Anna Scher Theatre

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The Anna Scher Theatre was started as a school's drama club at Islington's Ecclesbourne Primary School in 1968. Run by Anna Scher, the popularity of the club was such that the classes expanded rapidly. First occupying a council hall in Bentham Court on Ecclesbourne Road, the group moved to a converted mission hall on Barnsbury Road in 1976.[1] The Anna Scher Theatre currently gives its classes nearby in the Blessed Sacrament Church Hall, Islington. The students are taught by Anna Scher and Bernie Burdis (who have taught together for over 30 years, producing numerous household names for many of the UK's favourite soaps including The Bill, EastEnders and even Hollywood actors).

Despite maintaining its status as an after-school activity centre, as opposed to a drama school — something Scher was adamant about — the organisation expanded to accommodate a theatrical agency, finding professional work for both its young students and for the increasing number of adults who attended the community classes introduced later. As Scher's alumni became known for their distinctively natural acting style — often credited to her reliance on improvisation in class — the theatre's popularity continued to grow to the extent that those wishing to attend had to be put on a waiting list that grew to 5,000.[2]

In 2000, Anna Scher suffered a period of ill health and stepped down during her recovery period.[3] Scher was never reinstated as head of the theatre, despite a vociferous campaign led by her and her supporters, The Friends of Anna Scher.[4][5]

Improvisation is the staple, combining community spirit with professionalism. The Anna Scher Theatre Method is about addressing conflict resolution through effective communication skills, role reversal, olive branching, notice compliments and the pebble-in-the-pond philosophy. Since 1968 AST has practised pluralism — integration through improvisation, inclusion rather than exclusion and whilst the Theatre has launched the careers of many successful actors, its ethos has always been community based. Drama workshops on social issues such as children’s rights and AIDS awareness are held at AST, in schools, libraries, hospitals, residential homes and other venues such as the National Film School, the Round House, Ruskin College Oxford, Sadler’s Wells, Unicorn, Young Vic, both nationally and internationally through the good offices of the Anne Frank House, Barnardos, The British Council, the Health and Education Authority, the National AIDS Trust, the National Children’s Bureau, PLAN International and Save the Children.

Peace Studies play a permanent part in AST’s curriculum. The Peace Pebble Theatre Workshops have been running since 1979. From The Kids Are United in Northern Ireland integrating Catholic and Protestant children to Shalom Zimbabwe running AIDS awareness workshops in the bush to Shalon Soweto teaching in the townships of South Africa to Shalom Salaam Israel teaching in a bomb shelter with Jewish and Arab children through to Shalom Salaam Sarajevo working in Bosnia Herzegovina with Serbs, Croats and Muslims — the Peace Pebble Theatre Workshops are a firm feature on the map.

In December 2003 Anna went to Oman and the workshops integrated students from there and the United Arab Emirates working with both communities to become peace ambassadors.

Many television and radio series have been made about the Anna Scher Theatre Method, including First Act, Acting With Anna, When Will I Be Famous?, Desperate to Act. Documentaries include Aquarius, Man Alive Special, The Lowdown, which was nominated for an International Emmy, The Kids From Anna Scher. In addition, several television series and documentaries have been produced outside the UK, including documentaries for NRK in Norway and ZDF in Germany, Anna Scher on Acting for Danish and Finnish Television, which was nominated for the Japan Prize, and Drama With Anna for RTÉ in Ireland.

Contents

[edit] Aims

  1. To develop talent to a high professional standard
  2. To instill lifetime learning
  3. To promote peace through pluralism starting from within
  4. To facilitate choice thinking through the consequences
  5. To encourage a generous spirit

Being Professional People means adhering to the Five Ps — punctuality, preparation, presentation, practice, positive + purpose, productivity, perseverance, plan, pace (but not precious, pusillanimous, pussyfooting, procrastination, price)

[edit] Values

  1. To tell the truth
  2. To treat each other fairly through mutual respect and empathy
  3. to earn your spurs
  4. To own to responsibility saying sorry when in the wrong
  5. To appreciate saying please and thank you

Strong emphasis is put on decency, integrity and being humanitarian

[edit] New Members

The new member is:

  1. Given a cead mile failte (Irish) hundred thousand welcomes plus a friend to look after them
  2. Introduced to improvisation
  3. Told how the D word — discipline — plus listening go together and that the rule is respect
  4. Encouraged to notice
  5. And focus on five

Talent thrives through training together is AST’s motto

[edit] Notice Board

After registering, members notice the notice board which contains:

  1. Enter Exit Music.
  2. Umbrella Theme (changed every term).
  3. “Winston” Word — AST’s word of the week so called after Winston Churchill, who learned a new word every day of his adult life, e.g. kaizen (Japanese) — drive for continual improvement; sisu (Finnish) — backbone, stamina; ubuntu (Xhosa, Zulu), community care, connectedness.
  4. Poetry Pebbles — the session ends with a poem (often spiritually uplifting, always worth listening to) copies of which are offered to members.
  5. Note the Quote! “If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing” Zimbabwean proverb.

[edit] Anna Scher

Anna was a columnist with the Islington Gazette for five years and reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement. She’s been the subject of the Sunday Times' A Life in the Day series, A Childhood for The Times and Profile for BBC Radio 4, as well as contributing to numerous radio and television programmes such as Kaleidoscope, Midweek, Loose Ends, Woman’s Hour, Tonight, and Richard and Judy.

Anna has received a community award from the Irish Post and the Woman of Distinction Award from Jewish Care. In 1999, she received the Peace Person of the Year Award in Ireland and she has been chairperson of the International Song Contest for Peace also in Ireland. She has served on juries at BAFTA, Sony and the Royal Television Society. She is an Associate of RADA and an Honorary Fellow of the Leinster School of Music & Drama in Dublin. Anna is a patron of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam — Oasis of Peace. In March 2003, Anna was awarded the Freedom of the London Borough of Islington. On 18 March 2004 Anna journeyed to Auschwitz as guest of the Holocaust Educational Trust. On 15 May 2004, International Conscientious Objectors' Day, Anna ran a Peace rally. Anna journeyed to Japan in 2004 for Hiroshima Day on 6 August and Nagasaki Day on 9 August. In March 2005 Anna’s Peace Pebble Theatre Workshops took her to Mayapur for the devotees of Krishna consciousness; Celebrating diversity and inter-faith Anna also has attended Mass, Quaker meetings, Buddhist shrines and synagogues. May 2005 saw Peace Pebbles ooooo Rwanda working together with Hutus and Tutsis, her contribution to never again re the genocide of 1994. In 2005 she commemorated the 60th Anniversary of Hiroshima on 6 August at 8:15am, and Nagasaki on 9 August at 11:02am, in Tavistock Square, London.

[edit] Alumni

See Category:Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hattenstone, Simon; "I just want to be back at my theatre" Guardian.co.uk, 24 March 2004
  2. ^ Wynne-Jones, Ros; "School for working class heroes — and heroines" Independent.co.uk, 25 May 1997
  3. ^ "Bid to build Anna a new theatre" IslingtonGazette.co.uk, 8 June 2005
  4. ^ Reynolds, Nigel; "Angry actors back ousted drama teacher" Telegraph.co.uk, 27 December 2003
  5. ^ Austin, Jeremy; "School removes Scher name" TheStage.co.uk, 20 July 2004

[edit] Literature

  • Anna Scher (1988), Desperate to Act, Collins, ISBN: 9780006728528.
  • Anna Scher & Charles Verrall (1975),100+ Ideas for Drama, Heinemann Educational, ISBN: 9780435187996.
  • Anna Scher & Charles Verrall (1976), First Act: Drama Kit, Ward Lock Educational, ISBN: 9780706235463.
  • Anna Scher & Charles Verrall (1987), Another 100+ Ideas for Drama, Heinemann Educational, ISBN: 9780435188009.
  • Anna Scher & Charles Verrall (1992), 200+ Ideas for Drama, Heinemann Educational, ISBN: 9780435086060.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Scher_Theatre"