St Mary’s Students Invited to Facilitate Drama Workshop

Two drama students at St Mary’s University, Twickenham have been invited to facilitate a drama workshop for second year Youth and Community Work students at the University of Greenwich, London. As part of their course, students at the University of Greenwich have to complete a placement working with young people and Anna-Maria Kennedy and Jazmin Brown, who are third year students on St Mary’s Drama and Applied Theatre undergraduate programme, have been invited to work with them as they prepare for their assignment. The project will see the students work with pupils expelled from school and those with learning difficulties and special needs. The workshop will focus on how drama, and especially forum theatre techniques, can be used to examine the issues that these young people face and the issues the placement students will come across as youth and community workers. The workshops will also prepare them on how to be hands-on while working in youth clubs, pupil referral units and other youth work settings where they are based. Senior Drama Lecturer Matthew Hahn said, “I am pleased that our students have been given the opportunity to run these workshops. It is an excellent chance for them to facilitate and utilise many of the techniques that they have learned over the past two and a half years in a professional setting. “Both of the Drama St Mary’s students want to work with young people in the community after graduation and this is a great first step towards realising that dream. The workshop will be practical, hands on and fun, and will focus on positive behaviour change and how theatre can be used for social change.”