Education
Limerick Youth Theatre 103 Drama Exercises handbook launched to support secondary school teachers
LYT with support from Limerick and Clare ETB launch ‘103 Drama Exercises’ handbook to support secondary school teachers
Limerick Youth Theatre (LYT) has launched 103 Drama Exercises, a handbook aimed at supporting secondary school teachers to include drama in their curricula
Limerick Youth Theatre (LYT) launched the 103 Drama Exercises handbook as part of the Culture Night celebrations on Friday, September 20, with the aim of supporting secondary school teachers in incorporating drama into their curricula.
Thanks to financial assistance from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, LYT were able to commission Drama Facilitator, Actor and Theatre Director, John Hogan, to compile the handbook of drama exercises.
Artist/Illustrator, Roisin Clothier (a former LYT member), illustrated the handbook to give visual representations of how the exercises can work in the classroom. The project was conceived, designed and edited during the Covid-19 pandemic by LYT staff and a team of commissioned artists as well as third year CATS (Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies, MIC) on their off campus placement with LYT.
The handbook is designed for secondary school teachers who want to incorporate drama, not only in English and theatre classes, as part of broader well-being initiatives. Through the 103 practical exercises, the handbook hopes to aid in student’s social, emotional, and intellectual development.
At the launch, principals from secondary schools across Limerick city and county, as well as ETB schools in Clare, were invited to attend and have a first-hand look at the book.
Speaking about the handbook, an LYT representative said, “We want the book to be made widely available to schools and to become a useful resource to teachers who wish to incorporate drama in the Arts Education curriculum.
“This pocket-sized handbook proposes a range of activities which can support the academic, physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual development of students.
“Additionally, it can assist students to make sense of the world; to question, to speculate and to find solutions; to deal with feelings and to respond to collaborative creative experiences.”