Drama time for summer holidays

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 562, 15 November 1994, Page 10

Drama time for summer holidays

The children of Raetihi, Ohakune, Waiouru and surrounding districts will have the opportunity to develop their talents in drama or video during the summer holidays. John and Bess Reynolds, who live in both Auckland and Raetihi, will be running two holiday workshops in drama and video production for Juniors (8 to 10 year olds) and seniors (11 to 13 year olds). John and Bess Reynolds believe that all children have dramatic talents which are often not developed due to constraints of time and curriculum in the school programme. While not all children will become great actors or film directors, they can benefit considerably from drama and video courses in terms of the personal development of their confidence and self esteem and their knowledge of film and video, media which have an enormous impact on their lives.

Each course will be run separately, so that children can enrol in either or both. Each course will be spread over a 3-day period (drama in the morning and video in the afternoon) and will cost $39.00 for each course. Enrolment in both courses is offered at a special discounted rate of $70. John Reynolds is a filmmaker and qualified teacher who has taught in New Zealand, England, Canada, Zimbabwe and the U.S.A. Currently he is a media studies lecturer at Auckland Institute of Technology, Whitecliffe College of Art and Design and the University of Auckland. Bess Reynolds is a qualified teacher who teaches full-time at an Auckland primary school and has also been very successfully running a private drama school for the past seven-year. She also runs workshops for teachers in drama

and is a theatre sports player at the University of Auckland. John, Bess and their three sons love the Ruapehu region for its beauty, its skiing and its variety of summer leisure activities. This year they bought a small cottage in Raetihi where they intend spending the summer "away from phones, traffic and big city pressures". Both workshops will be designed for maximum participation by all children. No experience is necessary and the emphasis will be on enjoyment for every child regardless of talent. The Drama workshop will emphasise the development of confidence through drama and theatre games involving a variety of activities. The video workshop will involve learning some basic film/video production techniques and helping to script and produce a video which will feature all members of the course.