In what has been another busy season for Theatr na nÓg, with not one but two successful productions performing to audiences across South Wales, the company will also be representing Wales at the International Theatre About Science Conference in Coimbra in Portugal next week.
Alongside their partners, Technocamps, the two organisations will be flying the flag for Wales at this prestigious conference and sharing their experience of creating a successful learning model which gives young audiences a theatre experience enhanced by bespoke workshops delivered by Technocamps that encompasses scientific theories and themes.
The synergy created by this collaboration has resulted in a much-enhanced offering which has received great praise from the participating schools.
Representatives from Theatr na nÓg and Technocamps will present at 2nd International Conference, Theatre about Science: Theory and Practice, held in Coimbra.
Contributions range from the performing arts to the communication of science.
Geinor Styles, Artistic Director of Theatr na nÓg will be accompanied by Deborah Webster from Oystermouth Primary School; Faron Moller, Professor of Computer Science at Swansea University and Luke Clements, Operations Manager at Technocamps.
Faron Moller explained; "The Technocamps mission is to bring digital and STEM subjects to life for young people. By doing the same, Theatr na nÓg productions provide excellent springboards into bespoke Technocamps workshops, and we have thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from our successful long-term collaboration."
Geinor Styles added that “the aims of the presentation are to explore the value of our theatre productions and the value of developing and delivering bespoke workshops which explore the science related to the show and to provide guidance and encouragement to those who might look to replicate our success elsewhere. We are grateful for the funding from Wales Arts International which has supported us in presenting at this conference. I believe the uncertain future that our young people face can be solved by artists and scientists collaborating and communicating facts, however unpalatable or uncomfortable they may be, with engaging narratives and characters that initiate a better understanding of our world that can elicit empathy for others and inspire action and change.”
Participants come from Portugal, Spain, the UK, the US, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czechia, Switzerland, Norway, and Canada; a rich ecosystem of academics, theatre practitioners and science communicators who perform, communicate and reflect upon science through theatre. They will address a variety of perspectives on the theatre/performance and science intersections, such as geographies, histories, scientific disciplines and topics, audiences, participants, venues, formats, and scientific approaches in theatre practice, displaying an intense practice and research in this field.