National Drama: ‘Self-Advocacy for Drama Teachers’

Vita Nova are very proud to be taking part in National Drama’s Conference ‘Self-Advocacy for Drama Teachers’ to be held in Birmingham 30th-31st May 2024.

Our educational work is at the very heart of what we do. We produce theatre that addresses sensitive issues such as the dangers of drug addiction, the prescient concern regarding county lines and more recently, the threat of knife crime. What makes us unique, as a community theatre group, is that all the actors are in addiction recovery. This adds significant authenticity to our work. And one of our driving principles is that we will only perform if the opportunity is provided for the group to offer their personal testimonies or answer any questions that may arise from the audience. 

As the Artistic Director for Vita Nova and also the Theatre Officer for National Drama, I’m so pleased that we are able to work together to promote the important subject of drama.  National Drama champions drama being made available to everyone in schools given the incredible possibilities that it can offer as a subject. Vita Nova use drama and theatre not just as a medium to educate and provoke discussion, but for our volunteer actors, drama offers a pathway towards establishing self-esteem, resilience, empathy and, crucially, giving them a voice.

We are really looking forward to performing our new play The Wasps Nest which deals with country lines and knife crime. For Vita Nova it will be our first time performing (and attending) a National Drama conference for over twenty years! We’re not just excited about attending the conference as performers but also as participants, given the  excellent workshops on offer which feature, amongst others, Frantic Assembly, Vamos Theatre and the various Keynote talks including the importance of sustaining the KS3+ drama curriculum, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion in the classroom and so much more. 

If you are interested in drama either as a teacher, facilitator, student, trainee teacher or someone who would like to incorporate drama within their subject area then please do come to what I know will be an amazing conference. https://www.nationaldrama.org.uk/self-advocacy-for-drama-teachers-conference/