A turnkey tool for teaching drama

Advertorial by Mélanie Jannard - Scene in pictures
Illustration by Sandrine Corbeil

Creating, interpreting and appreciating theatrical works: these are the skills imparted to young people in drama classes. While the first two are easily practiced in the classroom, the third can give specialist teachers a hard time when accessibility to the theater is limited. It was to respond to this lack of resources that Scène en images was designed, a digital tool that allows free viewing of excerpts from current Quebec plays, in addition to offering several ways to revitalize and renew the educational content of Classes. 

Scène en images was born out of a need in the field of drama education in Quebec. Until now, we often turned to YouTube to find excerpts to present in class to explore criticism with students. The catch? “There was no contemporary or interesting content. Most of the content was foreign, mostly old shows French, for example, ”explains Simon Caplette Charette, president of the Association Théâtre Éducation du Québec (ATEQ) and high school drama teacher, involved in the implementation of the project. “All this without counting the quality of the recording, which often leaves much to be desired… And the hours of research! ".

Goodbye YouTube, hello Scene in pictures! 

Thanks to its platform, which contains extracts from contemporary Quebec plays carefully selected for the school environment, Scène en images improves the teaching experience. A collaboration with many partners, including the Maison Théâtre et Théâtres Unis Enfance Jeunesse, ensures the availability of content where all resale rights have been paid adequately and fairly, which is not always the case for the extracts found. on the Internet. These partnerships will possibly make it possible to forge links between the various actors of Quebec theater and the education community, in addition to "making theater travel within the province", underlines Simon Caplette Charette, who sees an aspect in it. interesting promotional product for its chosen field.

A refreshing and fun teaching

Scène en images offers three ways to listen to the video clips.

• Emotional listening, from start to finish, without interruption.
• Listening interspersed with relevant questions prepared in advance.
• Sensory listening, without sound or images, which allows you to focus on specific elements such as decor, lighting or voices.

A specialist in drama in elementary school and dedicated to training young audiences, Frédérik Todd is eager to test these renewed teaching methods. 

“We wanted to reassure the drama teachers. Scene in pictures will not prevent us from going to the theater ”, specifies Frédérik Todd. Of course, the two spokespersons are of the opinion that viewing a work will never replace the chance to be able to attend a real performance. However, using an educational tool in the classroom will undoubtedly lead students to fully appreciate their next trip to the theater. Make way for the show!

Scene in pictures will be available for free for the 2021-2022 school year in the area reserved for members of the ATEQ website.