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

The Good, the Fun, And the Excitement at Easter Camp 2016!

...Refusing to be Ordinary!!!

The SPAN-HOG Easter camp 2016 which took place on March 27th, till April 9th, 2016 was a beehive of fun activities. There were lots of dancing, singing, drawing, swimming, drama and leadership programs.
The children got to explore their creative sides, and develop the spirit of team building.

They also got to learn the value of money, how to save, and work with a budget at the basic financial analysis lessons facilitated by the highly reputed Access Bank, PLC.

It was also exciting watching them in character in the drama presentation of 'Pirate Joe'. They learnt and portray their lines vigorously to a standing ovation by the audience.

Dance was a favourite time at the camp...

After some exciting dance routines, the kids are taken outside for a swim...

The last day of camp, which was also the highlight was when the children got to put together a presentation which comprised of all they learnt. Certificates of participation were also presented.

Easter Camp 2016 Is Here!

Make  the best out of the Easter and School Holidays by enrolling your little ones between the ages of 5 - 18 years old for the SPAN- HOG Easter Camp taking place from March 28th - April 9th, 2016!

Our camp venue is Salad Masters, 1, Fola Osibo street., off Akin Doherty off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1. To register, please call 0809 190 0 700, 0809 357 1000.

Discount packages also available if you are bringing more than one child.

We can't wait to see you!

Real-Life Drama

As most people will say, “It’s just drama, just drama class. It’s not important”

 Except that we know the importance of the Helen O’Grady Drama program.

Our academy is one of the few places where real world life skills are taught. You know them. Communication, self-confidence, self-evaluation, creative thinking – these are the skills beyond the classroom, beyond school, right? Life skills, pretty much what everybody needs.

The drama classroom Theatre is such an amazing, amazing platform that we can really address so many things and kind of get a practice run at things that we don’t really get to practice in life sometimes. It’s just so open. But it’s also so free in that they’re exploring a character. Every time they say the line, it could come out differently and someone’s going to respond to them differently, and by using those stories and by using their experiences, you know, they get to make it their own.They enjoy taking a moment to watch their friends or taking a moment to be the center of attention.

As they advance in their drama lessons, we see then change , we‘ve seen them learn things by creating self-confidence in them, creating team and group work, the ability to listen, as well as other skills that will help them to be the best they can be no matter the type of profession they go for.

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!

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.

Lagos island drama, Helen O Grady courses, a key to excel in your confidence

Most of our pupils in drama have grown to become excellent speakers. Recently, Oriane B.

 was selected by theater under the stars in Houston, Tx to audition 

for the broadway theater in HOUSTON and as a 12 year old 

was transferred 

to the TEEN class.

When asked where did she pick all these gifts,

She said HELEN O GRADY taught her how to perform 

On stage and speak without a microphone!

Helen O' Grady Lagos Islands At Netherlands International School Lagos Nigeria

The begining of term 1 2010/2011 took a dramatic turn at The Netherlands International School Lagos Nigeria as the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Lagos Islands launched its programme at the school.  The Upper Primary class was full of smiles and excitement as the students WOWED their teacher with their confidence and enthusiasm!

                                          We are Fabulous!

Mrs Marjoleine leading the students through their speech skills training 

Superstars in training!

Summer Stage School 2010

The Summer Stage School 2010 kicked off with WEEK 1 on the 12th of July, 2010 with four hours daily of intensive singing, acting and dancing ( with Dance Dynamics) and then WEEK 2 on the 19th of July. Each week's programme culminated in a 20 minutes stage performance.

We even got to celebrate a birthday.

Esther-10 years old.

Having fun with our outdoor team challenge.

WHAT FUN! Teachers in training

The Lagos Islands weekly teacher's training sessions have been emphasizing effective teaching skills to make each and every lesson filled to the brim with FUN and an experience which leaves you with a smile on your face. In the above picture, Samantha and Claudine are having great fun (to the amusement of Betty, Grace and Orji) pretending to be unruly children.

THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!

Trainee teacher Orji showing the other teachers just how to express with your face, and good tambourine utilization. All training sessions are jam packed with new creative ideas, lots of sharing and interaction and above all, learning the skills to make each and every lesson FUN!

A day at the theatre

Tuesday the 25th of May 2010, was a memorable day for the students of Discovery House Montessori School in Lekki, as they joined students from other schools to watch a short play captioned THE REJECTED BLESSING at the National Theatre. It was an educational experience for the children as they learnt about theatre etiquette and had an opportunity to appreciate their culture via the dances and traditional attires which were show-cased.

American International School - 29th MAY 2010 PARENT’S DAY UPPER ELEMENTARY PRESENTATION - A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

The Upper Elementary presented a short-scripted play titled 'MAXIMUM SPEED'

Synopsis

A long, long time in the future, in a galaxy yet to be discovered, Space Cruiser 5 is under attack from the Targons. But why?

On board ship, there is unrest amongst the crew members. The robots, brought on board by the Captain, have gone wild. Is there a malfunction…or is it an act of sabotage?