Working in Churchgate Charity Arts Centre with the Home Education group, in Peterborough, we decided to create a project with a consistent theme combining the disciplines of mixed media art and physical theatre devising . We decided it would be best to work as a group , first asking the participants to draw a character based on the design of underwater creatures; real or mythical. Individually they designed this on a piece of A4 paper . Then, in the drama portion of the session, we worked collaboratively on a large piece of paper to jot down what each person was and 3 facts to form their backstory . After they had committed 3 facts about their character, we came up with a scenario as to how the characters came to know one another and why they have come together . We decided that a birthday party was an excellent opportunity for such a range of characters to come together . We had an under water carrot , sea siren , sea monster , electric eel , rainbow mermaid and some princess mermaids.

Once we had decided on the design and colour of characters, we created and designed our masks. We left a table of mixed materials such as strings, plant pots , pipe cleaners and fabrics with emphasis on creating as many 3d shapes as we could to match our concept designs. A similar approach was taken to the costumes design with each participant careful to match the colour scheme of the design as best they could. Using a mixture of sewing and hot glue , they created the desired looks.

During drama, we worked on a range of ways to make it appear we are under water moving , swimming and breathing. We then recycled two large boxes to create a backdrop for the children to perform in front of. The children worked collaboratively to create a vibrant coral reef with a mix of acrylic paints. Finally we were then able to bring together a piece of physical theatre to ‘the scale of volatility’. We worked with voile fabric and faux flowers to pull together an underwater birthday party scene. This comprised of a range of still images and choreographed dynamic movements which we performed to the parents. Everyone thorough enjoyed the performance!

 

“We have thoroughly enjoyed the home ed art sessions. They were carried out in a professional manner, including the youngest to oldest child. The craft projects were exiting and brought out the creativity of my daughter. She really enjoyed the drama side too. Thank you for running the sessions!” Parent