TIE
Our Theatre in Education tour is an opportunity for children to learn and experience English through the medium of theatre.
Our shows are fun, engaging and interactive, allowing the students to learn English with a smile on their face.
The tour groups perform shows across the country. Our professional actors find themselves waking up to a new city or town every day, experiencing the full Italian culture.
This year’s projects are…
The Wizard of Oz
Scuola dell’Infanzia
Scuola Primaria: 1ª– 2ª
Follow Dorothy into a wild and adventurous journey where she meets a brainless Scarecrow, a heartless Tinman and a scary Lion!
The Princess and the Frog
Scuola Primaria
A common girl in New Orleans has big dreams and ambitions of opening up her own restaurant, when her life is completely turned upside down by an encounter with an unlikely prince: a frog!
Hero!
Scuola Primaria
Scuola Secondaria I Grado: 1ª
School can be tough, especially for Rudy, a kid who has problems with Vicky, the school’s bully. But not all heroes wear a cape, and it doesn’t take a Superhero to make the world a better place.
Romeo & Juliet
Scuola Primaria: 5ª
Scuola Secondaria
BELL’s take on the famous tragedy from SHAKESPEARE – will romance blossom in the heat of a family feud?
A day in the life of… a TIE actor
What time do you usually arrive at school?
A typical day starts at 8:30. BELL’s team of actors will arrive at the school and meet the very enthusiastic Italian contact teacher.
What happens when you arrive at the school?
The contact teacher will take the actors to the performance space where they will set up the stage, props and sound system. This is where the actors get a feel for the space and where the excited nerves start to kick in! In the corridors, students may be making their way to class, so it is a good chance for the actors to hand out some high fives and smiles!
How many shows are performed in the morning?
In the morning, actors typically perform two shows with a 30-minute workshop after each show. The children are so thrilled to have BELL actors at school that the energy in the room is ecstatic when it starts. Through-out the show, there are many audience interactions and the students get very excited to be involved!
What is the after-show workshop?
After each show, the actors will each lead a workshop, typically lasting 30 to 40 minutes. Students will be exposed to interactive English games and fun.
What happens in the afternoon?
Depending on bookings, in the afternoon, the group will either complete another show, travel to another school nearby, or finish for the day. As a team, the actors pack up, jump back in the car and head to the next city!
A message from the creators…
Tom, Head of Theatre – The first group of actors arrive this week, what are you looking forward to most?
Drawing on my experience in the theatrical industry in order to create something special for the Italian children. I am extremely excited to collaborate and work with our professional actors, on the five exciting shows we have on offer this academic year.
Alessio, Creative Director – What do you enjoy the most about the TIE project?
The best part, like every year, has been seeing a simple script, just a bunch of pages, become a real show, with real actors, ready to be shown to the kids across Italy. To me, rehearsals are the most exciting part of the project, as you can see the characters being brought to life by the actors, and everybody contributes to make every detail better by adding something of their own. When creative people work as a team – it is just awesome!
Bobbie Cone, TIE Actor 2019 – “For anyone considering this job, I cannot recommend it enough!! I had the best time in Italy with Bell, being surrounded by such a supportive team who are always helping you strive to be the best you can be. The energy is electric, be that in the rehearsal room or on tour.”
Which fictional character would be perfect as a BELL employee?
The Bear in the Big Blue House
This is an extremely popular American children’s show and the Bear is a facilitator for the characters that live in his Big, Blue House – just like everyone at BELL!
- Friendly – The Bear is a friendly bear! Just like everyone at BELL, he enjoys making new friends and helps other people make friends, too.
- Excitable – Bear enjoys whatever he does and always says ‘yes!’ to a new challenge!
- Sings songs and dances for fun! This is something we do at BELL every day!
- Facial expressions – Even though he is a puppet, the Bear still has fantastic facial expressions to keep children engaged and excited!
- Bear uses his voice to help comprehension of meaning
- Positive attitude – Bear can always find the good in any situation!
- Bear is always looking for solutions to problems
- “If you play and learn then hey, you’re working like a kid!” – he shares our ethos of ‘edutainment’!
You can use some of his videos in your classroom – here’s an episode called ‘working like a bear’ where they explore different types of work! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oJv5_KlL6c