In Neil Gaiman’s, “Make Good Art” speech, he talked about his goal of becoming an artist who could make a living from his art making great books and comics. He relived, that early on in his journey, making a living from his words seemed like … ‘A MOUNTAIN … A distant mountain.’
Read MoreMark Twain once said that “Comparison is the Death of Joy.” I couldn’t agree more. When our young people join a Goat Track ensemble we tell them that there is only one person we would like them to compare themselves to. That person, is who they were at last week’s session.
Read MoreIf you could give your child any gift, what would it be? Your immediate response might be to leave them with a house or savings that might ‘set them up for life’ but we all know deep down that these things aren’t going to actually ‘set them up’ for life. In fact, these things won’t necessarily set them up at all because they didn’t achieve it – you did.
Read More“Okay everyone get into a group.” For a child lacking in confidence, this innocent request can be like a harpoon of fear right into their little heart. Suddenly, their head can be filled with thoughts like, “I’m the new kid. No one will want to be with me. I’ll be the last chosen.” Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy… They might even drop their head, shuffle their feet, move to the side and accept their ‘fate’ complete with an “I told you so” style eye-roll and “here we go again” style head-shake.
Read MoreComing into Easter a lot of children (and… adults) will be looking forward to waking up with a basket full of chocolate eggs. Imagine for a second that you are such a child (or… adult) and you wake up to find such an Easter basket.
Read MoreAt Goat Track Theatre, we believe all children and young people are important. We also believe that they all have the chance to be great in whatever it is they put their mind to. We also know first hand the amazing part that drama and theatre can play in this growth. Our classes are not just for aspiring performers. They are invaluable for all children and young people who would like to experience personal growth.
Read MoreHere are four success stories of young people from Goat Track given to us from kids who credit Goat Track Theatre for their growth in confidence. Please take a moment to rate them in order of achievement. A) A shy, autistic kid performs for the first time in front of a group and enjoys it. B) A child who has never put himself forward for a leadership position decides to nominate for school captain and gets it. C) A girl who has been relentlessly bullied at school, takes her power back by confidently standing in her truth. She then proceeds to make new friends. D) A boy auditions for a major professional show and is given a lead part.
Read MoreMany years ago I remember directing a school show. I remember late in the rehearsal process, giving a speech that went something like this. “Okay, you guys. This is serious. This show isn’t where it should be and you are likely to go on stage unprepared and look stupid.” What I really was saying was, “Okay, you guys. This is serious. You’re going to go on stage and I’M going to look stupid.”
Read MoreThe object pictured above is: A) A Brick B) A Doorstop C) A Paperweight D) A Test Tube Stand. Now according to your traditional standardised multiple choice exam the answer that will get you ‘the chocolates’ is obviously A) A Brick. The way that you got to this answer is by using convergent thinking. You ruled out other options that did not fit precisely until you happened upon what you consider to be the one correct or best fit answer. The main skill tested was identification which happens to be a pretty low order thinking skill as it so happens.
Read MoreThe ‘magic’ of an arts education is that it helps us to see ourselves and the world in new ways. In theatre, that happens through a ‘hypothetical question’ that every actor answers, every time they go on stage. It’s called the ‘Magic If’ and it works something like this …“If I were this particular character, in this particular situation, in this particular place, at this particular time …. How would I act?”
Read More“They really know how to rattle my cage.” You hear that expression a bit when it comes to young people. So what does your average ‘cage rattling’ look like? Well, it can vary in pitch from an aggressive screaming episode down to more passive/aggressive reactions like back chat and eye rolling through to an even more passive (but just as irritating) sulking or ‘foot dragging.’
Read MoreLet’s start with a little multiple choice exam, shall we? Question 1: NAPLAN is a tool for: a) Finding out how smart your kid is. b) Improving Educational Outcomes. c) Selecting where you should send your kids to school. d) None of the above. The answer is D. BTW if you were wanting to answer the above question in any other way than the ways I have ascribed you are WRONG!!!
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