Profile

Dramaworks provides:

• a range of drama workshops and study programmes for schools and teachers
• a way of communicating with other drama teachers in the UK

Dramaworks publications are:

• Stanislavski Through Practice
• Brecht Through Practice
• Artaud Through Practice
• Year 7 Drama Plans
• Year 8 Drama Plans
• Year 9 Drama Plans
• Styletasters 1: Stanislavski, Artaud, Grotowski
• Styletasters 2: Brecht, Boal, Brook
• Devising Skills
• Understanding Drama
• A Growing list of Plays Through Practice
• Approaches To Unseen Text

... with more to follow

All of the above are committed to being practical and easy to follow. They are intended as a resource for teachers inundated by administrative paperwork with less time for careful planning than they would like.

 

Dramaworks workshops cover:

• a wide range of practitioners and performance styles
• areas of interest to 'A' level, GCSE and all students studying drama from Year 6 upwards

 

Personal Profile:

Jeni Whittaker was a teacher, an examiner and a chief examiner of drama for many years.

She pilot taught on the very first 'A' level exam in drama back in the mid-seventies, was an examiner for the AEB (now AQuA) including five years as chief examiner during which tenure she also ran inset days for teachers. She has been an external examiner for two university drama degree courses and has run an inset day on Grotowski for the National Theatre.

In short, Jeni has been at the forefront of drama as an exam subject, in one capacity or another, since the beginning of her career. In addition she has directed and performed professionally, as well as running a very large and active youth theatre.

Since 1996 Jeni has been completely freelance. Through her workshops in schools, colleges and universities all over the country and through her study programmes her work has been brought to all ages and abilities. This experience has given her a good hands-on knowledge of all the examination syllabuses currently on offer. Her experience as a teacher makes her an ideal person to write study programmes especially for other teachers; she knows the problems of time and resources that teachers experience and can guarantee that all the exercises actually work.

 

Tamara Wilder looks after the day to day management and facilitation of the workshops. She is a professional actor, trained to MA level at the Central School of Speech and Drama, though her initial training prior to that was in dance. She even spent some time as a performer on the ice rink.

As an actor, she has performed in a wide variety of classical and contemporary roles on screen and stage and has toured nationally and internationally. She has a good working knowledge of different acting styles and the theories of many practitioners. Tamara is used to working with young people. She has worked for many years as a youth theatre director to Wild Wing Arts which was recently accepted into the National Theatre Connections programme. She has also led a variety of youth theatre groups and workshops in schools, colleges and with local councils.