AKA Mombasa students celebrate World Theatre Day

On 29 March, for the first time ever, the Academy celebrated World Theatre Day. This international celebration draws theatre and the power of this art form into the spotlight, so that all can enjoy what it has to offer. Ms Pid’or and a group of talented students hosted a day of performance and theatrical events to give us our own unique celebration of theatre. Read more from Ms Pid'or below.

For me, theatre is a vehicle through which we are able to express ourselves and make valuable impact on the world around us; that is why I teach this subject. I was excited and charged to organize the school’s first celebration of theatre, because there is so much to celebrate. Our students are being introduced to the broad cannon of theatre works, techniques and skills in classes and co-curricular activities. We are seeing students develop their creative thinking, performance skills, critical thinking, collaboration and awareness of issues and cultural movements in society. Theatre is a mirror to the world and ourselves and so it holds phenomenal educational and social value. During world Theatre Day this year I saw the best of our students. They took charge of the sections they were due to contribute, they rehearsed in their own time, researched and selected interesting pieces for presentation, took leadership roles in planning the events, managing the audience, and running the technical elements of the screenings. I was in awe as I watched them demonstrate how much Theatre matters to them. Our small team of contributors which included students from DP1, Grade 10, and 8 were dynamic in their approach to helping curate the day. A lot was achieved in a small space of time, and I am proud to have witnessed their bravery in presenting and guiding a wide range of audiences through their theatrical works. This year we had a student-lead assembly, a grade 10 immersive theatre performance at break, monologue and duologue performances at lunch and an evening of theatre screenings. We engaged an audience of students and staff from right across the school. It was brilliant to see so many people turning up and enjoying theatre. I hope that the tasters we gave have given insight into what is possible in theatre and I hope that our students are ready and geared up for the forthcoming auditions in June, for our first ever whole school musical. World Theatre Day is one day in the year but we want Mombasa and the world to know that we have wonderful theatre talent at our school, that we are nurturing and showcasing every day. We can’t wait to share more with you. See you at our next show!