In 1995, a drama teacher called Alison Chaplin founded Arts on the Move. The company, which is described on its website as a ‘one-stop-shop for anyone involved in the creative or performing arts’, provides a mixture of free and paid-for resources suitable for teaching drama at any age, such as books, scripts and lesson plans. After over two decades, there is a lot to draw on and I ask Chaplin, who still heads up the company today, if anything in particular caused her to take the first step towards running a business. ‘It evolved really,’ she tells me. ‘I was teaching in a secondary school after graduating but still running a successful youth theatre in Manchester. I enjoyed working with younger students so I took a short-term teaching job and began delivering occasional drama workshops in local primary schools. Word got around and Arts on the Move snowballed from there. The inspiration behind the company has always been to provide drama support for teachers and pupils – whatever form that takes. I want to spread the love.’
Since then, what has Arts on the Move done to ensure its longevity? ‘By changing and evolving,’ says Chaplin. ‘I deliver different workshops now than when I first started the company. I try to offer a huge range of services, support and resources.’
What support does Arts on the Move provide for drama teachers? ‘For experienced drama practitioners I offer ideas which they might not have seen before, or new ways of using existing ideas. I also offer original scripts for students to perform and great schemes of work that are ready to pick up and go. For new drama teachers I provide resources that give them all of the basics – drama and games, simple scripts, easy to use lesson plans, and so on. I'm always contactable for any drama practitioner who needs support or wants to bounce ideas around.’
Looking ahead
As she is someone whose business relies on a continuing demand for drama, I'm curious to know what Chaplin feels about the current current state of drama education, and what role Arts on the Move has to play in that landscape. ‘I'm frustrated by the slow ebbing away of drama provision in our schools,’ she says. ‘I've been working with people in the Chinese education system and they are packing their curriculum with drama! Aside from trying to get the politicians to take note – and sharing every article on how valuable drama is as a subject – all I can do is to ensure that the schools I work with see the benefits. That means using drama to tick as many boxes as possible, for writing, learning about history, exploring stories and poems, understanding Shakespeare, and so on.
‘The performing and creative arts generated £92 billion in revenue last year. It's short-sighted of a government to ignore the industry. I would love drama to be restored as a recognised and respected subject. Primary schools are apologetic that they can't use drama specialists like myself very often but it shouldn't be like that. We are depriving a whole generation of creative experiences. I would love to be able to use my skills as a qualified drama teacher in this country and not need to export them. Finding a way to use drama in the primary curriculum that works for inexperienced teachers, benefits the children, and ticks boxes at the same time, is the driving force behind everything I do.’
On a more positive note, I ask Chaplin about the future of Arts on the Move: ‘I'm excited about the third iteration of my website which will provide drama and theatre support for KS1, KS2 and KS3 pupils and young actors aged 6 to 16. I also have plans to write a book of monologues and duologues for students participating in exams and festivals, which will be lots of fun, and I'm creating two new drama workshops for KS2 – one which explores Romeo and Juliet and the other based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin. I'm always excited about something!