Year 6 blog:

Week 1: Flower May's Emergency

This week, our class experienced something truly special that transformed our usual school day into a creative adventure! We received a surprise video message from Flower May, an enthusiastic director who found himself in a bit of a pickle. His playwright had stormed out, leaving him without a play just when he needed it most. We couldn’t let him down, so we sprang into action to help!

To kick things off, we dove into learning the features of a play. We explored elements like characters, dialogue, and stage directions, discovering how these features work together to tell a story. We even had a go at translating a section from our reading book, Wonder, into a play format.

But the excitement didn’t stop there. Just as we were about to begin our art lesson the next day, something incredible happened. Rowan, a real-life playwright and director, burst through the door! He had come from the Mayflower Theatre and offered to help us with Flower May's emergency. We easily convinced Mrs. Harley to put art on hold so that we could learn from Rowan.

With his guidance, we brainstormed and created six fantastic characters for our play. We imagined a soldier princess, a mischievous monkey, a witch in love with a prince, a daring pilot... The ideas were flowing, and our creativity was soaring! Unfortunately, just as we were getting into the groove, Rowan had to leave.

Week 2: The Magic of Collaboration!

This week, our classroom buzzed with excitement as we welcomed back Rohan, who was eager to jump back into our creative project! The children could hardly contain their anticipation, ready to build upon the vibrant characters they had crafted the previous week.

Rohan kicked things off by prompting everyone to recall their favourite characters, from the whimsical monkey who loves banana bread to the once-princess witch with her magical powers. This sparked a lively discussion where the children debated which characters would take centre stage in our upcoming play. The energy was obvious, and their enthusiasm propelled them through the lesson at lightning speed, generating an abundance of fresh ideas!

By the end of the session, they had woven a complete narrative that included a protagonist, antagonist, and side characters, all set in a captivating world. They even proposed some surprise twists that we’re keeping secret for now!

Throughout the week, the children will focus on creating a storyboard to visualise their play, ensuring that every detail is thoughtfully mapped out before Rohan’s next visit. It’s incredible to witness their imaginations taking flight, and we can’t wait to see how their story unfolds!

Week 3: Bringing the Story to Life!

This week in Year 6 has been all about creativity and teamwork! After last week's exciting session, the children created their storyboards and in the days leading up to Rohan's return, they worked on illustrations to go along with their storyboard scenes.

When Rohan arrived for his third visit, we were excited to see him again. The children wasted no time and quickly split into their groups, eager to hear what the next task would be. Rohan explained that this week’s challenge was to take their storyboard and turn it into an actual script! Knowing that real actors would need their script to perform at the Mast, the children listened intently, focused and ready to begin.

Each group was assigned a specific scene from the play. Their first task was to list all the characters in their scene and figure out what each character wanted. This step helped them understand the motivations behind their roles and brought a deeper understanding of their story. Then, the children jumped into some fun role-playing to act out their scenes to help them think about the speech the characters might say. They worked together to write down their dialogues and stage directions, making sure to include all the important features of a script.

By the end of the session, the script had started to take shape and each group was able to read their part aloud to the class. It was wonderful to watch the individual scenes being joined together to form a whole play. Of course, there was plenty of Year 6 humour sprinkled in—burps, bananas, and all! We giggled as we listened. There’s just one more session left with Rohan. He told us we are on track and just need to do some editing and add some final touches. Our thoughts are on The Mast Theatre and the performers; we wonder what they will think of our script.

Week 4: The Final Touches!

This week has been all about fine-tuning and preparing for the big moment! Each day, when the children arrived at school, their typed-up scripts were waiting on their tables. Some pupils took the opportunity to make last-minute improvements even before today’s workshop.

When today finally arrived, there was a sense of excitement in the air as they headed into their final session with Rohan. With his guidance, the children truly felt like playwrights. Rohan encouraged each group to act out the script from their scene in front of the class. After each performance, they received feedback from their classmates, helping them focus on the details that could make each scene even better. They thought carefully about what was missing, what the audience would need to understand the story, and what could make the scenes funnier or more impactful.

Once all the scenes had been performed, the class spent time generating fresh ideas to enhance their play. Rohan inspired them to think about special effects, such as how they could use lighting or different voices to bring their scenes to life on stage. He explained that if the director could, they would include the students’ ideas, and if not, they would find another way to convey the same meaning. This gave the children confidence, knowing their vision would still be represented.

By the end of the lesson, all the scripts were handed over to Rohan. Hopefully, he will be able to make sense of the scribbled changes and include the improvements the children worked on. The class is extremely grateful to Rohan for guiding them through this incredible journey. None of the children had ever written a script before, but now they have one of their very own!

The next time they see Rohan will be at The Mast theatre, where they will watch their play performed on stage. They can’t wait to see how the actors bring it to life!

Week 5: The Grand Finale at The Mast Theatre

Today marked the culmination of our incredible scriptwriting journey, and what a day it was! A bus took us to The Mast Theatre, where excitement buzzed through the air as we joined other schools from our partnership. We eagerly lined up, waiting for the theatre doors to open, and speculated about the performances that lay ahead.

Once inside, we took our seats and scanned the stage, noticing blocks and maps cleverly arranged as props. Whose play would be performed first? The suspense didn’t last long, as the first play turned out to be one written by the actors themselves. From that moment on, the magic of theatre unfolded before our eyes.

We watched four brilliant plays: Pleasant Land, The Diamond in the Rough, Abandoned Hospital, and, of course, our very own The Liar and the Thief. Each one had the audience captivated, with moments of laughter, cheers, and applause. To our delight, the actors stayed true to our script—right down to the child’s hilariously loud burp near the monkey! Seeing our words come to life on stage was an unforgettable experience.

All four plays kept us on the edge of our seats, with moments of laughter, applause, and triumphant endings. Each story had its own magic, and we were captivated from start to finish. It was inspiring to see how our ideas—and those of our peers—had been brought to life so brilliantly.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped us along this journey—the staff, the actors, and of course, Rohan and the team from The Mayflower. This experience has been unforgettable, and we can’t help but wonder: could one of us be a famous playwright in the making?

What an adventure it has been!