New ways of understanding ourselves
Learning, leading to understanding, is the most important phase of our development process to date.
Our take on learning is not, as you might imagine, about the act of educating people through imparting knowledge and training.
The Latin word 'educere' means 'to lead out', 'to draw out'', 'to bring from'.
Each of us has our own innate understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
However, this understanding needs to be properly cared for, given scope to develop.
It needs first to be located, accessed, and then developed.
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In AlternativeTheatre, we have one of the most powerful forms of Learning.
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In AlternativeShakespeare, we have an incredibly important area of Understanding.
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In AlternativeTomorrows, we have a new way of approaching the future.
AlternativeLearning helps us then to better understand ourselves and the world around us;
It primarily does this through the power and universality of creating and telling stories.
"The overall aim of this work is to ask one question; what can we understand, and learn from, AlternativeLearning that will help us better live our own lives? A big question."
AlternativeLearning
Our AlternativeLearning Experience is about locating, accessing and then developing the multi-pronged knowledge within us:
Understanding traditional education methods and approaches, and then accepting, adapting
or rejecting them to meet our own learning aspirations:
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Placing the focus and emphasis on everyone self-learning, rather than simply being educated
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Accepting that there are many ways of self-learning - sometimes it can best be done by the person themselves, other times an assisted approach works better
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Working towards our goal which is to help each one of us better understand, and then develop, both ourselves and the world around us
What is AlternativeLearning?
In keeping with our alternative approach to everything we do, our approach to AlternativeLearning is based around;
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Asking questions, even when there are no apparent answers
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Re-developing ourselves, by ourselves, through ourselves
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Re-energising existing plays/books/poems/lyrics
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Scraping off the outer crust of our literary heritage
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Focusing on ourselves and the world around us
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Not unreservedly accepting what we are told
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Working together in a caring, sharing way
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Using workshops and Theatre techniques
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Generating exciting and challenging outputs
AlternativeLearning Workshops
Student Internships & Work Experience
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Over the last few years, we've been working with students from Keele University, Staffordshire University, Workers Educational Association and South Staffordshire College.
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The projects are mostly online Workshops, through Zoom, and to date have covered such areas as creating new works from Shakespeare plays, understanding the Alternative approach, making video trailers, and filming live Theatre performances.
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Working as a joint collaboration with the students has been a revealing and exciting process for both sides, so much so we intend to continue offering these placements every year going forward.
Please contact us for more details
Theatre & Shakespeare Workshops
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We've been running Theatre & Shakespeare Workshops from our first days in 2002, working with Actors & Directors from the Midland Actors Centre and Birmingham School of Speech & Drama.
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For 5 years we held weekly Shakespeare play-reading workshops at the Birmingham & Midland Institute.
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The projects were initially mostly in person, but since COVID-19, they have become online Zoom Workshops.
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The workshops have covered such areas as creating new works from Shakespeare's plays, understanding the Alternative approach, reading/discussing Play Scripts, devising new plays with Community & Professional Actors, and exploring new and old Theatre-making techniques.
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The Workshops run throughout the year and are open to everyone who has a keen desire to look at things freshly and welcomes working collaboratively.
Please contact us for more details.
Click here to find current courses and workshops.