Dramart Productions Ltd :: Professional Performing Arts Courses for Schools and Colleges

Dramart Productions Ltd - Working in partnership with YHA:

About Dramart Productions Ltd

DramArt Productions Ltd. is an established, UK based, independent travel company, with long-standing experience in developing and marketing educational packages. Over the years we have extended our programme of travel to become Britain's only specialist supplier of professional drama/dance/music/art/photography tours and courses to schools and colleges. Our aim is to offer students a programme of visits and professional tuition which combines "Fun with Learning" and which is designed to enhance and complement the work of drama/art/photography departments within schools. Each tour or course is individually structured in discussion with our arts specialists and the overall programme is tailor-made to each group's specific requirements. All our course tutors are professional actors, directors, choreographers, artists, technicians and designers who are currently active in TV and Theatre and are also experienced in working with young people. We rigorously monitor the programmes which we run and are constantly adapting the tour content to meet the changing needs of teachers and students.

TOUR OPTIONS Once you have studied our options please contact our office to discuss your required itinerary, workshop/course content and other options and visits available. Once you are able to confirm dates and group numbers with us we will take out a provisional hold on accommodation, tickets etc whilst you launch the trip.

LAUNCHING THE TRIP What you need to do:-

Obtain permission for the visit from your School Authorities
Put up posters to advertise the trip to students
Finalise dates and itinerary
Phone us to check availability of accommodation and theatre tickets
Circulate an information letter to parents
Organise a parents' or pupils' presentation evening

YOUR FIRST TOUR If this is the first time you have organised a tour with us, we suggest that you consult by phone or email with one of our tutors who will be happy to talk to you about the various options available, and what would best suit your particular group.

You will probably find that there are other school visits against which you have to compete (e.g. skiing, summer sports) and which are very appealing to students, though they may not have the educational value of the programmes we run. You will need to consider any other school visits which may have been planned when you are choosing the dates for your trip. We advise that the further ahead you can make your booking the better response you will have from students and the easier it will be to organise your visit.

PARENTS' PRESENTATION In our experience, the best way to ensure the interest of the students in a drama/arts trip is for you to hold a Parents' Presentation hosted by yourself in school. This gives the students a clear illustration of the course structure and content, as well as providing reassurance to parents with regard to the educational worth and the safety of our tours. A Presentation should last about one to one and a half hours including an informal introduction, a description of the itinerary for your proposed visit and a general question and answer session. We will provide a 'PowerPoint Presentation' disk for which you will require a laptop and projector. We will also supply a video/dvd or photos of an actual course in progress to assist your presentation. It is quite nice if refreshments are available at the end as many parents enjoy chatting informally about individual children's requirements. PLEASE REQUEST YOUR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS FROM OUR OFFICE

WORRIED ABOUT LOW NUMBERS? If you feel the response is not going to be sufficient for the minimum numbers why not open the trip to other years and other subjects, for instance Drama and English or Art? You can of course, aim for a lower number, but the price per person will be higher. Ask us for detailed quotes.

REBOOKING? If you have already travelled with us then you will know that it is always easier to launch the next trip immediately on return from the current one, while it is still fresh in the students' minds. We would still suggest that you host a Presentation Evening, however, as there will be new parents to reassure and new destinations and courses to talk about.

OVERSEAS DRAMA COURSES Throughout the school year we run courses for drama, dance, music, art and photography students to UK, Spain, Greece, Italy, USA, South Africa and from 2007 Bangkok. These can be for single groups, or students from several schools may be included on one tour and work together on drama and/or art projects. These very popular courses include tuition on general theatrical skills, or specific text work determined in consultation with the group leaders.

THE COURSE Our courses can be designed to fit with your group either travelling as a single group (minimum 35 paying passengers) or travelling with other school groups on a combined course. We do have a standard course itinerary but are quite willing to cater for party leaders' specific needs should this be required. Many of our party leaders contact colleagues who also teach drama and organise joint trips.

TUITION All our course tutors are professional actors, directors, artists, choreographers, musicians, photographers and theatre practitioners who must be actively working within their profession. Many of our pool of tutors have had previous working experience, not only on our courses both in the UK and overseas, but also with community and young people's groups. We feel that this provides the students with an opportunity to work in a style which is not necessarily always available to them within a school environment.

ACCOMMODATION Our hotel accommodation for the courses to Spain is provided on a full board basis, with courses to Greece, Italy, Thailand and South Africa being on a half board basis. UK and London tours are provided on a half board basis. Stratford-upon-Avon is full board.

PASSPORTS It is in the best interests of all party members, including accompanying teachers to travel with their own individual FULL PASSPORTS. You must confirm with the relevant Embassy or High Commission of the country of your destination as to any specific visa requirements for your party members.

HEALTH If applicable in your country of residence, party members travelling to a country within the EEC should carry with them an EHIC card. These can be obtained prior to departure. Presentation of this card if and when seeking medical assistance will enable initial treatment to be provided free of charge by a local doctor or hospital.

INSURANCE Your party members are NOT COVERED by holiday insurance. Each party member should be adequately insured for health, baggage, cancellation and any other relevant occurrence. You should avail yourself of all information on health care and repatriation in relation to your country of residence and the country to which you are visiting.

DRAMART PRODUCTIONS LTD
'Working with the Professionals'