Abingdon News No. 57

Taking a look at the Drama department What brought you back to teach at Abingdon? I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the school as a pupil and was hugely influenced by the inspirational teachers. The opportunity to return to teach was serendipitous and I jumped at the chance to join a Drama department which is amongst the most professional in any school setting, and which has always been very well supported. The long list of OAs who have gone on to make a career from drama is testament to the School; recently these include Toby Marlow who wrote the smash hit musical Six and Kit Young who stars in Shadow and Bon e on Netflix. Then there are the well-established names such as Toby Jones, Tom Hollander and David Mitchell - to name but a few. What are you most proud of about Abingdon drama? It has passion and the teachers are exceptional. Jeremy Taylor was Head of Department when I joined as a teacher and he taught me when I was a student; he imbibed students with his love of drama. At Abingdon we are ambitious, many schools will produce popular classics that work well with a young cast but Abingdon will also try contemporary plays. Putting the first ever amateur production of Earthquakes in London on the stage, shortly after it finished its West End run, is a good example. The author, Mike Bartlett, is an OA so that made it very special. What makes drama an important part of the curriculum and the Other Half? Drama offers wide-ranging opportunities. It provides different experiences for different pupils, whether you want to be behind the scenes working with technology or whether you want to be centre-stage. The camaraderie is important, working together as a team to achieve a common goal. Drama teaches many transferable skills; teamwork and creativity are important for everyone and the confidence drama can give is hugely beneficial. How many students study drama at GCSE and A level? Drama is very popular, it is compulsory to the end of the Second Year and then we usually have four sets in the Third Year. We currently have 27 students studying drama at GCSE and 16 in the Sixth Form where the A level is taught jointly with St Helen’s. The collaboration with St Helen’s is vital, the girls are very passionate and a positive influence. But it’s not all about the curriculum, there are many and varied activities throughout the Other Half and very exciting opportunities with schools across Abingdon as part of our Partnership programme. Which productions have you most enjoyed? So difficult to say. Earthquakes in London is definitely up there as is Les Miserables from 2015. But there is a lot more to come once we can get back on stage in earnest. I want to do something positive and uplifting to celebrate better times – watch this space! Ben Phillips (OA 2005) and his three brothers all enjoyed Abingdon as pupils and Ben returned to join the Drama department in 2010, becoming Director of Drama in 2018. Ben is also the subject lead at Buckingham University, he is an examiner and trains drama teachers. www.abingdon.org.uk 15