From September 30^th – October 2^nd 2011 at Oriel College, Oxford, NATD gathered for its annual conference and considered the implications of the most recent Education White Paper and its impact on Drama-in-Education today. The National Executive asserted that we were not settling for less than a full entitlement for young people. Through a Key Note performance by Bridges Arts Group, Key Note addresses from Matthew Milburn, Chris Cooper and Luke Abbott and workshops run by Chris Ball, Liselle Terret, Maggie Hulson, Guy Williams and Karen Tomlin we were challenged to answer the question: who decides what young people need to know and understand?

On the Sunday afternoon as Conference was drawing to a close and delegates might have been expected to be wilting, the most extraordinary vibrancy and energy emerged. The plenary drew all of the issues and concerns of Conference together around three broad questions:

• Give an example of how this conference has enhanced/confirmed your view of drama as a vital mode of knowing the world.
• What is the picture for drama in your school now and in the coming year?
• When our grandchildren ask us what we did in the fight for education, what do you hope the answer will be i) from NATD, ii) from yourself?

The results, published HERE verbatim, are a hugely positive affirmation of the state of Drama Education in our schools today. Even the most jaded practitioner can’t help but be inspired by reading these words.

As a resident, Maggie’s anger is further stoked as she reads the Ofsted reports contriving to ‘fail’ local schools despite their own evidence in the same reports that contradicts this. Her mind goes back to the summer (of 2011) when the town was on fire.

These powerful responses are a timely reminder of the intensity of the impact of Government policies on people across the communities of this country: both the active interventions driven by dogma and the conscious inactivity that forces the vulnerable into even deeper levels of disempowerment and disenfranchisement.

Maggie’s deeply personal and sharply analytical writing is both visceral and enlightening.

Links: News from Tottenham and Let Tottenham Burn

The mistrust and suspicion caused by these divides runs deep. Despite being a Company of enormous integrity, MTM finds itself a victim of rumour and defamation which results in them being locked out of the basic facilities they have used for years, and denied access to props and costumes which are vital for their work. In turn, the organisation has ruptured and now its founder, Sead Djulic, is working with members of the original company with next-to-no resources under the name of MTM 1974.

MTM and NATD have a shared history and we have seen first-hand how valuable the work of MTM can be.

We are committed to ensuring the long term survival of MTM and have written a letter to Ljubo Beslic, the Mayor of Mostar to campaign for improvements to be made.

This letter can be read here. The more voices that are added to this campaign, the more quickly action will happen for the better. Please send any letters of support to ljubo.beslic@yahoo.com.

If you would like further information on the campaign, or would like to be involved further, please contact Adrian Bailey, NATD International Officer, at adrianb@natd.eu.

Thank you for your support. “

Effective drama, Dorothy Heathcote insisted, required neither script nor audience. Her pioneering methods, now adopted across the globe, revolutionised drama in education, taking acting off the stage and into the classroom.

Click here for an obituary…

You can download the first part of the article here. The full version is available in The Journal for Drama in Education  Volume 28, Issue 1. In the second part of the article, Luke shares with us the development of an evocative idea and through his words we see “…these delightful, earnest and trusting young people…” grappling with ideas and solving the problems together in unique and surprising ways. This is a remarkable piece of work from a remarkable practitioner and an inspirational man.