Performing arts students spread the word about sustainable living

Student actors at Walsall College took their stage production and advocacy skills to another level during a show about sustainability and the impact of climate change.

Keep it Green was an original play written and performed by Level 3 year 2 students.

It explored topics such as heat waves and excess waste with the aim of encouraging audiences to consider how they can live more sustainably in future.

Three performances took place consisting of a morning show specifically for Year 6 pupils from local schools, a matinee for college students and staff, followed by a final evening show for the general public, family and friends.

Donna Marusamy, Head of School at Butts Primary School said that their pupils ‘loved’ the show.

“It was fun and engaging, because it was presented as a game show. Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed participating on stage and competing as contestants,” she said.

She added: “The college students were friendly, welcoming and very professional. The diversity of the students performing inspired our pupils.”

Keep it Green cast member, Adam Gill particularly appreciated the opportunity to experience more creative control in the show.

“It was pretty exciting to work on something brand new and have more of a say on how we were going to get our message across about sustainability, ” he said.  “The game show and its format was all our own idea and we loved developing it.

“We’d never done anything like this on such a wide scale before and there were some doubts about whether we could manage it all.  Our rehearsals gave us confidence. Having done the shows, we now know that we are capable of giving more.

“The audience interaction was really good too.  The school pupils we performed in front of were just as energetic as our other audiences.  We all felt we had done something that will make a difference in how others reuse and recycle.”

Fellow performer, Kyle Stevens enjoyed the spontaneity that was part of the show and appreciated the ability of performance art to raise awareness of important issues.

“Putting on a show is a much more meaningful way to look at what it means to live sustainability compared to just talking about it in class,” he said.  “We also gained a lot more experience of how to take a script in a different direction based on the results of a spin the wheel exercise that was part of a game show.   We have become more experienced performers after this.”