H&H Series Thursday, February 16, 2017
family&education
■ Emily Ripley (pictured above) taking part in a Stage Story workshop.
Helping set stage for kids’ tall stories group of London tutors are making a dramatic impact by inspiring children to writing creatively. For kids facing highly competitive entrance exams, tall stories can be a tall order when it comes to creative writing assessments, but by employing actors to perform pupils’ stories, Ascent Tutors is inspiring them to tell better tales. Whether creative writing can be taught at all is a debate that has long divided the literary world. When it comes to children, however, teachers and tutors usually agree that young minds are naturally creative and imaginative and that most, given encouragement and feedback, can deliver writing that is as inventive as it is entertaining. Yet, according to one professional London tutor, many children find creative writing frustrating, baffling and even boring. Emily Ripley, founder of London-based Ascent Tutors, believes exams are not wholly to blame for smothering these inherent childhood talents, but finds that a significant number of her students are not as interested in composition as they are in other core subjects tested in entrance exams. She said: “I am often surprised by how frustrated and disinterested many apparently talented pupils are when facing the prospect of inventing a story and putting it into words. “They have plenty to say about the chosen topics but struggle to build a story around them. Story writing has not previously been fun for them. It’s just something they have to do for exams.” Although Emily acknowledges that ‘teaching to the test’ can be challenging, she believes that it is a lack of exposure to the application of story telling among students, and not exams, that is the problem. She said: “A surprising number of my
A
Inspiring children to write is the aim for Emily Ripley and her fellow London tutors
■ Stage Story workshops (above and right) were started in April 2016 as a means of giving children the chance to see their stories bought to life by professional actors.
pupils have limited experience of storytelling outside books. Even if they have been to the theatre, they rarely realise that the show that has made them laugh out loud or moved them to tears started out as words on a page.” Emily believes that one of the most effective ways of experiencing a story is on stage. “Actors, scenery, lighting and sound breathe immediate life into words and sentences, creating instant drama and delivering the storywriter an instant reward for their efforts,” she said. “I wanted to use the power of drama as an incentive for story writing and a theatre-inspired environment where children’s natural creativity could thrive.” In April of last year Ripley created Stage Story, a creative writing workshop which gives students the opportunity to witness their work being brought to life by professional actors. She said: “It isn’t just the children’s stories that are performed. The fundamental building blocks of writing are also taught through performance. The impact of punctuation, paragraphing and descriptive language are demonstrated by actors on an imagined stage, rather than by teachers on a page. “I have seen first hand the excitement and enthusiasm children display when their own stories are brought to life. Suddenly, the penny drops, they understand the purpose of writing and are inspired.” ■ For more information on Stage Story workshops visit stagestory.co.uk.
3