CREATIVE CAREERS Getting started in museums and galleries Document developed by Sunderland Comedians Evaluation Report Schools Workshop Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens Location of project On-site Outreach Brief description of activity Schools workshops The Light and Dark Faces of Comedy Art and music workshops Artist Mel Brimfield and comedian/poet John Hegley worked with schools to explore the light and dark sides of comedian s personalities through art and music. John Hegley used the song Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson to engage the pupils in the theme of light and dark sides of comedy. Pupils then took part in a guided tour of the exhibition with learning staff, exploring what the portraits revealed about the character of the comedians shown, then used props and costumes in the Comedy Club to create their own comic characters. Mel led the group through a series of short activities including making comedy books illustrated with funny real-life stories, and drawing comedy characters and giving them names and special talents on stage. The majority of schools taking part in the workshops were from special needs schools, with learning difficulties or behavioural needs. Anyone can be a Comedian Performance workshops Comedian and poet Kate Fox and radio DJ and comedian Anthony Simpson led a week of comedy performance workshops for schools. Pupils took part in guided tours of the exhibition to look at props and costume as signifiers of comedy and different comedy styles in the exhibition, such as slapstick or absurd humour. They also discussed gender roles in comedy and how female humour may differ from male humour, making it harder for female comedians to break into a male dominated world. The pupils then played comedy games to develop ideas about what is funny and what made them laugh. In teams the pupils created their own comedy sketches about everyday situations, and performed them in front of their peers, then added props to see if this added or took away from the comedy performances. Project aims (please specify utilising the Generic Learning Outcome framework): Knowledge and Understanding.. Learning new facts and information about Comedians Coming to a deeper understanding about comedy and its important role in life Knowing what makes people laugh and how this can be achieved Enjoyment, inspiration and creativity.. Having fun Being surprised Using innovative thoughts and actions Experimenting with new ideas Being creative
Being inspired Activity, behaviour and progression Telling family and friends about the exhibition and events Intention to come back to future events Type of participants (please indicate numbers in each category): Primary school Key Stage 2-167 Secondary school.. Key Stage 3 73 Key Stage 4 31 (Please state Key stage) Further Education.. Key Stage 5-11 Teachers.. - 37 Adult (under 60-16 Adult (60 plus) Family Community (Please specify type of group) Total number of participants 335.. Total number of groups 19.. Was this group a new audience? (if more than one apply please specify % of group in each category): New visitor 20% Annual visitor 20% Frequent visitor 60% What was the motivation for your institution to work with this particular group? One of the aims of People, Places and Portraits is to engage pupils from 14 19 age group, and the workshops were targeted at this age group. The museum would like to increase participation from this age group as currently the majority of school visits are from Primary Schools. What worked well during the activity and what would you do differently next time? In both sessions the use of props and costume in the Comedy Club area in the exhibition and in the sessions was very engaging for pupils. The opportunity to role-play comedy scenes was also a big success. The use of music for the SEN groups was a helpful tool. Where pupils were less physically able to engage with the workshop, the songs got across a lot of the messages. The timing of the workshops made it hard for schools to book visits, as many of the secondary schools were in exams. The special schools and primary schools were able to take advantage of having more flexible timetables. Were there any particular barriers in working with this group and if so, how were they overcome through the project? Please give examples where possible. Engaging secondary schools with the workshops was difficult, as schools were during their main exam period when the workshops were planned. This was an oversight as the museum works with these groups less frequently and hadn t anticipated the timing would cause problems. This was overcome by the uptake by SEN schools, who had more flexibility in their timetables and minibuses to allow easier travel to the venue.
Summary of GLO results (did the programme fulfil its aims? Please include any comments from participants, images (please ensure they are cleared for reproduction) examples of work to provide evidence for the individual GLOs) The workshops worked well as they combined the factual side of the Comedians exhibition through discussion of comedy history, styles and signifiers in the guided tours, and the fun and creative side of comedy through art activities or pupils taking on comedy roles and delivering their own performance. The teacher comments showed that the sessions fitted with the curriculum topic of portraits, while the pupils enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the gallery and workshop and discovered that art doesn t have to be serious. In the performance workshops pupils discovered new facts about comedians such as That Sid from the Carry On films died at the Empire and about different types of comedy Pupils enjoyed acting, dressing up and drama in the workshop, while the teachers comments showed evidence of activity and progression as pupils had identified they d like to start every Monday off with comedy: a change for I hate Mondays. The Light and Dark Faces of Comedy Art and music workshops Dressing up using comedy props Pupils created comedy characters with special skills
Pupils sketching comedians in the gallery Knowledge and Understanding Did the visit increase pupils knowledge and understanding of the topic? Yes definitely. A good introduction to the exhibition to start with gave good insight. Yes, fun, engaging activities Yes a good understanding of the comedy exhibition by the end of the session All students enjoyed the workshop In which ways do you feel that the visit encouraged or increased skills development? Develop portraits using enjoyable aided programmes Encouraged pupils to draw from observation Pupils encouraged to think about feelings, and expressions and talk to the group about how they felt. It got the pupils to think more about what is behind a portrait Do you feel that the visit might encourage your pupils to want to find out more? Yes I think they will want to research their own favourite comedian and draw them Yes, pupils would probably feel comfortable returning on their own I feel that the exhibition may encourage pupils to come back & visit the Winter Gardens Yes Was there a change in pupils attitudes and values evident during the visit? Not really Pupils responded well to the exhibition Yes Was there evidence of enjoyment, inspiration and creativity sparked by the visit? Yes, lots of laughter, shared thoughts and ideas for projects in school The pupils seemed to enjoy the afternoon and were quite relaxed All 3 were evident enough looking at the exhibition and taking part in the workshop
Do you anticipate following up the visit when back in the classroom? Yes, allowing pupils to finish portraits and gather images of their favourite comedians Yes, definitely pupils will explore their favourite comedian and draw/paint a portrait from that Yes, we plan to use the cameras and pupils will photograph each other pulling faces self portrait Did the visit fit in with your teaching plan? Yes it fits in with Year 10/11 portrait project The exhibition fits into the scheme of work on portraits Yes, accessible time and venue staff were helpful during the visit How did you, as a teacher benefit from the visit? Working alongside museum staff, teaching outside the classroom I benefited from the enthusiasm of the pupils and working outside of the classroom environment Working with pupils outside the classroom with the staff from the Winter Gardens. Joining in with the activities with our pupils. Could the visit have been improved? More emphasis on drawing expressive portraits maybe large scale very sketchy Big drawings with pupils working on the floor If you could choose just one outcome of the visit, what would it be? The drawing exercise Pupils gaining knowledge of photography and portraits A good drawing Pupils What did you enjoy most? Sharing our funniest moments Creating the Comedians Funny stories Looking at all the different photos Drawing different parts of your own comedian When we showed the picture that everyone drew together (folding pictures) Drawing illustrations about funny things that have happened The exhibition The gallery What new things did you learn today? New comedians New comedians and their lifestyle To think in a more comic way That art doesn t always have to be serious You can be fun and creative That comedians are also different off stage There are different sides to comedians Art about comedy About artists That not every drawing or painting has to be perfect
What will you remember most about today s visit? The picture of Charlie Chaplin Humour The picture of Paul Merton with a dolphin That there are lots of different ways to draw portraits for example being serious or funny Comedians aren t just happy, they have two different sides like everyone else Embarrassing moments Laughing a lot at embarrassing moments The overall experience Progression: Has the visit made you want to learn more? Yes about different comic acts All pupils said yes in this class Anyone can be a Comedian Performance workshops Pupils played comedy games to warm up Pupils act out a scene taking a shirt back to a shop Pupils adding props to enhance their performance Teacher evaluation
Did the visit increase pupils knowledge and understanding of the topic? Yes In which ways do you feel that the visit encouraged or increased skills development? Improved speaking and listening skills Do you feel that the visit might encourage your pupils to want to find out more? All pupils loved the session they would like Kate fox and Simma to come into school and do workshops Was there a change in pupils attitudes and values evident during the visit? They said they d like to start every Monday off with comedy: a change for I hate Mondays Was there evidence of enjoyment, inspiration and creativity sparked by the visit? Great enjoyment Do you anticipate following up the visit when back in the classroom? Yes, writing comedy scripts Did the visit fit in with your teaching plan? Cedars mag some pupils are going to include an article on comedy How did you, as a teacher benefit from the visit? Group ideas/games Could the visit have been improved? No- excellent visit If you could choose just one outcome of the visit, what would it be? To have Kate Fox as poet/comedy in residence School workshops Autumn 09 Pupils What did you enjoy most? Doing the acting Doing the plays Acting/dressing up The props Acting infront of everyone with the props The group work The drama Creating comedy The comedy at the end Picture gallery The last part acting out What did you learn today? How to be a stand-up comedian What s funny How comedians got their jobs
To have fun with others you wouldn t usually How to make people laugh New ways to do comedy You can be funny in any way Every one can be a comedian Slapstick comedy How many comedy performers there are Different types of comedy Keep a straight face Circle time making sentences around the group Old and new comedians That Sid from the Carry On films died at the Empire Anything can be funny That in the comedy business its not nice What will you remember most? How to do stand up Acting in the costumes It was fun The people and dressing up The comedy posters and dress up Different comedians Group drama Creating comedy/drama The facts about comedians The comedy pics Picture gallery How funny my friends looked in the props and the acting