Drama undergraduates from the University of Exeter visited Year 9 students at Newton Abbot College on 24 January to deliver a series of outreach workshops as part of their degree studies.

Delivering the 2018 project ‘Devise from Scratch’, students were invited to take part in workshops with a physical theatre and movement theme, inspired by contemporary news and media stories. Students worked in groups to create freeze-frame tableaus and slow motion action pieces using headlines from newspapers or themes of personal interest.

Lead Artist, Polly Ferguson, assisted the three university students, offering advice, guidance and practical tips to help understand motivation behind dramatic pieces. A further workshop session will be held later in the month to continue the development of students’ pieces. Upon completion of the workshops, students may have the opportunity to show their work at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre as part of the ‘RAW Platform’ event that will celebrate original theatre work from across the county.

Year 9 student, Isla Zalman, said of the work: “We had the opportunity to learn lots of different dramatic techniques that we can use in our physical theatre work. The workshop has also given us the chance to work with different students across the year and seeing what can be achieved with the help of the undergraduate workshop leaders has been really inspiring.”

University of Exeter second year Drama student, Issy Symonds-Willmott, was thrilled with the students’ work: “We have all been incredibly impressed with how hard these students have worked. We really did throw them in at the deep end and they rose to the challenge, showing just what a talented and passionate group they are. It is a great opportunity to deliver these workshops in a college setting; we as undergraduates represent the next stage of education and students can really begin to understand what they can expect at the next level.”