Drama for all: New Crawley drama classes for young people (16+) with Special Needs

What is the event?

Ariel is pleased to announce the opening of a new weekly Crawley drama class for adults with special educational needs. Anyone aged 16 years plus who has a love of music, acting and dance are invited to come along for a free trial session or two at St Wilfrid’s Catholic School in Crawley. There is no audition process and everyone is welcome.

The new class, called ‘Othellos Adults’ runs every Monday at 7.15pm and provides the opportunity to learn all about performing. Students work collaboratively with Ariel’s experienced tutors on a wide range of acting, dance and singing pieces in a fun, relaxed and supportive environment. The drama work covers a variety of work from popular musical theatre numbers to current pop songs and students also have the chance to create their own original drama pieces, written in conjunction with their tutors.

The new classes build on the success of Ariel’s award-winning drama academy classes and the existing Othellos Junior classes, which have been running for many years.

Tutor Matt Godfrey said ‘we are delighted to launch this new class. Our Junior Othellos classes are very popular but we were finding that once our students became young adults there was nowhere for them to move onto, we have therefore started adult classes in Burgess Hill and now Crawley. The students love performing and there is a variety of opportunities to perform including our annual showcase.’

Ariel is encouraging potential Othello students to come along and meet the team and give drama a try. For many of our existing students their drama lessons are the highlight of their week. The Othellos classes can cater for young people and adults with a range of needs from physical problems, such as being wheelchair-bound, to conditions such as Downs Syndrome, Asperger’s and Autism.

In addition to the weekly classes, students who wish to gain acting qualifications can also undertake LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) training. Students can also audition for the mainstream academy productions and in the past have taken part in productions such as Les Misérables, Bugsy Malone and Parade.

Free trials are now available, to book a space call 01444 250407 or visit www.arielct.co.uk. Classes cost £7 per session.

When is the event?