The Language of Creativity, Claire Angeletti

THE LANGUAGE OF CREATIVITY

CLAIRE ANGELETTI, LEARNING LEAD CREATIVITY & INNOVATION

The Arts can delight, entertain, instruct, provoke and transform, challenging our view of ourselves and the world.

As creators and doers, engaging in the Arts encourages students to be critical thinkers and look at the world from different perspectives. Artists seek to develop empathy, sensitivity and an awareness of how to communicate through their chosen medium.

One of our greatest living Theatre Directors – Peter Brook, commented:

“There is only one story: What is a human being? How does he live his life? Different people approach this theme in different ways. It is always the same question.”

Theatre is a powerful language of signs, symbols, sounds, movement, projections, text, song, silence, image, colour, shape, light, texture, beat and rhythm and the theatre experiments of the 20th and 21st centuries have seen endless permutations of this language in order to express something of what it is to be a human being!

What makes this language powerful in an educational context is that we can move beyond ideas into the world of experience and experiencing. When the stories told are witnessed by an audience that is when the alchemy of theatre is at work. At its best it means that we leave the theatrical experience changed. WHY EXPERIENCE THE ARTS?

Engaging in the Arts can lead us to explore our inner world and inquire into how we choose to interact with the world around us. We are open to encountering different ways of seeing and experiencing and we are given the tools to articulate those experiences. The process of creating involves us in selecting the interface between ourselves and others, discovering different ways of developing and communicating our thoughts and ideas in a variety of mediums. This process also encourages us to think ‘outside the box’!

As creators, directors, designers and performers we are exploring and practicing transferable skills such as the ability to work within a team and the ability to motivate and inspire others - developing compassionate Leadership Skills. We are practising and understanding the art of ‘Presence’ and how to work with/or for an audience.

The celebrated theatre practitioner, Stella Adler, talked about the fact that the ancient Greeks regarded the theatre as ‘The Seeing Place’ - a place where people would come to understand the truth about life! In this way as creators we are encouraged to tap into our potential as enquirers, building our curiosity and capacity for deep reflection. Such a process, involving the creation of characters and story, also encourages an understanding of how to promote the well-being of Self and Others through the practise of compassionate empathy.

WHAT DO WE STUDY IN THEATRE LESSONS?

In Middle School Art, Drama and Music are taught as discrete subjects from Year 6 to Year 8. Students practically explore a variety of different projects linked to international themes.

In High School Years 9 and 10 have the opportunity to explore their creativity through an Art, Theatre Studies and Music Carousel. Students deepen their understanding of the various art forms and are encouraged to become outstanding team players as well as strong leaders – able to take the initiative and work with imagination and insight.

In Theatre Studies we have explored actor training skills, engaged in the art of spontaneous and prepared Improvisation, taken texts from page to stage, devised scenes from a variety of stimuli across time and culture, begun to develop an understanding of how to use space and light and sound to create meaning and begun to develop an awareness of how to interact with different audiences.

WHAT DO GRADE 9 AND 10 STUDENTS SAY?

“I think it’s important to learn Theatre Skills because it develops your communication skills in several ways; it improves confidence, which is essential in speaking clearly, lucidly, and throughfully. Throughout my Theatre experience this trimester I have learned many skills that I’m sure will be helpful in my future academic career, not only that but in a social context as well. I consider myself as being slightly shy or even an introvert, expanding my knowledge of Theatre skills has put me on the edge where I had to force myself to embrace my fears and get out.”

“Personally I think theatre skills are important because they allow you to be a completely different character for a while... Theatre in fact makes you forget your reality and your usual life circumstances,

it makes you think outside the box.”

“During this theatre course I have learned to be more observant and to really understand a character. I have learned to notice the little things and really comprehend a character and his thoughts. I think this is a very useful skill.”

“These skills are important because you learn to open yourself up to other people.”

“I think it is important to learn theatre skills because it helps develop confidence, initiative and flexability. These qualities are important even outside of school.”

“Theatre helped me imrpoved and practice my public speaking skills which is really useful in almost all my other subjects.”

Within the faculty we aim to inspire and motivate students to explore the ever changing language of the Arts, equipping students with a skills base that allows them to express and share ideas in new and interesting ways in an International environment. We also hope to support young people on their chosen career path, encouraging them to go out into the world with confidence in their creative ideas, able to communicate with others in a transformative and compassionate way that promotes well-being and empowers them to be change makers of the future. Even in this time of restrictions the opportunities to create and reinvent our World are endless and young people are opening the doors to new ideas.

Grade 8 ACTivate Drama Club performing DNA.

ISF’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY

Since ISF opened in 1952, we have spent 7 decades educating children from all over the world. Mark your calendars for a Spring 2022 Alumni Reunion with graduates spanning all 70 years!