FOBISIA DRAMA eCONFERENCE:LEAP NOW,LEARN HOW.

FOBISIA Drama eConference: Leap Now,Learn How.

Paul Hannon, Head of Visual and Performing Arts, The British School Manila

On 30th September 2021, the British School Manila in collaboration with Red Leap Theatre Company and the FOBISIA Drama Committee were excited to host the first FOBISIA Drama eConference: LEAP NOW. LEARN HOW.

In a normal academic year, FOBISIA Drama teachers would have the opportunity to come together for a weekend of training, sharing and planning for this year's various student festivals and events. However, when the pandemic hit the opportunity to travel and practically collaborate with peers vanished. In response, FOBISIA Drama hosted six online professional development sessions affectionately titled Drama Thursdays in an effort to maintain some sense of community and collaboration during the school year. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the proposal for a full day eConference was made.

“First day-long web conference that I have been on where I do not feel like I have been on a computer all day… I have learnt so much as someone that is new to international teaching.”

Forty-two FOBISIA schools from across Asia, ranging from Kathmandu to Jeju Island and a total of sixty four FOBISIA Drama teachers signed up for the LEAP NOW: LEARN HOW event. The conference was centred around a masterclass with award winning Red Leap Theatre. In the two hour session, Artistic Director Julie Nolan and Associate Director Katrina George shared the company’s approach to the devising performance that “crosses the forms of physical theatre, imagery and storytelling, we believe in playful discovery, the power of the imagination, and building a strong ensemble of performers.”

Throughout the programme of the day, participants had the option to attend a variety of peer-led workshops ranging from Use of technology in the Drama classroom or All The World’s a Zoom: how to put together online performance to Socially Distanced Devising or Diversifying the texts we teach. These workshops were interactive, practical and immediately applicable in our teaching practice. A big thank you to all contributors, namely:

• Eimear Lucy McEvoy-Edwards, Brighton College Bangkok

• Severin Herbert, Harrow International School Bangkok

• Manish Halder & Harshita Guha The British School New Delhi

• Suzy Watkinson, The Alice Smith School Kuala Lumpur

• Kate Edwards, Tanglin Trust School Singapore

• Holly Sullivan, Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur

• Joe Wyatt, Garden International, Kuala Lumpur

• Gareth Marks, King Henry VIII College, Kuala Lumpur

• Kat Cooper, King Henry VIII College, Kuala Lumpur

LEAP NOW. LEARN HOW. was FOBISIA Drama’s first online conference and we look forward to adding this event to our future academic calendars.

FOBISIA DRAMAeCONFERENCE:LEAP NOW,LEARN HOW.

FOBISIA DRAMAeCONFERENCE:LEAP NOW,LEARN HOW.