NISDA Conference 2023

Nisda Conference 2023 The Language of Theatre

Welcome

Dear Colleagues,

After nearly three years ‘in the dark’ we are excited to invite you to the Nisda Conference 2023 at Haberdashers’ Elstree School during the Summer Half Term (Friday 2 to Sunday 4 June 2023).

We are delighted to be hosting this exciting event and have decided to focus on ‘the language of theatre’ with our selection of speakers and workshops. We hope to explore both design and performance disciplines and are gathering theatre-makers from a wide range of fields. The pandemic taught us all the value and impact of the Arts on our daily life and (as busy drama teachers) provided time to reflect and to pause.

With this in mind, we have built in time for yoga and guided meditation into our schedule. To book your place for this event, please complete the online booking form for each delegate, and see the attached document for payment information. Please forward this information to anyone in your school/ organisation who might also wish to

attend. We are also keen to extend this invitation to colleagues in state schools and to valued support staff.

We are welcoming some exciting, innovative theatre companies and practitioners, all working in a range of largely physical styles. These include Gecko, Frantic Assembly, Complicité, Trestle Theatre company and Theatre Babel. We are also delighted to have secured a workshop led by the fabulous Didi Hopkins, an internationally recognised teacher and director of Commedia dell’Arte.

Nisda is organised by a committee of teachers, technicians and theatre managers, and we run our annual conference for all those who teach, direct or support classroom drama or co-curricular theatre. The conference is an invigorating balance of affordable and professional training, networking opportunities and entertainment. It is our aim to promote the study and practice of drama and theatre in independent schools, as well as reach

out to those working in other sectors. Although we are obviously made up predominantly of independent schools we do welcome those working in theatre and other educational settings.

We are really excited about the programme for the Conference and feel it will provide much-needed time for us all to share practice, learn from others and (importantly) to ‘play’ and explore our own theatre practice. The invoice and booking details for this year’s conference are attached.

Dawn Morris-Wolffe

morris-wolffe_d@habsboys.org.uk

Head of Drama, Habs Boys, Elstree

Lou Wallace lwallace@habsgirls.org.uk

Teacher of Drama, Habs Girls, Elstree

Scott Edwards, tse@barneyschool.org.uk

Director of Drama and Head of Theatre Studies, Barnard Castle School

Please complete the online booking form and submit payment to our NISDA Treasurer Bronwen Carr Bates. Workshop option forms will be available online in the spring. Please remember that this is a very popular conference and places are limited, so book early.

We very much look forward to hearing from you.

Schedule Friday 2 June

The conference will commence on Friday afternoon at 2pm with a selection of design and production sessions where we hope you will enjoy trying your hand at special effects make-up, mask making and working with puppets in addition to several speakers from the world of theatre design.

On Friday night, following a quiz, games and BBQ in the grounds of Aldenham House, we welcome exHabs student, Frankie Thompson, who will perform her show Catss, recently seen at the Soho Theatre (click here to see Frankie being interviewed by The Guardian)

Saturday 3 June

On Saturday morning, after some gentle yoga, meditation or a walk around Aldenham Park, we will launch into a busy day of practical workshops. Further practitioners are soon to be announced; please look out for updates coming soon on the Nisda instagram page (@nisda20). Currently we have secured the following companies:

Saturday night will culminate with a traditional Black Tie Dinner, along with live entertainment, which is included in your £230 conference fee. The theme for this year’s conference dinner, after several years of ‘not going out’, will simply be Red Carpet Glamour!

Complicité is an international touring theatre company led by Artistic Director and co-founder Simon McBurney OBE. The company creates art that strengthens human interconnection, using the complicity between performer and audience that is at the heart of the theatrical experience.

Complicité

Recent productions include Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Can I Live?, Beware of Pity, The Encounter, The Master and Margarita, Shun-kin and A Disappearing Number. Over four decades, they have played in more than 40 countries across the world, won more than 50 awards and have been described as one of the most influential and consistently interesting theatre company working in Britain (The Times).

Didi Hopkins Didi is internationally recognised as a teacher and director of Commedia dell’Arte. She was instrumental in the bringing commedia to Richard Bean’s National Theatre West End and Broadway production of One Man, Two Guvnors and is currently working as movement director with Eddie Izzard in Great Expectations at the Greenwich House Theatre in Manhattan.

Gecko is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed physical theatre company, led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav. Founded in 2001, the company has created eight critically acclaimed shows, two Associate Shows and two films.

Gecko

The Gecko identity is based on a deep interest in human beings and their extraordinary and challenging journeys to express feelings and emotions in society. Their work is made by and for people from a multitude of cultures in an attempt to represent everyone, regardless of age, gender and background. They use multiple languages in our work and tell universal stories through movement and emotion, sound, lighting and set design, allowing people from all backgrounds and nationalities to access their work.

Frantic Assembly

Trestle

Babel Theatre

From a reckless leap into the unknown 25 years ago, Frantic Assembly has developed into one of the UK’s most successful and best loved theatre companies. Their ambition is to continue to learn and remain committed to making brave and bold theatre. At times it is physically dynamic and brutal. At others it’s proudly tender and fragile. But Frantic Assembly has always been about more than just the work on stage.

It is about the ethos of collaboration, of empowerment, of that constant desire to improve. It is about telling stories in a voice we don’t always hear and about finding talent in places we don’t always look

Trestle is a mask and physical theatre company with a 40-year history. Their mission is to inspire creativity for all through participation and dialogue. This is achieved by approaching opportunities with an open mind and playful attitude using masks and mask technique to unlock creativity.

Babel Theatre are an award winning contemporary theatre company creating multidisciplinary, highly visual theatre which integrates movement, text and music to communicate the grey areas in life where language alone is insufficient. They strive to make their work wide open to interpretation and put their audience at the heart of the narrative.

Sunday 4 June

On Sunday we will be hosting the usual Games Exchange as well as an opportunity to share school production ideas and resources over refreshments. We will also have Yoga, Meditation, a Musical Theatre warm up class, and a stage combat class to choose from. The conference will close with a special panel of key-note speakers, yet to be announced.

Accommodation

The closest accommodation to our site is the Manor Hotel, Barnet Lane, Elstree, WD6 3RE. Further details of this rather lovely hotel, including booking information can be found here: The Manor, Elstree.

The hotel is a short taxi/car ride from the school and we have currently reserved all available rooms for delegates. You need to make your booking by the first weekend in May. The rooms are booked under Habs Boys. Please book your rooms as soon as possible as accommodation in the area can book very quickly due to our close proximity to the BBC studios.

Slightly further from school (but within walking distance of the train station) is the Premier Inn. Rates are very reasonable, but can increase due to the filming schedule at the BBC studios. Booking information can be found here: London Elstree and Borehamwood Hotels | Premier Inn.

Just across the road, and similar in style and price to the premier Inn, you will find the Hotel Ibis: ibis London Elstree Borehamwood - Guest Reservations.

Also a short taxi ride from both school and the train station is the Double Tree hotel. Delegates who are driving will find this easily accessible from the A1 and booking details can be found here: DoubleTree by Hilton London Elstree

Manor Hotel Premier Inn

ibis Hotel

DoubleTree by Hilton