Education Work
Through years of designing for stage, with a strong link to puppetry and delivering workshops at institutions such as the National Theatre, I have devised a practice that is age-appropriate and design focused but never letting playfulness be a sideline.
My workshops are a risk free space for participants to explore their creativity and learn without feeling like they are. Design workshops allow those with spatial or visual imaginations to thrive and discover skills and abilities that formal educational formats cant always accommodate for. The results can also unlock elements of text and dramatic expression and create key learning outcomes that compliment the Drama and English Literature curriculum.
As an educational practitioner I have worked with the National Theatre learning department, NT Connections, The North Wall, Marlowe Theatre, Goldsmiths, Central St Martins, Central School of Speech and Drama and Guildhall School of Music and Drama alongside many schools and colleges.
I have contributed an essay to the British Library as part of their new educational resource: Voices of British Theatre Design. Weaving together clips from audio interviews with renowned stage designers, I was asked to expand upon the collaborative nature of stage design. You can read the article and explore the fantastic resource here.
I am currently writing a book of teaching resources for set design, due to be published with Nick Hern later in the year.
“Emma, and all the staff that supported the workshop and tour were fantastic. The kids learnt so much and had real fun doing it, many of them have already started to express further interest in a possible back stage career!”
National Theatre - Costume & Set Design
Part of National Theatre Learning. Secondary School and Further Education Workshops
Independent Workshops
Workshops covering Design and Puppetry for secondary schools
National Theatre - Puppetry Resource
A resource on puppetry, including detailed examples of the form, exercises and workshop activities.