The Joys of Teaching Drama!

Teaching drama can feel frustrating, or even exasperating to some people due to the time and patience it requires to teach children.  Some parents due to the present COVID-19  pademic have even started referring teachers, especially drama teachers as some kind of super heroes. Though it is often seen as a low paying thankless job in comparison to other professions, those who stick to it have seen that it has the potential to be one of the most rewarding jobs there is!

Our drama teacher & coordinator, Ms Olapeju receiving an appreciation award.

 -Work Hours and Extra Income

While it may look like their hours are long, drama teachers do spend a significant  amount of time doing extra work, after they are done with their regular work. They have the time to take on extra drama lessons, which also increase the income level. They have the holidays as well to reflect on new creative ways to teach their craft while taking extra work. This gives them more experience while increasing their income simultaneously.  

-Passion and  Personal Fulfillment 

Many drama teachers find fulfillment in teaching what their passion. They get to spend every day teaching about what they love and hopefully passing it onto others. They find fulfillment in designing  creative lesson plans, creating amazing props as these also help them learn and grow to as excellent drama instructors.

- Multiple Interactions with Students

Drama teachers have the opportunity every day, to interact with kids and teach them new skills.

While some kids can be quite the 'drama queens and kings', drama teachers still find it rewarding to interact with their students in the most creative way. They also have the ability to improve their emotional well being through lessons that will ultimately raise the confidence and communication skills of their students.

- Respect

Being a drama teacher also earns you a large amount of respect from friends, family members and those in the community. You earn praise and admiration from people who could never imagine themselves spending the day in a classroom full of children or who are tempted to run after spending five minutes with a preschooler. As a teacher, you even have a nationally recognized day to appreciate you and the job you do. During back-to-school time and during teacher appreciation week, many businesses take time to offer freebies and discounts to thank teachers and show their respect for the profession.

One of our drama instructors at the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Lagos Island , Collins Chukwudi, being appreciated all the way from Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Cairo, Egypt 

At Helen O' Grady Academy  Lagos Island , our instructor are totally committed and passionate about making drama classes an unforgettable exciting experience  for children who are interested in drama! Our children programs are designed to draw maximum engagement from kids and raising their confidence, communication and public speaking skills.

To learn more about Helen O' Grady Drama Academy, please click below;

Learn More

You can also reach us on 08093571000 

Drama Sign Ups for Alice In Wonderland!

Do your kids have the passion for stage acting and drama? Sign them up using the link below for drama classes with the amazing Sarah Boulos at the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Lagos Island.
They also get the chance to perform in our adaptation of the smash hit  'Alice in Wonderland' taking place on Sunday May 23rd, 2020 at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island.

http://bit.ly/HOGdrama

We look forward to receiving you!

2 Weeks of Fun & Creativity for your Kids this Summer!

Nurturing your child's creativity ... Improving their confidence.

Top of the day to you!
Our next round of the 2 week Helen O Grady Performing Arts Summer Camp for Children will take place between Monday July 29, 2019 to Saturday August 10, 2019.

With exciting activities such as music, dance, drama, arts & craft, excursions, presentations and more,uniquely designed to help build your child's social & public speaking skills, and creative talents ... don't miss the opportunity to register your little  ones for this unforgotten experience!

Venue: Val's The Dance Studio, Plot 62, Block 5, The Red Gate, Theophilus Oji Street, Off Fola                       Osibo, Lekki Phase 1.

Time : 10am - 3pm Daily

Age Group: 4 - 13 years old

Fee: N55,000 ( Inclusive of free HOG Drama T-shirt and excursion)

To register, please call 08093561000, 08091900700.

A Sold Out Annie The Musical!

To a sold out Annie!

We are quite grateful to our sponsors and thankful to the many people who turned up to watch this delightful show.  The turn out was amazing and from the look of it ,we may end up doing 2 shows when we are going to stage the show again.

To find out more about the broadway program, please click on the link below

SPAN/HOG Broadway Club

All I Want for Christmas...

We had probably heard that phrase from our kids, nephews, nieces, baby cousins and pretty much any other child that is in close relations with us a dozen times over this holiday season . Christmas  has always been one of the most exciting times of the year. It is the time that children expect their wishes for new toys , new PS games, and every other thing they have spent all year dreaming about to be fulfilled. And course parents and guardians will do their best to deliver and not disappoint.

As we celebrate christmas this year, we should also not forget to keep in mind , how best to help nurture and aid development in our kids in the forthcoming year. We need to groom them as they grow into another year. One way of achieving this by encouraging them to sign for drama classes.

Now, drama classes is not only for aspiring actors, there are other benefits that can be gotten from drama classes. Drama lessons also help in boosting a child's confidence. and communication skills.
It encourages team building and bonding because in drama plays,more often than not , there are different roles to play which will necessitate kids working together. This will  ultimately prepare them for the future.

All these and more is what your child will be getting at the Helen O Grady Drama Academy Lagos Island. Our programs specially designed to bring out expression, confidence, and creativity in children. Our activities are also created to encourage active engagement with and between the children.

As we are going into the new year, why not give it a try , bring your kids to a trial class near you , so you will see for yourself what they stand to gain if they enrol. For location, enquiries and more information, please call 0809 190 0700, 0809 356 1000, 0809 357 1000 and we will happy to attend to you. You can also send us a mail on info@spanigeria.org.

Happy holiday season, everyone!

The Great Theatre!

"Drama classes are a fantastic means of developing confidence, self-esteem,and essential communication skills"says Duncan Rice of The Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Franchise. He also stated these classes help release the child's creative and expressive potential, which is one of the keys to healthy educational development.

The benefits of drama classes simply can't be overemphasized, one of which is the chance to do stage plays and theatre.

 Out of all developmental activities children are encouraged to go through, stage plays/Theatre is the one activity with the longest shelf life. This means that what they learnt from it will positively impact on who they will grow up to be in terms of their character.
The point? Let your child do theatre!and the reasons are best summed up in the words of Cathlyn Melvin, who went for drama classes as a child,and then started her own children theatre company. These reasons are solely based on her personal experience;

They’ll walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.  They’ll walk ten.  They’ll walk a hundred.  When a child reads a character, they’re forced to think, why would he have made that choice?  What’s he trying to get from the person he’s talking to?  How could he have done it differently?  Empathy is one of the top personality skills (yes, skills) necessary for strong corporate leadership later on,In Lauren Gunderson’s Huffington Post blog, How Theatre for Young People Could Change the World, she says that “so much of the toxicity in this world comes from a collective draining of empathy. We don't understand each other, and we don't want to. But theater invites us -- no, forces us -- to empathize.”  This practice lays the foundation for strength and compassion.

Theatre doesn’t tell you what to feel.   Art is based on personal experience.  Playing a role, designing a set, seeing a production, I might not see the same images or feel the same impulses as you.  And that’s how it’s meant to work.  It opens up pathways for all participants to explore their own emotions and views.  Involving your kids in art makes them free to think, free to feel, and free to explore who they want to become.

Theatre is great exposure to literature and history.  When I was in first grade, my class took a trip to our community children’s theatre to see a production of Just So Stories.  At the time, I didn’t know who Rudyard Kipling was, but afterward, I asked my teacher to help me find the Just So Stories book in our library.  Reading the stories, I made connections between what was happening on the page, and what happened during the performance.  I learned that Rudyard Kipling was also responsible for one of my favorite Disney movies – that one with Bhageera, and Baloo, and Mowgli.

Theatre provides the freedom to not be perfect.  Be big, be loud, be silly! it’s not about sounding pretty. It’s about telling a story and having fun. So we encourage the kids to try things.  Let loose.  If it doesn’t work, that’s okay – now we know and we can try something new!

Why We Love Christmas!

If there is ever a season, everyone looks forward to... Its Christmas! 

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." For Christians, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and it is generally thought that the first Christmas took place in Rome in 336 A.D.

Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. It is an important religious day for Christians. It is recognized as a major holiday all around the world.There's just something about the season, the time of year, and the atmosphere that makes Christmas an all-time favorite. For children, its double the fun... Schools are closed and a lot of activities are up to fit into the Christmas mood. For our kids at the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island, these are their top reasons why they love Christmas...

1. The food is delicious and so special.

Besides fruitcakes, there are dozens of holiday treats that make their mouths water. Chicken Pies  Christmas cookies, Specially made rice and spicy fried chicken included... these are things they look forward to every year.

2. The decorations are  fantastic.

Lets face it: nothing can beat the loaded window displays, the ribbons and garlands around streets, the glittering lights of various colors and doilies, and nativity scenes, and the Christmas trees...! making everything so magical. 

 

3. ...Presents.

Need We say more? The best gifts each year is usually around Christmas.

4. Family comes together.

Christmas is one of the most popular times in the year where they get to see their extended family, the grandparents,aunts, uncles, cousins who usually lavish them with gifts and attention.

5. Nativity plays

And Lastly our kids say Christmas also afford them the opportunity to bring their drama skills to use because different nativity plays that depict the origin of Christmas, what it stands for, as well as other related plays are usually staged and need we say it... they usually take center stage! Lights... Camera... Action!

High Energy Drama

We all have them, or at least have heard of them… very expressive children popularly known as Drama Queens or Kings. These are children whose emotional reactions are disproportionate in intensity to the situation.

Now having a dramatic child is not so bad. They are usually really fun, quite likeable. They are so great when it comes to anything active in the classroom. They really go that extra mile because it’s something they get excited about. They want to interact. They are the memorable children. They respond to life’s every turn with drama, drama, drama. HOWEVER sometimes they can be overly dramatic, giving outbursts as well as high level energy at the odd time.

You love your child dearly of course but the drama is well, something else. What’s a creative, doting parent to do? Get that child into drama class of course!

At Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Islands, our work is to channel that energy and not squelch it.

It may be that your drama queen or king is destined to be a performer. By channeling this dramatic energy to the stage, your child will have a direction in which to channel his or her big emotions.

Drama exists in every part of our lives… some just express it more readily. If you have a dramatic child, help him or her channel those dramatic tendencies with the Helen O’ Grady approach to Drama. And then, perhaps make a room on your shelf for a world class movie award in the near future.

Drama Does This to You!

‘The world is a global village’…

We all can’t count how many times we have heard that phrase, but really, with the growing trends happening all around us, the world literally, has turned into a tiny global village where it takes just a nanosecond to talk to anyone ... anywhere. With this, the need to be able to communicate more articulately and with confidence cannot be wished away anymore and good oratory skills is one of the many benefits that learning drama gives to your child.

At the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island, we teach your child to:

• Learn a wide range of appropriate ways of communicating. They learn to project their voice and to speak words clearly.
• Learn the importance of empathy, as it allows them to experience how someone else thinks and acts.
• Promote their imagination. Imagination gives life excitement. It keeps things interesting. Everyone needs imagination, even our top scientists!

Yes, learning drama will give these benefits to your child and the best part of it all is that it will stay with them long into adulthood.

DRAMA & YOUR KIDS by Tamo Iruene

Where else can you find chefs, nurses, police officers, office workers, super heroes, teachers, karate instructors, and bus drivers all happily working side-by-side?

The truth is, in the midst of creating a restaurant together, clomping around in grown-up shoes, or twirling around with friends in a fairytale land, children are learning to solve problems, coordinate, cooperate, and think flexibly.

Pretending is important in child development.

Through drama children get to learn about the world and ultimately, themselves. They experiment with role playing and work to make sense out of what they've observed. Just watch children playing with dolls to see examples of this. Dolls often become versions of the child herself and are a safe way for children to express new ideas and feelings.

Have you ever witnessed children pretending to visit the doctor? One child dutifully holds the mock stethoscope as the others line up for a check-up. More often than not someone gets ‘the dreaded injection’. This is a child’s way of exploring an experience that is common and sometimes confusing or scary.

This is where we come in, at Helen O'Grady, we have the ability to harness the inherent skills in your child and positively direct them to a healthy outlet for expression.

Children develop important complex social and higher order thinking skills when playing pretend.

Drama is much more than simple play activities; it requires advanced thinking strategies, communication, and social skills. Through Drama, children learn to do things like negotiate, consider others perspectives, transfer knowledge from one situation to another, delay gratification, balance their own ideas with others, develop a plan and act on it, explore symbolism, express and listen to thoughts and ideas, assign tasks and roles, and synthesize different information and ideas. In this creative play description, we could just as easily be describing the skills needed to successfully manage a work project for an adult.

If your children are not yet registered…well…what are you waiting for?

Contact a Helen O’Grady official today at the SPAN office, 13 Davis street, Marina, Lagos or call our numbers: 08091900700 or 08091900600 for more information

Someone will always be happy to attend to you.

Interview with Sarah Boulos on SPAN@10 by Tamo Iruene

When a web search is conducted of organizations that support youth, dozens of websites will lead you to resources for enterprise, entrepreneurship and even football.  But what of the youth whose experience in sports leads them to feelings of failure? Or those that can never create anything with their hands to save their lives?

Do the same web search of organizations in the performing arts and find…. very, very little. 

  

A vibrant Theatre Arts presence in a community brings other benefits as well.  It can bring in tourism  - and a steady cash flow to business owners.

The Society for The Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN), a performing arts institution that combines Nigerian cultural traditions with world-class training, creating a platform to nurture and release creative potential in art, dance and music has been in existence for 10 years.

10 years that have not been without their challenges, their highs and their memorable moments.

Sarah Boulos in her capacity as Founder and Chairman of The Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria has trained and or contributed to over five hundred individuals in the professional field. SPAN has showcased and partnered with over 100 NGO’s and Mission work as well as provided on a yearly basis over thirty jobs in the entertainment industry.

In a No Holds Barred interview with Mrs. Boulos, she had this to say

Why did SPAN start?

Because it was needed and I was ready to serve and today the industry is soaring with professional performing artists hired and owning private businesses. SPAN, BORN OUT of a GOD GIVEN VISION IS PURPOSE DRIVEN AND PURPOSE DRIVEN MISSION are ignited because of a need and the need is to educate and present performing artists  to provide them with job opportunities and present their art and for children to develop themselves in an area of education that is missing in Nigeria.

Was it difficult being accepted by Nigerians?

It was when we first started but not as much now because the Nigerian community can now see the benefits of the performing arts and what it brings to the community, like new job opportunities , a better and healthier lifestyle, a creative energy in the economy, a positive outlook on our city and A reduction in the poverty line.

What challenges did you face?

To build awareness and educate the audience that this project is very much needed in our society and industry.

At the beginning, banks did not take me seriously and now they are hiring and sponsoring my student programs. Fundraising was also a major challenge and now it’s a lot easier, people are considering sponsoring the arts!!

What is different now…from 10 yrs ago?

Because the industry has opened partly due to our work there is more hope to see a performing art center built and a place for young people to learn and develop themselves and pursue their career in the performing arts because of our success stories in the Industry.

THE STIGMA, THOUGH STILL PRESENT IS NOT AS STRONG!

Do you regret any of the decisions you made then?

No, only when I get tired and desire to quit then a young child gives me a flower or I receive an encouraging word from one of my students then I know how precious and needed my services are.

What would you do things differently if you had the chance?

Yes I would, in certain areas of communication and who I partner with but in general the journey is necessary in every dream as we must learn lessons in order to grow

What does SPAN @ 10 mean to you in a nutshell?

A place where our citizens are educated , entertained and inspired for more through the performing arts .

What do you expect the show to accomplish?

The show will reinforce our vision and the need to develop more educational programs and to build a place to accommodate students and citizens to explore the wonders of the performing arts.