About the workshop

Sessions will focus on:

• Engaging students through movement, music, and drama
• Creating performances from a range of stimulus material
• Managing collaborative learning experiences and group work
• Using non-verbal communication focusing on empowering and teaching students through performance, movement, and gesture
• Using student experiences to create devised documentary drama performances

This course is suitable for teachers and support staff and is open to teachers from both government and non-government schools.

Workshop information 

• The program is a 1 day teacher professional learning workshop​​​​​​
• Date: Term 2 Week 5, Tuesday 27 May 2025
  Time: 9 am – 3 pm 
• Venue: The Arts Unit, corner of the Boulevard and Toothill street, Lewisham.

Program fees

• This program is free for 1 teacher per participating school for the Multicultural Storytelling Program 
• $200 for all other government teachers attending the professional learning.
• $300 for non government teachers.

Application process

1. Complete this online application form, including all your students' details and contact teacher information.
2. Read the information package  2025 Devising For Secondary Teachers Information Pack (DOCX 2.62 MB)

Payment

• Government teachers will need to enter school details including school code and SAM contacts. The amount will be transferred from your school to the Arts Unit.
• Non-government teachers will need to pay via the Arts Unit payment portal for teachers.
• Government teachers can choose to pay via the Arts Unit payment portal for teachers and use a credit card. The Arts Unit will not debit the school in this case.

To use the payment portal

1. Go to the payment portal.
2. Select Arts Initiatives from the program drop down.
3. Then select 'Devising for Secondary Teachers' and the non-government fee of $300 and government fee of $200 should come up.

Contact

For more information contact Ashley Napoleoni at [email protected].​​​​​

All Arts Units programs are inclusive. If your students require support to participate in the Secondary Aboriginal Dance Workshop, please email [email protected] so we can assist.

Workshop information

• The program will commence with a 1 day teacher professional learning workshop. 
• Following this workshop, teachers will have the opportunity to have a theatre practitioner mentor come along to their school to work with their students for 1 x 2hr workshop to assist with the preparation and devising of their performances. 
• These performances form the basis of the piece to be developed throughout the 3 day workshop.
• The final showcase of the student work is then performed and live streamed to home countries.

Program fees

• The 3-day workshop fee is $100.00 per participating student.
• There is no fee for the teacher professional learning session for 1 teacher per school who have students participating in the 3 day program.
• A fee of $200 for additional teachers attending the professional learning.

Dates

Application process

1. Up to 10 students per school can attend the workshop as a group.
2. Read the information package Multicultural Storytelling Program information package (DOCX 1.81 MB)
3. Complete this online application form, including all your students' details and contact teacher information
4. Your school will be charged a fee of $100.00 per participating student in the program and $200 for each additional teacher. Fees are processed as a direct debit via an Intercompany Journal (previously Sundry Tax) after the first session.
5. Complete the Authority to Film 2025 - Multicultural Storytelling Program (PDF 198.09 KB)

Contact

For more information contact Ashley Napoleoni at [email protected].​​​​​

All Arts Units programs are inclusive. If your students require support to participate in the Multicultural Storytelling Program Workshop, please email [email protected] so we can assist.

Please view the application form for more details.

Please note that the 2025 Drama Skills Development Workshop will commence under the guidelines from NSW Health and the Department of Education.

Booking process

1. Complete this form to book a position in the 2025 Drama Skills Development Workshop. We recommend filling in the form from a computer.
2. Check that you received an auto-confirmation email (check the spam folder) for your booking. If you did not receive this, then your booking was not submitted.
3. An email will be sent to your school to notify your school, so please ensure the school email is entered correctly.
4. Complete workshop payment via the Student payment portal by Wednesday 21 May for the May workshops for Primary Students.
5. The Drama team will be in contact within 2 weeks of the workshop with all final details and reminders.

Workshop details

Date: Sun 25 May 2025

Face-to-face:

• Session 1: 10 am to 12 pm
• Session 2: 1 pm to 3 pm

Online:

• Session 1: 10 am to 11:30 am
• Session 2: 1 pm to 2:30 pm

Note that the online sessions are shorter to allow for the fatigue of learning through a screen. 

Students can come for just one session or can book in for both sessions for a full day of workshops. Students who book for the full day face to face workshops will need to bring their lunch and will be supervised by teachers during the break.

Venue: The Arts Unit – Corner Toothill Street and The Boulevarde, Lewisham or virtually through Microsoft Teams

Cost:

• Single, face to face workshop (2 hours) – $45.00
• Full day, face to face workshop (4 hours) – $90.00
• Single online workshop (90 minutes) – $25.00
• Double online workshop (3 hours) – $50.00

All payments will be accepted online through our student payment portal.

Workshop options

Morning

Years K to 2: Creative play and expression

Let’s use group imagination to explore ideas and express ourselves! This two hour workshop designed specifically for K–2 students introduces improvisation and storytelling techniques with a focus on creativity, physical expression, character and movement. 

Note that this workshop is the same workshop as the afternoon session. We recommend students in K to 2 only participate in one 2 hour workshop for the day.

Years 3 and 4: Characterisation  

Want to learn how to build clear and interesting characters? This workshop will focus on how to use your body and voice to communicate different personalities on stage. Beginners welcome.

Note that this workshop is the same as the Characterisation workshop in the afternoon.

Years 3 to 6: Creative storytelling with movement

Our bodies are extremely important for storytelling on a stage. In this workshop, we will experiment with movement and creative physical expression. Learn how to use gestures to create meaning and develop confidence in using movement to communicate ideas. Work with small groups to explore group relationships and create stories through your coordinated movement. Beginners welcome.

Years 5 to 6: Warm ups and group improvisation

This workshop will develop skills through warm up games that prepare the mind and body for creative thinking before exploring small group improvisation tasks that develop characters and situations for storytelling.

Note that this workshop is designed to be a companion with the Introduction to Devising workshop in the afternoon, but can also be a standalone workshop for those who are new to group work in drama.

Online class: Creative storytelling with movement

Our bodies are extremely important for storytelling on a stage. In this workshop, we will explore individual expression through gesture and movement. We will use music as a stimulus to create a short movement piece that tells a story.

Please note that you will need access to a laptop or computer with a web cam and a reliable internet connection for this workshop. Note that for safety, cameras will be expected to stay on for the duration of the workshop.

Afternoon

Years K to 2: Creative play and expression

Let’s use group imagination to explore ideas and express ourselves! This two hour workshop designed specifically for K–2 students introduces improvisation and storytelling techniques with a focus on creativity, physical expression, character and movement. 

Note that this workshop is the same workshop as the morning session. We recommend students in K to 2 only participate in one 2 hour workshop for the day.

Years 3 and 4: Characterisation  

Want to learn how to build clear and interesting characters? This workshop will focus on how to use your body and voice to communicate different personalities on stage. Beginners welcome.

Note that this workshop is the same as the Characterisation workshop in the morning.

Years 3 to 6 (advanced): Audition techniques

Want to hone your audition skills and build your confidence in handling the pressure of an audition? This workshop will focus on techniques and approaches for auditioning for a role. 

Please note that this workshop is designed for students who already have experience in drama and are confident performers. If you are unsure, please get in contact with the team at [email protected] 

Years 5 to 6: Introduction to devising

'Devising' is a term we use in drama that means developing an original work. This often involves using small improvised tasks to build draft material and then gradually refining this material into a performance. Learn an approach to devising which uses small group improvisation and collaboration to develop a story. 

Note that this workshop is designed to be a companion with the Warm Ups and Group Improvisation workshop in the morning, but can also be a standalone workshop for those who already have some experience in drama who want to learn more about devising. If you are new to drama, we recommend doing both workshops to build your confidence in improvisation and then learn an approach to devising.

Online class: Writing a monologue

Every wanted to write your own monologue? This online workshop will lead you through an approach to writing a solo performance with dialogue that provides an emotional journey. Learn to think about situation, character and relationships as you shape your monologue and experiment with storytelling through words and gestures.

Please note that you will need access to a laptop or computer with a web cam and a reliable internet connection for this workshop. Note that for safety, cameras will be expected to stay on for the duration of the workshop.

General information

• Each workshop will be led by a drama teaching specialist.
• Workshops will be active, students must wear comfortable clothing.
• Students are required to be on The Arts Unit's premises for the duration of the workshops and the lunch break if they are staying for the whole day.
• Please make sure your name is clearly marked on belongings and leave unnecessary valuables at home.
• Please bring water and plenty to eat for lunch. There is no cafe or canteen on site. 
• Online workshops will be run through Microsoft Teams. Students must have access to a laptop or computer with a webcam and microphone for this session, as it will involve interaction. Please note that for safety, cameras must remain on for the duration of the workshop.

1. Film your audition video and name your video file appropriately.
2. Complete the 2025 nomination form which includes a section to upload your video.

• Dance and music items – 4 minutes maximum
• Drama items – 5 minutes maximum
• Any student attending a NSW public school on the Central Coast K–12, including regional ensembles can nominate.
• Performances can be any genre within the performing arts.
• Performance are required to be rehearsed to performance standard.
• Lyrics, language, costume, themes and movements should be age appropriate.

If you require any assistance with the nomination process, please contact:
[email protected] (Tacoma PS) or [email protected] (Lisarow HS).

School nominations include:

• massed dance – primary and secondary
• small schools items
• Indigenous items
• support student item
• drama
• choir
• remote schools item (Saturday night show only)
• specialist school performance groups
• combined concert band

Participation fee for all students: $35