Drama is a holistic way of learning that represents body, mind and spirit approach to education that has always characterised St Peter’s, Cambridge. We have an exciting range of drama opportunities for students of all abilities, top quality facilities, and inspiring, talented teachers.
Our drama curriculum fosters creativity, skills and understanding across drama styles. It interweaves drama appreciation, writing, technical and stagecraft experience, and performance so that our students develop the full skill set needed to excel as actors. At St Peter’s our drama programme helps students to explore their own and other cultures. We study different styles of drama and oral presentation, and learn how to analyse and critique them. Alongside the curriculum students can have one-on-one tuition in speech and drama with specialist teachers. These lessons are an effective way to hone skills with specific kinds of texts and build confidence at performing. Drama is a great way for students to build friendships, to express their creativity and ideas, to grow in self-awareness, to develop teamwork skills, and experience shared ownership of a creative project.
Our drama students have opportunities to experience live productions, both at St Peter’s and at other venues. The Ugly Shakespeare Company is a touring group which performs at St Peter’s and does workshops with our curriculum drama students.
Our student actors have outstanding facilities for rehearsal and performance. Our drama studio, located in the Robb Sports Centre, is designed in black box theatre style, creating an open, flexible and intimate performance space where the audience is close to the actors. The studio has customisable stage lighting and portable staging which encourage our drama students to think creatively about how to use them to best effect. The studio also has a well-resourced costume and props space. The Thornton Auditorium provides a complementary space for much larger dramatic performances. Read more about the facilities on offer here:
At St Peter’s we have an exciting calendar of drama events throughout the year. The two major opportunities for our students to develop and showcase their dramatic abilities are our annual musical production and the biennial Prep School production. The annual Drama Cup Day is a long-standing tradition where itinerant speech and drama students can showcase their skills and talents. Our student actors can perform as individuals or groups for a variety of prizes. Drama Cup Day is a celebration of our student’s technical abilities and provides a goal for their practice and learning. Our annual Gala Showcase Concert is an event that celebrates our exceptional performers in drama, music, and dance in a range of solo, ensemble and large-group items. Shakespeare in the Springtime is a recent addition to our drama calendar and is performed in the natural theatre space in our kahikatea stand. Another opportunity for our drama students is Stars Concert, our annual talent concert.
