Music & Drama Education Expo | London 2021: Nothing's gonna stop us now

It goes without saying that 2020 was a terrible blow to the events business – but it was also a blow to event-goers who gain so much from the inspiration and camaraderie to be found at all subject-specialist shows. Remarkably, we managed to get the 2020 Expo in last March, just before everything stopped, and it is with genuine excitement as well as real pride and pleasure that we are able to launch registration for the Music & Drama Education Expo | 2021, which will take place live and in-person without skipping a year, and for the first time in a new venue, at the Business Design Centre in Islington, on 24 and 25 September 2021.

Registration for the show is now open, and a host of fantastic exhibitors are lined up, as well as a full programme of at least 50 sessions – seminars, symposia and practical workshops – of which more than 30 have been curated or commissioned for Drama teachers. All the appropriate Covid safety-measures will be in place, with session content adapting as necessary as we approach the big day.

It has been traditional over the years for our imaginary secondary drama teacher Lucille and a revolving cast of her peers to take a walk-through of the programme when it's announced, so with great joy at being able to return to another snippet of ‘normal’, here she goes:

Lucille goes to Expo

The past year has been a strange, exhausting, unpredictable, but nonetheless sometimes uplifting time for Lucille, with months of physical separation from her students, followed by months of battling to keep them physically separate in the drama studio. It's wonderful to be back at the Expo surrounded by other drama specialists from all settings, and able to share some of those experiences, and the learning from it all.

On Day 1, the day starts with a (Covid-compliant) Beatboxing warm-up session from Jack Salt, who really feeds of the energy and buzz in a room full of expectant performing arts teachers. Then Lucille has a moment to catch her breath (and wait for her lips to stop tingling) before Demystifying devising: classroom techniques at 10:15. She's torn after this between two wellbeing options – Keep calm and breathe with Pippa Wheble, and Your voice in action with Barbara Houseman. The Houseman session in The Workshop wins out in the end, because Lucille is aware that months of teaching on Zoom have ill-prepared her for getting back in the drama studio with chatty excitable students.

At the voice session, Lucille makes friends with Liam, who is a primary teacher looking to incorporate music and drama across the curriculum. They go separate ways at 12:30 – Lucille to Commedia and the subtle art of madness and Liam to The commission model of education.

Early afternoon brings with it some difficult choices. Lucille opts for How to use forum theatre in the development of effective conversations, with Kim Jackson in The Workshop, while Liam heads to Recovery curriculum through drama and history in The Space, with popular Expo speaker Geoff Smith and his colleague Sarah Vaughan. Meanwhile, though, there is also a valuable session taking place for private drama tutors in the Seminar Theatre: Running a private music or drama teaching practice – featuring a panellist from the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama.

At 14:15, a really valuable session begins in the Seminar Theatre which Lucille dashes over to: Going backstage: an introduction to teaching technical theatre and theatre design. Lucille's made it to all the sessions on this topic the Expo's offered over the years, and had new takeaways from every one. Meanwhile Liam is in The Space enjoying Helen Battelley's always-energetic delivery on a session called Storytelling through movement.

As the day draws to a close there's one last hurrah for both teachers, and each delivered by superstar organisations: Liam lets it go at Frozen the Musical: ‘Fixer Upper’ movement and music delivered by Disney Teaching Artists in the Keynote Theatre, while Lucille has A masterclass in exploring classical text: character, language, plot and iambic pentameter from National Youth Theatre in The Space. Then it's home for Liam and a hotel for Lucille to rest up for Day 2!

Day 2

For the first time, Day 2 is a Saturday, meaning that Lucille only had to get cover for one day of her classes – and as all the sessions at the Expo are CPD accredited, it's a double-win for Lucille and her school in attending the show this year. The day starts with A feast of gathering songs to blow the cobwebs away. Then at 10:15 there's a Symposium on Drama Assessment at the same time as Karen Latto's session on Getting a set text on its feet. Fortunately, because it's a Saturday, Lucille's colleague Anji has been able to come as well today, so they divide to conquer, with Lucille participating in the lively symposium discussion with panellists including Marie Bessant, Chris Holman, Liam Harris and Catherine Nash – all chaired by teacher and writer of The Drama Teacher's Survival Guide, Matthew Nichols.

The things we do when we all get together…

At 11:15 in The Space there are Drama techniques for ASD students to be learnt, but Lucille opts for Devising theatre as an act of community, to explore a different approach to what she learnt in the devising session yesterday. Then she moves on to Creative careers do exist! with Adam Milford, while Early Years and Primary teaching peers head to Modelling reading: Empowering every teacher to be a great storyteller.

At 13:30 the early afternoon pinch happens again, where Lucille must make a choice between Improbable tales | Using musical theatre to tell ‘our’ stories; Tuning in to trauma: curative creativity; and Set Design for GCSE and A Level. Ultimately, she plumps for Emma Tompkins’ design pathways session, but fortunately Anji is able to report from other sessions.

There's a flurry of drama activity in the last few hours of Day 2, ensuring Expo really goes out with a bang this year. Individuality and the acting process with Trudi Rees has much to offer regarding diversity and inclusion, then at 15:00 a special double-length session with theatre practitioner heroes begins: How to devise with Frantic Assembly: finding stories through physicality and space. Lucille's blown away to be able to attend a Frantic Assembly-led session for free, but attendance is strictly capped, so she's also glad that there are two fantastic alternatives taking place at 15:45 – a Theatre lighting how-to session in The Workshop, and How to help your students navigate the drama school application process with less stress, judgement and anxiety from Excellent Audition Guide author Andy Johnson.

It's been tiring but inspiring, a pleasing rhyme for two more brilliant days at the Expo.

There is still more content to be announced at the show, but registration is open now and completely free. We can't wait to see you there.

www.mdexpo.co.uk