Students at Bowden Grandview School will be learning about literacy by creating their own drama productions when Trickster Theatre visits from November 17 to 21.
Trickster Theatre is a company that visits up to 40 schools per year, teaching students about a given subject through acting.
When the troupe comes to Bowden, it's the students who will become the performers, working with the company to create an original show.
For 90 minutes per day, Trickster Theatre's artists will work with each class to develop their own story in a specific literary genre, leading up to the performance date on Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
By then, the school gymnasium will be transformed into a theatre when the group brings its lighting system and costume collection, which company founder David Chantler said is big enough for a 700-member cast.
Trickster Theatre specializes in physical theatre, where action takes precedence over dialogue, Chantler said.
First, a prop is examined for what actions can be taken with it. The story is then built around what actors do with the prop.
“In a normal play situation, somebody – a playwright – writes the play and then people figure out how to act it out. We do the opposite,” Chantler said. “We create the physical movement patterns first, based on the props we use. Once we know the context, we generate dialogue that makes sense of it.”
In the past, the company has built plays around topics including global issues, history and science, among others.
Chantler said a goal of the performances has been to show schools that they can teach their curricula with greater use of physical activity.
“We hope that we've enabled (students) to explore whatever theme they've chosen in both an instructive and fun way,” he said.
“We're firm believers that the process of education could be more physical than it is. As people, we remember best what we do, what we physically experience.”
For more information and tickets, contact Bowden Grandview School at 403-224-3250.
