Secret Teacher: Issue 96

I have mixed feelings at the moment about many things. I have been teaching Drama for 30 years or more and have seen much change in terms of technology and the return of written exams. I am often prompted to think that children aren't as creative as they used to be and maybe schools are killing creativity after all? Or maybe it's incessant gaming and YouTube fragments that are shortening concentration spans and restricting the imagination? Devised work in spite of rich and provocative stimuli often lapses into hackneyed naturalism or a re-hash of some teenage Netflix series which I haven't seen. We learnt so much about technology during lockdown but what did we really learn about Drama and theatre? A mobile phone can be great as a light source, sound effects machine, and is now the text students hold in rehearsal. Are all those zoom auditions fair on students who are great physical communicators in space? One of my best students has just been rejected from Bristol, RADA and Central after an online recall with each. Is it morally responsible for me to be encouraging teenagers to pursue their dream of an acting career in such a financially precarious and nepotistic profession?