The DMLL recently hosted an afternoon workshop facilitated by the Belgrade focused on the creative classroom. The four hours went by in a flash as the group of seventeen staff and students from Engineering and Computing, English, Health and Life Sciences, and Sociology took part in theatre rehearsal room activities to examine how theatre and performance could be used to explore, understand and represent disciplinary course concepts in thought provoking, disruptive and experiential ways. Using a number of layered techniques, we were able to experience, as active participants, how visceral, embodied learning (for example, drawing on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet) offered a variable and powerful means of examining political, social and moral concerns and conveying emotional complexities through expressive means.

Workshop participants, from disciplinary areas out-with the more traditional arts subjects, shared their reflections:

“We had opportunity and freedom to change and shape our ideas on education, thinking outside the box, developing our creativity”Well paced, challenging and excellent!”

“All exercises so interesting and useful and could have spent whole session on each on!!”

“Excellent space to learn and so relevant!”“I particularly liked how an idea or concept was broken into various activities, all interconnected”

“Thank you! Very rare to feel so inspired and energised after a training session!”

The ideas shared amongst participants in the session were many, but certainly include developing a community of creative arts pedagogy for staff and students, and providing opportunity for regular meetings, with support for project development, to help the ideas become a reality.

Watch this space!