We’re still buzzing from the energy and positivity of our summer holiday performing arts course for 5 to 11-year-olds in Windy Nook, Gateshead! Here, one of our amazing volunteer co-facilitators Elaine Grant, Curate at St Alban’s Church, Windy Nook, reflects on a wonderful week…
It was Sunday afternoon, the sixth and final day of the holiday club creative arts week that we’d been running with Damn Cheek’s Darren and Mahsa. As might be expected from a drama and arts course, we were finishing with a cast ‘sharing’. The room was buzzing with nerves and anticipation…
But this cast was like no other. For starters, it had changed every day, with different children booked in on different days – a challenge for any ensemble! Some of the children were so shy they could barely speak, while others were constantly chatting and running about. Alongside all the expected complications of putting children of different ages together, confidence levels varied from sky high to rock bottom. Some children oscillated between the two at dizzying speed.
Faced with such a disparate and distractible group, Darren and Mahsa’s approach was remarkable. Through their invitations, using simple games and activities mostly involving the whole group, they kept the children engaged and interested, built up their concentration, and developed a sense of ensemble. Little by little, the shyer children spoke, the fidgeting ones concentrated, and a network of relationships formed.
By Sunday, games which initially had seemed nearly impossible were firm favourites. Once the initial cheering for one game or another died down, the room was filled with the silence of 25 children paying careful attention to one another. After the games finished, the excitement was palpable. It was nearly time to perform!
Earlier in the week, the children had practised using theatre masks. In one brilliantly messy and joy-filled afternoon, they had decorated their own. Now they were going to wear them! Sat around the edge of the room in groups of 4 or 5, masks under their chairs, the children whispered to each other as each group waited to show the others their work.
On another memorable day, each group had been tasked with creating their own ‘skit’ (otherwise known as a ‘Lazzi’, Darren tells us!). These were based on a classic trope from pantomime’s ancient forerunner, the Commedia dell’Arte. The ideas flew thick and fast. With very little adult involvement the scenes took shape, each as daringly distinct as the children who created it. In every skit, the precious moneybag was stolen – yet one involved a queen, another a dog, and another a casino receptionist dramatically doing her hair in the background as the robbery took place!
Now it was time for the final rehearsal. For nearly an hour, the children watched one another’s performances – laughing at the slapstick, booing the baddies, and cheering when the heist finally happened. They were patient, listened, and worked together – it was beautiful. As I watched the masked figures point and dance and flail dramatically, I could hardly tell which children had been most nervous, or who was new. They were all equal, ready and brimming with a collective pride.
An invited audience of families, carers and friends now assembled in the room, while the children played outside and a wonderful smell of Sunday roast filled the air. But as the call came to gather for the final sharing, one small figure wandered off in the opposite direction and lay down on the grass.
“I’m only good at two things,” she said. “Gymnastics and burping. I can’t do it!”
She was 5, and she was fabulous. She was also absolutely determined, despite our affirmation and encouragement: she wasn’t going on.
After a moment, some of the other children realised what was happening and started chanting her name… just a couple at first, and then more and more, until all 25 children were stood by the door chanting like she was a rock star.
Thanks to this spontaneous, generous support of her fellow ensemble members, she did get up, and she did go in. The skits were wonderful, and the roast tasted just as good as it smelled! But, for me, the real magic happened outside in the garden, before the children even got on the stage. These children demonstrated not only concentration and creativity, but an inclusive kindness that wouldn’t leave anyone behind.
The holiday club was funded by the government’s holiday activities and food programme (HAF) and Communities Together Durham. It was designed to provide a week of structure and meals to children who might otherwise struggle – and it did so. But that’s not nearly the full story. The wonder of that week went much deeper than funding and feeding, and it won’t be seen just by looking at the numbers.
In one week, a disparate group of children became an ensemble, grew in attentiveness to themselves and to one another, and found skills they never knew they had. It was beautiful – a space of laughter, creativity, community and growth – and a safe, joy-filled space that fed not just the body but also the soul!
Arts-based activities like these are so important for children’s social, emotional and intellectual development. It’s vital that schools, community centres and local organisations prioritise arts-based holiday clubs within HAF – the focus needs to be wider than just sports (important as they are). Together, we can nurture the next generation of thinkers, creators and leaders, ensuring that every child – regardless of circumstance, age, gender, race or disability – has the opportunity to shine.