Two free resources ideal for students to use when home working

Prospero, our award-winning digital drama platform, gets us into lots of conversations with lots of teachers. Alongside ideas for curriculum resources and collaborative projects a regular topic teachers raise with us is the subject of homework and home working.

For a practical subject like drama it’s an obvious conundrum. How can homework be made as engaging and creative as we know classroom drama itself can be? Digital tech is known for the same playful, interactive qualities that make drama the discipline it is – that’s exactly why we built Prospero, to take advantage of those synergies. So, how can this potential be made to support hard-pressed teachers find solutions for home working?

We’re working on it. We hope to have some exciting ideas in time for the new school year (not least Prospero has amazing inbuilt tools for assessment).  In the meantime, there are two free resources in Prospero teachers can use for home working today.

Prospero Playlist are engaging way of gaining insights into the work of particular theatre practitioners.  Think of them as a kind of Desert Island Discs meets a Director’s Commentary.  An actor, writer or director chooses a selection of filmed scenes that resonate with their practice. They unpack of these in short, filmed interviews, explaining why they like them and the methods and techniques they demonstrate.

They are easy to watch, lasting about half an hour. They will work on laptops, tablets or smartphones so anyone can access them.

There are two playlists currently available. Award-winning National Theatre and RSC playwright, Phil Porter and acclaimed theatre and film director Marcus Romer. Just share the links above with your students. Both are free, with more to come later in the year.