PURPLE Arts Productions, led by longstanding member of the local entertainment industry, Simone Dowding, will be presenting its 10th Children’s Drama Workshop from July 8 to September 2, which aims to teach young minds the fundamental aspects of drama.

Children’s drama therapy, stage breathing, stage geography, and how to master the art of listening, are just some of the topics on the agenda for Dowding, who usually conducts the workshop at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Kingston.

She aims to attract about 25 students each year, ages 9 to 16, so that she can be able to give them the attention they need to master the art of costume and stage management, playwriting, directing, and acting.

Dowding told Buzz this week that, by means of the workshop, she helps the children to build a good foundation in terms of their skills, confidence and self-esteem.

“They come with their talent; I just nurture it,” she said.

So far, she’s been seeing that the workshop has been providing positive results. About four of the children now act in Merundoi, and about six are doing plays, advertisements and movies.

Just recently, the Ministry of Health sought Dowding’s help in securing five children for an advertisement.

“They called and said that they were able to finish the ‘ad’ within an hour because of the children’s knowledge of cameras and stage and so forth,” Dowding proudly reflected.

“It’s going to be mostly practical because you don’t want to burden the children with literature. You just want them to enjoy themselves,” Dowding said about the workshop, which will be held on Saturdays, from 10:00 hours to midday.

The workshop usually culminates in a grand show called ‘Emerge’, which features the participants.

Explaining how the workshop all got started, Dowding recalled that she wanted to do something in theatre after being trained for many years. She eventually formed her company with the introduction of the children’s workshop.

Children pay a small tuition fee, but even those who cannot afford the money are taken in by Dowding, who said she has a fondness for children.

Having graduated from the E.R Burrowes School of Art and other institutions, she ended up with a total of 13 certificates and won Theatre Guild’s Best Actress Award in 2012 for the play ‘Old Story Times’.
Through her company, Dowding works primarily with children and seeks to provide them with opportunities that she never enjoyed as a child.

Having worked on the popular production ‘Link Show’ over the years, Dowding has produced ‘House of Pressure’, ‘Miriamy’, ‘Eleventh Finger’, and ‘Jezebel’, among other shows.