I am the Drama Adviser for Devon, supporting and training staff in the development and delivery of drama in school. We are in the process of establishing a school based PGCE for those wishing to teach drama after graduating in the arts.

Prior to this post I have been a teacher, and actress / director with Theatre in Education and am currently director of the Devon Youth Theatre, a group drawn from the most talented young people aged 14-18 who devise a piece of theatre to take on tour in the Summer, This group has raised funds for two township schools.

 Through the research element of the Crossings project I hope to meet story tellers and explore the the oral tradition within another culture in order to identify source material that can be used by the youth theatre who will develop narrative into physical theatre. This year we used our own local tales of Devon and the material from South Africa will make an interesting contrast. They would also from part of a module of work for students taking GCSE drama

I also hope to observe some drama teaching at the university and establish a link that can be developed by trainers teachers and students later on.

My contribution to our training day whilst there will be a session on teaching Shakespeare and another on Early Years and the performing arts but I also hope to show a short video of the recent DYT production and make links with other youth theatres.