Students become Small Creatures to demonstrate change

18 May 2006

Wrexham Arts Festival is giving NEWI’s Theatre and Performance students a chance to shine next week when they take to the stage with a play they will not only perform but have created.

The 12 second year students have created the play entitled ‘Small Creatures’ as part of their degree. The play aimed at primary school children explains how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly and describes the characteristics of a number of other insects along the way who all help to explain how change happens to everything. The story is narrated by Sarah Morrison who plays Mother Nature.

They have been working on the play since January, researching their chosen creatures’ attributes and appearance, liaising with local primary school teachers, writing the script and education programme, designing their costumes and set and rehearsing. The students have also designed an educational workshop which is aimed at key stage 1 primary school children to accompany the play.

There will be two performances a day of the play at the Memorial Hall in Wrexham on Tuesday 23rd May and Wednesday 24th May. But the hard work doesn’t stop there for the students as it has been arranged for several local schools to visit NEWI in June to see the performance and take part in the additional education workshop.

Elen Mai Nefydd lecturer on NEWI’s Theatre and Performance degree and director of the show is thrilled with how the play has all come together. Speaking at the final dress rehearsal she said “it’s great to see the final show and for the students to be able to test the moral messages and appropriateness of the words used in the play on an audience to gain some feedback. The students have worked really hard to get this production together and their enthusiasm and support of each other has been amazing.”

Claire Davies, one of the students said “it’s been a great experience; we’ve all really enjoyed creating the play and making our own costumes. We’ve been continually testing the script out on kids we know to check that the words used are appropriate and understood. My six-year-old is learning about nature at school at the moment, so I know how helpful an educational experience this will be for the school children.”

“We visited Nant Mill to do some of our research for the play; that was really useful. We’ve worked really hard to get the characteristics and look of the creatures just right” added Laura Welsby who plays Delyth the dragonfly.

The play also has a number of moral messages that impact upon children as they’re growing up. “The play teaches kids that even when someone changes on the outside that they are still the same person underneath. It also has some environmental messages about respecting the countryside in addition to telling the story of metamorphosis” said Sally Lines who plays Lili the ladybird.