice in song and how the English language presented a particular challenge for singers – diphthongs are a nightmare apparently! As she talked, Glenys punctuated her delivery with funny asides from the opera, both on and off the stage. She went on to describe the process of putting an opera together, talked about the different roles she had sung and the varied and unusual ways in which different directors worked. I am a great fan of opera and I was amazed at how demanding the life of an opera singer was and how restricting it can be to one’s social life. Yet I was left with a feeling of great enthusiasm and fun emanating from Glenys and I hope that one day I’ll have the privilege of watching her on stage. Half a Sixpence at Windsor Theatre There were some good comedic moments, particularly in the mimed cricket scene and from the cameo role of the drunken, ageing ham-actor and playwright. The multi-roling and versatile chorus members, which included some highly talented and charismatic children, sustained admirable energy and interest throughout including orchestrating some very swift, seamless set changes. This simple story, with the added value of a useful moral for today's society, made for a general feel good factor amongst us all. The choice of venue and production was well considered by a friendly and hard working team resulting in perfect light entertainment after an extremely busy day. A Glimpse behind the Mask 'Bibbety-bobbity-boo!' And from that point onwards Group C and, I believe, all its predecessors were enraptured by Trestle Theatre's mask workshop. After a fiendishly complex concentration game running the gamut from elephant to James Bond impersonation, not to mention regular cries of 'Bibbety-bobbity-boo', the inspirational Karina Garnett created two hours' worth of endeavour that exactly matched the Bucks Fizz formula. While enjoyment ruled, we learnt a lot. We learnt how to combine onstage focus with clocking the audience. Karina clocked her audience with great excitement as she approached Jocelyn's much-prized chair, only to convey profound disappointment on reaching it. We in turn practised such precise division of emotion around our own chosen objects. Variously numbered states of energy were explored as well in pursuit of a clearly drawn character:- '1' for utter sluggishness, All these were employed as surrounds to whatever attitude of mask we selected. Rules were established: Looking from an audience's point of view, it was a touching and hilarious treat to watch these highly defined personalities undergoing unexpected experiences and sometimes acting against type. The simplest of instructions produced the most extraordinary results. Four contrasting masked characters were given secret instructions by Karina. The rest was down to audience guesswork. As each swaggered, lumbered or limped in and joined the others on a row of seats, we imagined different scenarios:- dentist, bus-stop, park bench and even a family reunion. So suggestive were their performances - when it was revealed ........ they had simply been asked to take a seat in turn and move their heads in the shape of a cross. This may imply that Katrina made mask work seem incredibly simple. It's certainly true that she warned us away from imposing too much on the characters. Simple instructions aside, though, once the mask was on, one immediately felt caught up in a very compelling mystery. Margaret Braund - Speakers’ Corner Margaret first remembers being fascinated by language at the age of four. She recalled being read Tennyson and Milton and despite not understanding the content, loving the sound of the words. At school this love of language was developed further during her elocution lessons and through the input of two ex-Central students who taught her at Grammar school. During the war Central were evacuated to Exeter and on leaving school Margaret was lucky enough to gain the single scholarship on offer. She feels strongly that her four years there gave her a very sound grounding in not only finding the structure, metre and emotional content of language but also the science on which all voice work is based. A highlight was the anatomy and physiology lessons taught by a visiting doctor from the Royal Free hospital. On leaving Central she began her teaching career at a school in Wales. Not long into her post the school was inspected. When the inspectors found themselves stranded, due to a severe snow storm, they requested the opportunity to observe more of her drama and poetry lessons. Not long after this a letter arrived containing a request to speak at the Inspectorate Annual Conference on the use of drama and poetry in the curriculum. Her next teaching post was at Roedean. The parents, as well as the students, took a while to get used to the idea that there would be no speech exams. Margaret felt that her role was to support the O’ and A’ level English preparation. She did this by working with her students to identify the unique voice of poets and developing an understanding of the sound of literature that went beyond the analytical approach needed to pass the exams. Her next experience as Head of Voice at Central has left her feeling very strongly that three years training is the minimum needed to be a voice teacher. She expressed her regret that she had suggested a one year voice course. A move to London University followed which allowed her to explore further the role of language in communication. Margaret shared with us her insights into the way that language changes over time and how this can interfere with effective communication. She reminded us not to be too rigid in our expectations and to remember effective communication relies on language that is appropriate to the individual and the situation they find themselves in at any given time. She reminded us never to presume what someone means. As adviser to the Bishop of Chichester Margaret found herself travelling around Sussex advising directors about producing religious plays in religious buildings. She was able to see at first hand the futility of the much heard request to “speak up” and “project your voice” whilst directors ignored the need for clarity. She would advise that it is better by far to advise the actors to “think what you’re saying, be aware of your space and pull the sound towards you to make it clearer”. She also felt that accent was not the problem that some perceived it to be as long as you aim for clarity and definition in all you say. To this end she feels that it is far better to use articulation exercises rather than tongue twisters that by their nature are there to catch you out. On the subject of clarity Margaret shared with us her thoughts on the importance of voice to a teacher when maintaining classroom discipline and also that she feels your voice reflects your mood at any given time rather than your personality as a whole. Margaret is currently Head of Voice at the London Centre of Theatre Studies. She spent some time telling us about the one year course on offer there to students of 25 years and over. She feels that in this role she has come back to her basic belief that the health (or indeed past health) of an individual is paramount to their voice. Many students have come from a profession that has had an effect on their voice and she must work to undo these bad habits. She is also keen that the students come to understand that it is only through the text that you find the truth of each character. Margaret feels that every dramatist must be dealt with differently. Her students must learn to listen and respond to each other, not to wait for cues. They will find the truth in their performance by applying the skills of their trained voice to the text. Jeremy James Taylor - Speakers’ Corner Jeremy started his career at the National Theatre as actor and director and his attributes projected him into an exciting and fascinating range of creativity. His work with the National Youth Music Theatre was his main theme where he has produced musicals with students ranging from 11-19 years. Much of the success comes from the fact that the children are allowed to provide the ideas which are then fed with ingenious perception. Jeremy explained how this worked by reading us a poem by Ben Jonson Epitaph on Salomon Pavy - A child of the Chapel Royal. This led to the exploration of the Elizabethan period with all its deprivations - the “Elizabethan” melodies were written by Jeremy and played on some of the instruments of the period. We were then invited to read a police report from September 7th 1807. This was entitled 'Early Depravity' and listed by name fourteen children who had been arrested for stealing handkerchiefs - sausages – toys - gingerbread and various articles from the local fair. Captain Stirrick was a kind of 'Fagin' who profited from the children's crimes. Jeremy turned this into a musical entitled Captain Stirrick - highlighting child poverty. The score was based on the old ballads of London and the use of puppets heightened the fantasy and the macabre mood. We saw a wonderful DVD of Pendragon which is a musical version of the Arthurian legends. This was widely acclaimed in Edinburgh and went on to London and Broadway. There was The Sword in the Stone with masks and sounds - this was brilliant and poignant - also collaboration with Sam Wanamaker and new ideas for a play of Henry Fifth Act 4 Sc.(iv). Unfortunately there was no time for us to see a further DVD as the time ran out but there were many more to discuss - Drake - Jack Spratt Q.C. - The Ragged Child - Tin Pan Ali - The Roman Invasion of Ramsbottom and Whistle Down the Wind. This was an inspirational and intriguing talk and left all with a feeling of wanting more. It was with some amusement that we all considered the fact that Jeremy had told us that he couldn't read music. What an inspiration! “Shakespeare without the Boring Bits" "Sharing ideas makes such a difference" she said and subsequently paired us off for a quiz on Shakespeare's productions. With teenagers in mind this was a good start to finding out how much background knowledge young people already had. She suggested listing Shakespeare's well-known quotations which have filtered into our everyday language. Using wrong words in replacement had a better impact on their memory skills from her experience. She quashed the myth that young people hold that Iambic Pentameter is something difficult to understand and used our group to make up a conversation to demonstrate how we speak it naturally in our English language. Exercises such as making a rap would bring it up to date for teenagers to comprehend. Armed with a plethora of books, cards and leaflets on Shakespeare, Priscilla generously encouraged us to gain ideas from these publications. So many ideas were shared including the use of music for effect such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition using animal masks when Bottom appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream. For me personally I enjoyed participating in the scene from Romeo & Juliet which we read from each role’s “cue sheet” – this allowed us to experience the energy and vibrancy of “cue sheets” – and to experience being Shakespeare’s players – when they had to be alert and “on cue” without a full script. We all gained satisfaction from the workshop and appreciated the research and vitality of Priscilla’s preparation. MASKED GALA EVENING (Sponsored by LCM Exams lcm.exams@tvu.ac.uk) As we sat to wine and dine, we were entertained by a light display by Atomic Tangerine and music from Lea Lile and Geoff Hiscott. I always feel rather sorry for entertainers at our dinners; we are such a vocal lot that I fear we do not always listen to our musicians as much as they deserve. We were also distracted by STSD Member John Williams who moved round the tables with an amazing array of magic tricks. His light touch and sense of timing had us all laughing but also gave some points to think about, such as the important difference between written and spoken English and the place of the BBC in today's world. And, like all good speakers, he left us wanting more. This proved a fitting climax to the Masked Gala and our thanks must go to the Committee and also to LCM for sponsoring the evening. SUNDAY 19th AUGUST 2007 Our penultimate session of the Conference and a chance for delegates to air their views. We were all sad to learn of the retirement of James Patrick as Chair Elect due to poor health. Best wishes were sent to him from Conference. This obviously leaves a vacancy. David Henty informed us that Council had, in the meantime, asked Felicity Amor to fill the position of Acting Vice-Chairman. A notice will be in the Autumn Newsletter for nominations for both Hon. Chairman and Hon. Vice-Chairman. It was reported that a new Fees' list was in preparation but this needed to go to Council first. Also a child protection policy statement is being drafted by the Society. Jennifer Speculand spoke about the Westminster Education Forum mentioning that STSD Members could attend sessions in London gratis provided they reported to the Newsletter. The next meeting will be on October 10th from 9.30 to 1.30 with lunch included. Ann Jones talked about the Prue Schacke-Andersen Trophy Book and the Book of Honour. Members can donate money towards the John Holgate Bursary Fund, nominating an individual whom they have admired, been inspired and encouraged by so that the name plus a biography will be placed in the Book. This year three students have benefited from Holgate Bursaries (see letters from two of the students below). Penny Charteris informed us about the Retired Membership status. This was now regarded as discrimination and needs to be abolished. Those holding this status can either become a Friend or pay full membership fees. As a Friend of the STSD you have no voting rights. This prompted much discussion. A suggestion from the floor was to have a Practising Membership status and a Non-Practising Membership status. This was greeted with some enthusiasm. Penny also commented on the Journal/Newsletter. If you do not receive these, please, please do inform her. Newsletters are published in January, May and October, the Journal in May and October. The possibility of down-loading copies is still being investigated. Penny thanked Barbara Wensworth for her hard work over the past years with regard to the distribution of both publications. Cally Foster informed us that, as from October, she will be taking over the running of the unique STSD Diary from Pam Clarke. She recommended the use of the Diary to all Members and stated quite emphatically ‘use it or lose it’. Several other matters were raised - cards - lost property - Vanguard syllabus and Certificates of Attendance. Alison Price’s workshop booklet was available with 10% discount – www.artsonthemove.co.uk Having more or less completed this Conference, our appetites were whetted by Sarah Menagh on next year’s Summer Conference to be held in Liverpool, the 2008 European Capital of Culture. The venue for Conference is near Lime Street Station and everything will be on-site. [See application form below.] The Writers of Buckinghamshire with Anne Harvey Her aim, was ‘to choose pieces which will show the writer’s skill and style and trigger off ideas to use in teaching drama for exams, festivals, performance and just for enjoyment.' How well she succeeded. She fired us all with so many ideas and presented the talk with professionalism and charm. The journey from London to Buckingham began at Marylebone Station and here we paused to reflect on the architecture and building of the Station in 1899. A reading from John Betjeman's works added to our appreciation of the county. We visited many places in Buckingham, including Beaconsfield and Olney sharing interesting facts and joyful anecdotes. We explored poetry and prose from writers as diverse as Robert Frost, Edward Thomas, G. K. Chesterton, Christina Rossetti, Roald Dahl, Walter De La Mare, William Cowper, Enid Blyton and Alison Uttley. The "Interactive Talk" gave many delegates the opportunity to read poetry and prose. What a talented group we are! And how lovely to hear the spoken word delivered with such expertise and enjoyment. Many old favourites were presented but new and unusual extracts of both poetry and prose were included. G. K. Chesterton's narrative poem 'Lepanto' involving seven brave readers in solo and choral speaking was a memorable moment of the morning. 'Don John of Austria' certainly aroused our sense of excitement pursuing such a noble cause. In today's world we tend to forget that words, well chosen, are powerful, persuasive and pleasurable to hear. The time went all too quickly and I know Anne had many more pieces she would have liked to include. Perhaps she can be persuaded to add another anthology to the thirty-five she has already compiled, thus making our job of finding suitable material much easier. I am sure every one enjoyed the morning and was inspired to explore the writers of our own area and look again at our books of poetry and literature. Thoughts of the Bursary Students. I’ve been asked to write a few words about my experience of the Conference, which I thought was going to be quite difficult as my writing skills, rather embarrassingly, mainly consist in text message form! But actually it has been really easy as I could write streams about how much I have learnt from all the incredible people who have been a real inspiration. It really was amazing to encounter the infectious energy of Anita Downey (who actually got me to understand an opera ... well nearly!). The fun and brilliant ideas shared in the Mask Workshop with Trestle Theatre was priceless and all the practical business advice that was given by Michael Ockwell and Jeremy James Taylor will, I’m sure, prove to be useful in the future. The life and teaching experiences of speakers such as Margaret Braund, Glenys Groves and Anne Harvey were fascinating and often amusing and Priscilla you may have finally persuaded me Shakespeare is not that boring! One of the highlights of the weekend has to be the Masked Gala Dinner. I loved hearing about Peter Dorling’s career and Lady Buckinghamshire is an entertaining and witty speaker. During the evening I managed to develop my knowledge in etiquette (like learning what all those knives, forks and glasses are for!) and at the end of the night I really enjoyed the entertaining sight of watching some of the amazing ladies I’d met pour the last bits of wine left in the bottles into one, to take back to their room where I can only imagine they continued the party .... Taught me a new trick, cheers! I just want to take this opportunity now to say to everyone who helped give me such an amazing and exceptional weekend; *thank you!* I’m going to hold onto all those droplets I managed to catch from that endless fountain of knowledge you all created for the rest of my life. I can’t say it enough – Thank you. Christine Scaife, Broughton Astley, Leics. At the barbeque on the Thursday evening I looked around and saw the faces of many examiners and adjudicators I had anxiously stood in front of in the past and I wondered what lay in store for me. And what a surprise it was! Never did I imagine that over the weekend those same people who had made me so nervous would be the very ones to enable me to relax and enjoy myself. To my utter astonishment they turned out to be in fact human! And they too were here to learn, share information and enjoy themselves. This was never more apparent than in Anita Downey’s ‘Opera From Page to Stage’ workshop where we were all thrown in at the deep end as Dragons, Forests and even women of the night! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and what great ideas Anita gave us to take away and use within our own teaching. The rest of the Conference continued in the same way and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to get stuck back into teaching so I can use some of the fantastic new ideas I gained over the four days. The only thing they didn’t warn me about before attending is how exhausting it all is. I just hope that I’m recovered in time for Liverpool next year because I wouldn’t want to miss out on what I’m sure will be another wonderful four days! Now, I have only two things left to say, the first is thank you for awarding me a student bursary, I appreciate it very much and the second is another thank you this time to Priscilla Morris who has been wonderful in encouraging and supporting me. Many Thanks to you all. [The report from the third Bursary Student, Sarah Geeson from Mansfield, will be published in the New Year 2008 Newsletter.] An observation from the Conference Chairman, Katie Rampton Over the past two years I have held a position of great responsibility for which I feel very privileged. I and my Committee have enjoyed the journey immensely and were honoured to share the destination with so many of you. Thank you all for joining us – as you all know – there can be no show without an audience! RR Katie Rampton
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