Shakespeare by the Sea!

This morning, Years 3 and 4 were incredibly lucky as they had the opportunity to participate in some wicked workshops at Weymouth Pavilion. We began by having a ‘behind-the-scenes-tour’ of the Pavilion and we had the chance to see the dressing rooms, orchestra pit, balcony views and where the celebrities and stars sneak into the Pavilion in order to get backstage without being seen by members of the public.

Mr. Spracklen, headteacher of Prince of Wales school, then told us all about the history of Weymouth Pavilion. We learnt that the Pavilion used to be made out of wood and was built to provide entertainment to those who ventured to Weymouth on their holidays. We saw old pictures of the Pavilion and were shocked as to how close it was to the sea until someone built a road to separate the sea from the building. It was fascinating hearing how the Pavilion was used to support people during the war, how it tragically went up in a ball of flames and how the good people of Weymouth stopped this historical building from being destroyed with their generosity.

We then had the chance to get acquainted with the stage itself. Our young actors and actresses  participated in some drama games to help get into the mindset of some of the characters from our show and we started to look at how we may use the stage for our performance in February. It was great seeing the children commanding the stage and using their facial expressions and body language to portray their hatred towards members of the other family in the town of Verona.

Our final activity allowed the children to settle in seats and gaze at the stage in awe and wonder, imagining what it will be like in a few weeks time when they are performing. They received a clipboard and were tasked with sketching the stage to help them acclimatize to their surroundings.

The children then had lunch in the Ocean Room before returning back to school. Miss Hutton and I would like to say a huge thank you to Weymouth Pavilion for being such wonderful hosts. We would also like to thank Mrs. Aitken and Mr. Bell for helping to supervise the children and a massive thank you to all parents and carers for getting the children down to the Pavilion this morning despite the short notice. We really appreciate your help and support.

Mr. Prior