Accompanying Resources

• Hot-seating Sessions
• Teachers’ Resource Packs
• Supporting Workshops

At Chain Reaction, we create and deliver outstanding issue-based theatre performances that entertain, educate and inspire our audiences. But our ethos is about more than simply coming in, doing a show and leaving as quickly as we arrived…

We believe in extending the amazing learning potential of our shows by creating cohesive issue-based projects. Whilst each project centres on an original theatre performance, it also offers a range of supporting resources that provide interactive ways to introduce the concepts in the show, reinforce our important messages, and inspire further thought and discussion.

Tell me and I forget;
Show me and I remember;
Involve me and I understand.

FREE ACCOMPANYING RESOURCES

With many of our educational theatre shows, we offer free supporting resources as part of the package. These resources are usually in the form of Teachers’ Resource Packs and hot-seating sessions.

Hot-seating Sessions

Our interactive hot-seating sessions run for around 10 minutes, and are delivered immediately after the show.

In these sessions, the audiences are encouraged to ask our actresses questions relating to the show they have just seen. Our highly trained team then respond to these questions as their character from the show, allowing the audience to interact directly with the characters.

This format has proved hugely successful and very popular with adults and children alike. The fun and drama of these Q&A sessions means young people are more comfortable in asking questions and voicing their own opinions, fears, worries and queries, in an open and non-judgemental environment. As such, many of the questions that our young audiences pose to the characters are personal and very thoughtful i.e. “How did you feel when…?”, “What were you thinking when…?”, “Why did you…?”.

These hot-seating sessions are the perfect conclusion to our shows, especially those around more ‘difficult’ or complex subject matters, giving young people an opportunity to reflect on, question, explore and discuss the important messages of the performance.

Teachers’ Resource Packs

The majority of our educational performances are supported by a specially devised Teachers’ Resource Pack that provides ideas for fun and interesting activities that can be undertaken in class before and after Chain Reaction’s visit to maximise this fantastic learning experience.

We send these packs out by both email and post, once a booking has been confirmed – sending them in both formats allows teaching staff the freedom to easily share the pack with their colleagues. We recommend that teachers use the pack to deliver pre-show lessons in the two weeks prior to Chain Reaction’s visit, to introduce ideas to their pupils and encourage them to start thinking about the issues. Ideally, each show should then be followed up within two weeks of the performance using the post-show lessons to reinforce our important messages, and help young people consider and digest what they have learned.

Our original resource packs are carefully devised and designed to be really usable. Each pack includes:

• An introduction to the issues, the show and the storyline
• Plans and resource materials for interactive pre-show lessons/activities, introducing the concepts and issues which will be raised in the show*
• Plans and resource materials for interactive post-show lessons/activities to further explore the issues and reinforce the messages of the show*
• A detailed breakdown of the educational targets that each activity reaches (each activity is devised to cover specific elements of a range of curriculums and guidelines i.e. the SEAL outcomes, PSHEE curriculum, Every Child Matters outcomes etc)
• A list signposting further resources and services which can offer more help, advice, information or guidance on the issues raised

* The activities are all created to fit into class time and are usually split into 15 minute segments, to allow easy delivery. They approach the subjects from a range of different perspectives and use a range of methods including class discussion, group discussion, individual work, creative writing, art, quizzes, role-play and mind-mapping, to allow them to be enjoyed by, and be impactful to, children with differing learning styles.

OPTIONAL FURTHER RESOURCES

To get the utmost out of a learning experience, we believe that young people should have the opportunity to really get involved. Whilst our hot-seating sessions and Teachers’ Resource Packs provide an excellent opportunity for young people to actively explore the issues, we are also proud to offer further resources to expand on the learning potential of our projects.

Supporting Workshops

Most of our educational shows can be accompanied by an optional 1 hour workshop that caters for up to 60 young people. These workshops take place after a Chain Reaction educational performance and expand on the ideas and issues raised in the show. Using drama, role-play and games, these fun interactive sessions encourage young people to think for themselves and to form their own opinions about the topic in question.
There is a further cost for delivering these brilliant supporting workshops, but we know, from the fabulous feedback we receive from both teachers and pupils, that they are worth every penny!

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