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DTS offers new round of drama classes

The COVID pandemic isn’t stopping the Driftwood Theatre School (DTS) from putting the fun back into the fundamentals of drama.
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Driftwood Theatre School students ham it up in the spring 2019 production of Mother Goose is Eaten By Werewolves.

The COVID pandemic isn’t stopping the Driftwood Theatre School (DTS) from putting the fun back into the fundamentals of drama. Hoping to keep students connected and assist parents with the COVID-19 shut-in blues, the school continues to offer an eclectic mix of online drama classes for youth and adults, resuming Jan. 17.

In addition to last year’s popular classes for kids and adults – Improv: Theatre in the Moment with Sandi McGinnis, The Actor’s Toolkit with Varya Rubin, and Intermediate Drama Kids Online with Gabriel Ryan – DTS is rolling out a new Accent on Accents class with Ingrid Bilton, the director renowned for her wildly entertaining youth theatrical productions.

The school made the shift to online instruction last fall, offering four classes, a play reading series and an online pyjama viewing party of a previous DTS performance – Hansel & Gretel. Courses were offered free of charge, thanks to funding from Driftwood Players Provincial Gaming Grant. While temporarily moving online for drama classes didn’t feel ideal and was a real learning experience, the school didn’t want to leave out kids that may have immuno-compromised systems or family members and they wanted to connect as many kids to each other as wanted to be there.

“We were thrilled to see how well dramatic play can be adapted to any format and how well the students responded to it,” noted DTS administrator Shannon Rody. “This was an ideal creative outlet in stressful times and a much-savoured chance to play with friends.”

While the next round of DTS classes require tuition fees to keep the school afloat, rates are still much reduced in an effort to minimize the burden on families while maximizing the fun. Classes will run for six weeks on Zoom (except the Accent on Accents class, which will run for seven weeks), with more classes offered after spring break. DTS hopes to return to in-person instruction once provincial health restrictions are lifted.

For more information on DTS and classes, visit http:// www.driftwoodplayers.ca/ dts.htm

– Submitted