One of the most significant dates in the 2015 Brainstorm Productions calendar is March 20th 2015. Firstly, Brainstorm Productions will be taking part in the 2015 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence by raising awareness about the impact of bullying and providing real-life strategies to help primary and high school students stand together against bullying. Actors from Brainstorm Productions will be visiting 10 Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide schools on 20th March and sharing the Bullying. No Way! message with more than 2,500 students. 

The importance of this anti-bullying initiative cannot be overstated. Not only does the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence aim to raise awareness about the destructive impact of bullying on March 20, but it also encourages schools and students to implement longer-term strategies and programs to help address this issue.

Book a theatre production for your school and it will touch the lives of your students for years to come. There is a certain magic that only theatre can create which reaches out and grabs onto us all; regardless of age, gender, background and religion. As long time theatre professionals (over 32 years!!!) and past teachers, our experience has taught us a thing or two about how to best book your in-school educational theatre production. So let’s take a look at our top essential tips:

YOUR TIME IS PRECIOUS! 

An experienced school theatre company will have visited thousands of schools and know exactly what is required from the first initial phone call, to when they leave your school grounds and wave goodbye. We know that any school day, week, month, term, year is always going to be B-U-S-Y, so we ensure the experience is hassle and stress-free. When you choose an experienced school theatre company, like Brainstorm Productions, you’re not only getting a great experience for your students but also the reassurance and peace of mind that everything will be managed professionally including:

What is the role of theatre companies in schools and how can theatre companies have a positive impact on students?

White Ribbon Day 2014

Brainstorm Productions teamed up with Canterbury Girls High School and Girraween High School for White Ribbon Day 2014 on 25th November to help raise awareness and much needed funds to support White Ribbon Australia’s work to break the silence around violence. 

Violence against women is at epidemic proportions. Devastatingly, on average, one woman is killed every week in Australia as a result of partner violence. While death is at the pointy end of a broad spectrum, violence against women and girls encompasses verbal, emotional, psychological, physical and sexual abuses, which all form part of a destructive cycle of violence.

The two Brainstorm Productions White Ribbon Day events held at Canterbury Girls High School and Girraween High School used educational theatre to address anti-social behaviour and how this can have a profound effect on student mental health and wellbeing. Students participated in a performance of ‘Cyberia’ which tackled digital violence in the form of cyber-bullying, one of the biggest threats to teenagers today.

The Herald-Sun recently reported that bullying behaviour is starting in children as young as age three; with research from the University of Wollongong revealing 93% of early childhood educators believe young children are capable of bullying. With most instances of bullying beginning in the playground with name calling, pushing and hair pulling, anti-bullying programs are vital to help guide primary school children who may already be displaying challenging or aggressive behaviour or to help kids who are being bullied.  

R U OK? Day may have wrapped for another year, but this is no reason to stop asking each other “are you okay?”. As the ‘R U OK? at School Partner’, Brainstorm Productions, is helping to inspire teenagers across Australia to start conversations that can make a real difference. Our aim is to visit over 200,000 high school students in the next 12 months and provide advice and tips on how to ask someone if they’re okay and to regularly check-in with their mates.

As the big yellow R U OK?Day Mateship Bus tours around Australia in the lead up to R U OK? Day on 11th September 2014, we asked our actors to take 5 and share what mateship means to them:

‘Are you okay?’ - 3 Little Words That Can Make a Difference

On Thursday 11th September 2014 thousands of students across Australia will participate in R U OK?Day. How? By taking the time to stop and ask the question “are you ok?” to anyone who might be struggling with life. R U OK?Day is about taking the time to discuss life’s challenges in a positive way through active listening and sensitive questioning. 

MEDIA RELEASE

Brainstorm Productions – one of Australia’s largest educational theatre production companies – has partnered with R U OK? to help more school students start regular, meaningful conversations with each other to improve youth wellbeing.

Recently we had the great pleasure of performing our cyber bullying program 'Cyberia' at Cairns State High School. The program is designed to empower students to address bullying, cyber bullying and digital responsibility through a live in-school theatre performance and curriculum-based activities.

How have 1.7 million Australian students learnt how to use effective conflict resolution, manage their anger and look at violence and bullying in a new light? From engaging with our 'Sticks & Stones K-6’ and 'Sticks & Stones Yrs 7-10’ school programs. 

Bullying is a difficult issue for schools everywhere. Research from the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics ‘Census at Schools’ survey shows that bullying is now the #1 issue for Australian school kids, and with the average weekly time schoolchildren spend on a computer jumping from 3 hours in 2006 to 13 hours in 2013, there has been a correlating increase in kids struggling and falling victim to cyber bullying. 

There is no doubt that online usage has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Social media, online shopping and mobile usage is increasing at lightning speed, especially among kids and teens. The impact of all this technology brings with it a range of new issues for young people including cyber bullying, internet safety, privacy and how to be responsible online. 

Privacy Awareness Week 2014

Cyber Bullying Programs to Help Your School 

Brainstorm Productions is a proud Privacy Awareness Week educational partner. This annual event is designed to promote awareness for privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information. Privacy continues to be a hot issue, especially for Australian school students. Research has shown that 1 in 3 young people have posted something on social media that they have later regretted.

Facebook – what’s public and what’s not?

ALERT: Facebook have changed their privacy settings again.

If you are under the age of 18 and have a Facebook account your profile isn’t automatically private anymore. In fact, if you don’t update your privacy settings, ANYONE can see ALL of your personal information ANYTIME!

‘TAKE A CHILD TO THE THEATRE TODAY’ 

March 20th is World Theatre for Children and Young People Day and the message this year is 'Take a Child to the Theatre Today'. Theatre is not only entertaining for kids, but is proven to have a positive influence on behaviour and issues relating to health, wellbeing and society. Kids are often also more receptive to these important messages because they can empathise or relate to the characters on an emotional level.

Below is a case study from Reynella Primary School in Adelaide, illustrating how they use theatre in education to support their "Successful Learners Program", which is designed to encourage a positive learning environment at the beginning of each school year. If you'd like to know more about how Brainstorm Productions can assist your school, please click here to contact one of our friendly team. 

Technology and social media is all around us and can be used to great effect, however things can easily turn and you can’t always press “undo”. Brainstorm Productions has a range of cyber bullying programs that look at the risks and impacts of the world online on the very real world of primary school and high school students.

Here at Brainstorm Productions we are all about helping teachers, parents and leaders to reach out to school age children and help them come to grips with bullying and its destructive results. 

This week marks the start of Schoolies Week for NSW and VIC, when thousands of school leavers with enjoy a week long holiday with friends to celebrate the end of high school. Of course, Schoolies Week is meant to be fun – after all that’s the whole point. But to have fun, it’s important to stay safe and knowing some of the precautions can help.