Cayman Drama Society

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

As part of our mission to educate, CDS Training also provides services in and out of the theatre that we believe enrich, and provide more, for our community. Some of these offerings are details below:

SCHOOL TOURS

All high schools in Grand Cayman are offered free tours of the theatre which include learning about stage lighting and set with our theatre manager, Paul de Freitas, and a tour of the building itself and the acting classes with Head of Training and Support, Kirsty O'Sullivan. These use the terminology found in Drama exams and allow students to bridge the gap with what they have learned about the theatre, and how to put those skills into practice. We have also hosted Primary School tours, and even a daycare once!


DRAMA WORKSHOPS FOR CHARITIES AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES

We provide complimentary workshops to services who may require drama for alternative purposes. This has so far included a Trauma Group, and the Family Resource Centre.

WORKSHOPS FOR ENGLISH AND DRAMA STUDIES IN SCHOOLS

During exam times we offer up to 2 classes per school of drama for English classes. This helps bring the texts the classes are studying to life and can aid in understanding of the literature, making exam time that bit easier. Some English exams now also include a performance element for which we can aid in direction and performance feedback. We most recently worked on Shakespeare's Macbeth, Arthur Miller's Grandpa and the Statue, and The Pen Of My Aunt by Josephine Tey with Grace Christian Academy students. This offer also extends to Drama students who need a mock invigilator for their performance exams. With drama departments in Cayman consisting of only one or two teachers, sometimes an outside eye can be useful for feedback.

OPEN DAY

In January 2018 we held our first "Open Day" where the public could come for free tours around the theatre, a shot on stage, and little ones could come upstairs to play with the "imagination station" and dress up in props. This has now become an annual event encouraging anyone and everyone to come see what the theatre is all about, and have a look around the Prospect Playhouse with no cost applied.

THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

One of our goals is to get young people involved in the theatre. We decided the best way to do this was to create performances that are made for under 8s. Our first ever "Fairytale Shorts" was performed in April 2019, and became part of a series of events. The first performance of Little Red Riding Hood was only 15 minutes long and devised by Kirsty and our adult acting class with the aim of engaging a younger audience, with two Saturday morning performances taking place. We had a great turnout, fantastic feedback, and lots of happy faces which was only ci$5 for adults, and free for children to attend. Since then Ms Kirsty has done the same with Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella.

SCHOLARSHIPS

We believe in arts for all, and offer training scholarships for our summer courses. This ensures that anyone can apply, and means that those who may not be able to financially support the course otherwise will still have the opportunity to attend and do one of our week long summer intensive courses culminating in a performance on the Playhouse Stage.

If any of these offerings would be useful to your school or organisation, please contact kirsty@cds.ky