A Walk in the Woods: teenage suicide/drama

led by Andy Kempe

Saturday 28 November 2009 10am-3.30pm
Venue: Oval House Theatre, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW

Suicide among young people has increased three-fold since 1970. It is now the 4th biggest killer of 10 – 14 year olds and the 3rd biggest killer of 15 – 24 year olds in the ‘developed world’. In the USA there are around 80 suicides each day and approximately 5,000 of these are in the 15 – 24 year old group each year. Suicides outnumber homicides in the USA by a ratio of 3:2. Twice as many American young people die through suicide as they do through HIV/AIDS.

This workshop explores the issue of teenage suicide. Its purpose is not to preach or begin to pretend that there is a simple solution to this growing problem. Rather, it looks at how people try to cope when they meet such an issue head on. The workshop has the potential to be disturbing and emotionally taxing but also makes deliberate use of humour in order to explore how black comedy may be, in itself, a coping strategy. However, rather than being flippant or disrespectful to the victims or survivors of teenage suicide, the workshop endeavours to gain more understanding of how personal tragedy can be represented in ways that serve different purposes.

This workshop is suitable for serving and trainee teachers who are looking to extend their students’ ability to explore serious content and develop their knowledge and understanding of dramatic skills such as physical theatre, characterisation and script writing. Recent comments from year 10 students include:

The workshop gave me insights into an area of life that normally would be left alone and not touched. Thank you very much for touching on it!

Today was a lot of fun even though it was about a serious issue. It was a real eye-opening experience that made us think.

Today has made us, as 15 year olds ourselves, aware of what really happens in some people’s lives and the way they can be ruined. It was great! Come back soon!

I think I have learnt more about what teenagers can think about and progressed in my own drama and how I act. I liked the way Andy did the activities but put a piece of the story in between each activity.

My favourite part of the workshop was at the beginning as it showed us how we could put things into humour though in a way that made us think about it more.

I feel like I’ve been through a real experience! I was shocked at how attached I got to the story and the emotions I felt when playing the different characters. I thought the beginning was good as it used humour to show a really things about a serious issue. It was all really enjoyable.

It was a really good experience. An eye- opener. Creepy, yet I enjoyed it!

It was awesome!

Andy Kempe is Senior Lecturer in Drama Education at the University of Reading where he leads the PGCE Secondary Drama course. He has worked as an adviser to the government on matters concerning drama in the curriculum, teacher training and the further professional development of drama teachers. He has been involved in the development of GCSE and A Level examination specifications in the subject in England and Wales and is Advisor for Drama for the Island States of Guernsey. Andy has written numerous articles and chapters covering a wide spectrum of issues in drama and teacher training and his books are standard texts for a great many schools and training programmes. Recent research publications include papers on drama teachers’ perceptions of subject specific knowledge, the assessment of drama at KS 3, and drama and critical thinking. His books include GCSE Drama Bitesize Revision Guide (2nd Edition) for the BBC, Speaking, Listening and Drama, Progression in Secondary Drama with Marigold Ashwell and Learning to Teach Drama 11 – 18 (2nd Edition) with Helen Nicholson.

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