Vamos Theatre, the full mask theatre company based in Worcester, is delighted to have been awarded the Drama & Theatre Education Awards Editor’s Award for its work in creating low cost, accessible drama resources.
The award focuses on Vamos Theatre’s work over the last year in widening access to theatre, including two specific learning resources – online resource area mask.ED, and The Mask Library.
mask.ED is an online learning area, featuring modules themed around mask, physical and non-verbal theatre, as well as theatre creation and analysis and evaluation skills. Teaching is practical and film-based, supported by comprehensive notes and lesson support. Prices are kept low, and there are also periods of free access for teachers – the most recent being January to March 2023.
Concerned about the diminishing budgets available to drama teachers, Vamos Theatre also created The Mask Library for state schools and colleges. The Mask Library consists of 32 full face character masks available to loan in half termly blocks, offering teachers and students the chance to try out mask theatre without the cost of purchasing a mask set. The Mask Library has been a great success, with students finding that masks help to build physical confidence on stage, encourage clarity and precision in performance and are also great fun to use.
Honor Hoskins, Vamos Theatre’s Creative Producer, comments, “We are delighted and honoured to receive this award from Drama & Theatre Magazine. Mask.ED, our digital learning area, and The Mask Library have been labours of love and to receive the feedback and success stories from schools across the globe is constantly heart-warming. We are incredibly proud to be able to provide mask.ED and The Mask Library to schools at accessible prices and give all schools and young people the skills and resources to create mask theatre.” Wherever they are in the world, teachers can currently get completely free access to mask.ED. To take up the offer, they need to simply send an email to learning@vamostheatre.co.uk with the subject line ‘Free mask.ED’. They will then be contacted and asked to register so they can receive login details.
For more about Vamos Theatre’s mask.ED visit: https://www.vamostheatre.co.uk/join-masked