MS Drama Students Connect, Perform, and Learn in Kenya

Story by Catherine Parent, ICS Teacher

At the end of February, 23 ICS students traveled to Nairobi to participate in the International School Theatre Association’s (or ISTA) Middle School Theatre Festival hosted by ISK.

The festival theme was “No Time to Waste,” and students from schools across East Africa learned about local recycling efforts and how to tell a story related to this global issue.

They learned about and had a video call with Flip Floppy, an organization creating boats out of recycled plastic and flip flops. The students also engaged in Kenyan drum-dancing, had workshops on the power of using one’s passions to create service initiatives, as well as a workshop on recycling plastic to create their own keychains. At the end of the day, they began to look at commonalities of all these activities and use drama techniques to explore the themes they wished to convey to an audience using creative interpretations. 

Students were assigned to a mix-school ensemble, led by professional artists, and worked collaboratively to create a final performance based on the festival’s theme. The final performance was thought-provoking, inventive, and dynamic. The students involved thoroughly enjoyed the experience, moments of significance included:

“It pushed me to be more confident when working with new people. I also had the chance to use my own ideas in a performance which made me feel part of the whole experience.” - Angelina 

“I loved meeting new people from different parts of East Africa. I learnt much more about looking after our environment, particularly about plastic pollution.” - Flora

“It was great to spend some time with my friends in Nairobi Malls! I enjoyed putting in the work throughout the days and it coming together in a great final performance.” - Leo

‘Interacting with different people from different schools was a highlight for me. I was able to form bonds through working together on creating a drama performance.' - Sulaf

“The welcome from ISK was amazing, and I enjoyed spending time with my friends in Nairobi.” - Anna

“It was really great to work with lots of different drama teachers and learn new ways to use drama to create a performance. I enjoyed being in Kenya and the social activities were really fun.” - Ethan