Childline & Trestle Theatre The Trestle Theatre Company has been providing innovative and inspirational physical theatre and participation projects since 1981 and is today one of the leading providers of drama school workshops and teacher training in the United Kingdom. Trestle’s mission is to engage children, young people, and adults in creative activity, with the aim of enhancing the cultural quality of their experiences and equipping participants with the appropriate tools to talk about their emotions in a positive way. Back in 2013, Trestle visited Gibraltar to deliver a series of workshops at both local comprehensive schools and has, this year, been on the Rock again as part of a programme organised by Childline Gibraltar. The local Childline team will be taking forward the skills they have gained through these workshops into their GSLA summer programme, the details of which will be announced shortly.
CHILDLINE PARTNERS UP WITH TRESTLE
OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP
RESPONSE FROM STUDENTS
This March, Childline Gibraltar partnered up with the Trestle Theatre Company to provide a series of innovative storytelling and theatre workshops at Bayside and Westside comprehensive schools. The project, funded by the Kusuma Trust, was aimed at encouraging young students, over the age of 12, to explore difficult topics, such as the issues of family breakdown and emotional abuse, through the medium of drama.
There were two elements to the workshops provided by Trestle at local schools: the first was aimed at helping young people deal with the key issues identified by Childline Gibraltar’s Helpline Services by encouraging them to express their creative side through storytelling and theatre play, and the second was geared towards aiding practitioners, such as youth workers and teachers, to explore innovative and productive ways in which professionals can help children and young people deal with sensitive issues.
Students offered overwhelmingly positive feedback on the workshops, with many expressing their hope to see Trestle back again in the near future, and some even offering suggestions for topics of discussion which they felt were relevant to their age group and to young people in Gibraltar more generally:
The workshops received a fantastic response, with some 400 pupils from year groups 9 to 13 participating, many of whom praised how the sessions had allowed them to open up and talk about pastoral issues in a fun and relaxed context.
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‘This workshop was a really valuable experience for all involved, both from a Drama point of view and from an emotional and psychological angle.’ To find out more about Trestle’s work visit: www.trestle.org.uk
Trestle uses masked and physical theatre as part of their arts education programme to help young people feel comfortable about tapping into and expressing emotions which may be harder to discuss out in the open.
26 aug. Gibraltar Alzheimer’s & Dementia Society (GADS) Flag Day
sept. World Alzheimer’s Month
To speak to Childline Gibraltar call freephone: 8008 or visit their website at: www.childline.gi
17
sept.
GADS Awareness Day
22 sept.
Bosom Buddies Variety & Fashion Show