Big wheel activity day

On Wednesday 4th February, all pupils in forms 1 to 5 participated in some interactive shows run by two English actors, Dina and Tom from “Big Wheel”, a London-based company specialised in theatre in education.

Form 1 pupils took part in a “Breakfast Game” involving two families of pupils who competed to win a full English breakfast. A “weather expert” and a “movie expert” selected from the audience were later interviewed by Dina and Tom. The pupils also took part in a “mystery game” whereby they had to guess the identity of a famous person (who turned out to be Shakira). Some hilarious commercial breaks punctuated the show. A “fitness challenge”, led by Tom as “Mr Fit”, ended the show.

Dina and Tom gave form 4 and 5 pupils some useful reading tips as part of their “Big Book Show”. The significance of the beginning of a book, the plot, the deeper meaning and the ending were, among other themes, discussed and illustrated through the enactment of some critical passages from classics of Irish, English and American literature. Dina and Tom skillfully directed the students in their roles, which resulted in some very convincing performances. Some students played the opening scene of The Snapper, which was later contrasted with the beginning of Of Mice and Men, acted by Dina and Tom in an absorbing performance. The characters in Animal Farm were used to illustrate the deeper meaning of a book. The show finished with a dramatic enactment of the ending of The Great Gatsby.

Form 2 and 3 pupils took part in a workshop devoted to Shakespeare, who was presented as “the greatest entertainment of all times”. They learned about the theatre at the time of Shakespeare and found out about the genres of history, comedy and tragedy by taking up active roles in acting scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet. The students particularly enjoyed Dina and Tom’s enactment of some gruesome scenes from Titus Andronicus.

Dina and Tom appreciated the never-faltering enthusiasm and active participation of ISM students. They are looking forward to coming back to Maastricht next year. As for the pupils, they enjoyed the shows and greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn in a playful and active manner, as is evident in the comments below.

“I liked the activities. They were really funny and nice. I also liked the actors. They made me laugh many times. They were really good at what they were doing. I really enjoyed the show. It was very funny and nice.” Natalia, F1.

“I found the performance very good. I have to admit my first impression was that it would be boring but it became very funny and I enjoyed it a lot. I had to play Myrtle (in The Great Gatsby). When I got picked I didn’t really want to because I don’t like standing in front of other people. But they gave me courage and told me what to do. I really liked the people who ran the show because they were good at acting. I liked how they changed their voices from an English to and Irish accent to an American accent. The actors really pulled the audience in, which was really good.” Lisa, F4.

“I enjoyed their acting of Of Mice and Men. It was interesting to let students participate in some stories as it boosts confidence and lets us learn a bit more about each other. We all had a laugh and learned something.” Monica, F5.

You can also read beautifully written reports on the “Shakespeare Show” by Malgosia and Suze by clicking on their names.

Laurie Kraaijeveld