August 31, 2001

Dear Teacher,

Greetings from Middlebury College. The Performing Arts Series and Theatre Program are pleased to announce that the London Theatre Exchange, under the direction of Chris Hayes, will be in residence this fall. As part of their outreach, we will be offering a three-day Teacher Workshop, at the college's beautiful Breadloaf campus, from Tuesday, October 9th through Thursday, October 11th.

The workshop is a professional development program for teachers, based on the internationally acclaimed British Conservertoire Method of actor training, as practiced in London at drama schools like The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, LAMDA, The Guildhall and The Royal Shakespeare Company.

London Theatre Exchange has adapted these 'tried and true' acting techniques to the specific needs of the classroom and created an intensive program for teachers who are looking for creative solutions to the challenge of everyday teaching. The workshop is designed to engage students in the learning process and help participants to:
· Focus energy and relieve stress
· Energize communication
· Use their voice more effectively
· Attract and maintain students' attention
· Maximize comfort level
· Motivate creative thinking and problem solving

The workshop program is almost entirely experiential. During the three days, participants will work with three experienced instructors on Performance & Presentation, Voice & Communication and Movement & Physicality with a concluding session to exchange ideas for classroom application. Although based around the work of Shakespeare, the workshop is suitable for teachers of all subjects and at all levels from elementary school to university.

Over the past three years London Theatre Exchange has presented this workshop with remarkable results in Europe, South America and in the U.S., at Nashville, New York, Atlanta and most recently Grand Rapids. Teacher feedback has been tremendous, including comments such as:

· "The workshop was the best I've attended in years, maybe ever. I enjoyed every moment, and have many ideas to adapt to my classroom. It was pure joy from start to finish. I am invigorated." Lynn Frisinger Stribley, Mona Shores High School.

· "Each session was useful in its own way. Probably most helpful was the voice work and learning different techniques of centering energy." Lynn Hilliard, Muskegon Heights.

The Middlebury workshop is entirely free to participating teachers, and will be held from 10:00am - 4:00pm each day at the Breadloaf campus in Ripton. This popular workshop is limited to 48 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
You may complete the workshop application online.

Background information on London Theatre Exchange, and biographies of the three instructors are available here.

Best wishes, and I hope to see you October 9th!

Sincerely,
Allison Coyne
Events Manager

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