ISTA!

Last weekend, and the weekend before, I participated in ISTA (International Schools Theatre Association) events. I spent a total of 28 hours online with fellow theatre students, learning about new techniques, theatre makers, and different theatre traditions. We were active and collaborative throughout the sessions, and it was a great change from the normal schedule of classes. The best part of the experience for me was getting together to collaborate with my classmates in person.

ISTA TaPS Day 1 – 4th December – 10 hours

On the first day of the ISTA TaPS, we met with our theatre artist, Mr. Joachim. He was to be our session leader for the event. On the first day, we explored Bunraku Puppetry. Bunraku Puppets are a Japanese theatre style, in which skilled and experienced performers use puppets to tell a story. We made our own puppets, and then learnt how to properly manipulate them. We also learned how we could use sound, setting, and lights to make a performance better. We ended the day by watching a play, called Things I Know to be True, a play by Frantic Assembly, a popular theatre group.

ISTA TaPS Day 2 – 5th December – 8 hours

On the second day of ISTA Taps, we met together to learn about different theatre artists. We focused mainly on Brecht and Stanislavski, and their contrasting techniques. It was great fun, and we explored multiple different texts from plays, learning how to use space and other factors to improve our performances. We worked in small groups all day, and then, for the last session, we got together as a class to work though a scene as one ensemble.

ISTA TaPS Day 3 – 6th December – 8 hours

This was the last day of the ISTA TaPS event, and we spent most of our time in one group, learning about devising performances. We also spent some time looking at light and sound again, and how we can incorporate them creatively into our performances. Then, at the end of the day, we spent an hour discussing our learning and experience, and answered three main questions.

What do you want to do in the future?

I want to be able to remember and incorporate all that I learned into my future acting and performing

What would you like to investigate further?

I want to investigate acting with a script further, to see what all we can do with space, light, sound, and other factors when we don’t have to worry about the content of the scene.

What surprised you?

I was surprised by how much one piece/performance changed for the better after adding layers like light, sound and changing blocking. Also, how little time it took to make these changes!

ISTA Spotlight Session – 12th December – 2 hours

This session was separate from the TaPS event, but still by ISTA. The session leader was an artist named Ms. Fenella Kelly, and the session had 20 participants from different schools around the world. The purpose of the session was to teach us how to properly research for our IB Theatre assessments. The session was very helpful, and we got many tips on how to structure our work. My favourite part of the session was when we were split into breakout rooms with one or two other students (this happened around 5 times!) and had to talk to them. It was lovely meeting these theatre students all around the world, and talking to them about our common interest in the subject.

Overall, I had a wonderful few days, full of learning and fun! I am extremely grateful to Ms. Jackson and the school for giving us access to these amazing opportunities. I hope I will be able to participate in many more ISTA events over the years, and hopefully soon, I will be able to attend these in person!

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.