Creating A rose by another name

This workshop is designed as curriculum extension for pupils taking Music, English or Drama at GCSE or A-Level, but would also be appropriate for anyone attending our show A rose by another name: Juliet & Romeo. The first aim of this session is to give pupils a way into the thrilling emotional roller-coaster that is opera: it involves an introduction to the history of opera, Bel Canto, travesti roles and Bellini, and gives an insight into opera singing and role preparation. The second aim is to challenge assumptions pupils might have about the story of Romeo and Juliet, particularly about the roles of love, society and fate in their tragedy. Through a mixture of discussion, group physical activities and interactive performance, we explore the process by which we created A rose by another name: Juliet & Romeo and introduce the role of Love in our production. Pupils find this session academically stimulating and it often refreshes their writing on the Shakespeare text.

60 minutes

Bringing Shakespeare to Life

This workshop is designed for groups working on Shakespeare in their English or Drama lessons. The aim is to support their classroom work and to give pupils something physical and sonic in which to ground their knowledge and understanding. Through dynamic physical activities, we aim to help pupils develop a better understanding of iambic pentameter and to leave them feeling Shakespeare’s language is not intimidating, but familiar and engaging. As part of this session, we explore passages from our show A rose by another name: Juliet and Romeo, giving pupils the opportunity to see things we have done together brought to life on stage.

60 minutes

Character and Drama in Opera

This session is for singers, actors and budding directors. It explores the creative processes involved in becoming an operatic character, helping pupils to discover what it is that makes a true and engaging performance. Pupils try out their ideas by directing members of our own cast and then have a go themselves in groups, as singers and directors, using folksong as a vehicle. It aims both to inspire an interest in, and a passion for, the world of opera and to show pupils that, whilst an operatic stage might be a while away in terms of the development of their voices, the same processes can enrich and strengthen their performances right now.

90 minutes

Workshop Leaders

Chloë Allison

Chloë is an experienced singing teacher and vocal coach. She currently teaches at Cranleigh School in Surrey and has also coached the treble choir at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in South London. This involved preparing the boys for roles with the Royal Opera House and Opera Holland Park. She is a lecturer and small group teacher on the undergraduate music course at Cambridge and has lectured on the Sutton Trust Summer School, which prepares pupils from underprivileged backgrounds for Oxbridge applications. In sessions with an academic emphasis, she challenges pupils to think beyond the scope of their classroom work and to engage critically and imaginatively with new material. Her performance workshops are for everyone from young singers taking their first steps onto the stage, to teenagers exploring how to become a character, to advanced singers nuancing their skills of textual and dramatic interpretation. Her sessions aim to inspire in pupils a love of sharing stories with audiences, to give them the confidence to try new things and take risks, and to furnish them with the tools to go beyond singing beautifully and to really and truly perform.

Rebecca Hare

Rebecca, an alumna of Cambridge University and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, has extensive teaching experience, specialising in English and performance, with a particular focus on Shakespeare. She has taught a range of sixth form and graduate seminars and workshops on Shakespeare, feminism, and verse, both at Mountview and Nonsuch High School for Girls in Surrey, where she also helped prepare Oxbridge candidates for interview. Rebecca co-directed Live Canon’s poetry courses from 2018-2021, writing tutorials and providing feedback for poets on a range of topics including forgotten female poets, poetic form, and writing for children; and working closely with individual poets to edit and prepare their work for publication. She has also assisted in running ‘Performing Your Work’ courses with Live Canon, teaching performance techniques to help poets read with more confidence. As a private tutor, Rebecca taught GCSE and A-level English Literature and Drama to a wide variety of students; as an acting coach, she has prepared students for LAMDA exams and drama school auditions. She currently splits her time between acting and youth work, heading up a team providing support, community, and mentoring to teenagers in Luton. At the heart of all her teaching is a passion for language, performance, and building creativity and confidence in young people.