Darrick Wood Secondary School students, in collaboration with French playwright Elodie Hervier, are taking part in an international scheme to write an audio drama. This is a solely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or audio applications. The writing scheme involves six countries: Albania, France, Hungary, Ireland, Sweden, and the UK. A playwright from each of these countries will write a script for an audio drama, with the input of students.
Elodie Hervier is a Parisian playwright, journalist, and filmmaker, who is representing France in the scheme. Elodie showed interest in writing at an early age. However, at school, she was never taught how to write in the way that she would like. Instead, like many students, she was taught how to analyse texts. Her passion for writing was not deterred by this, as she continued her writing, nonetheless. This was evident in her beliefs: “we all have to write, as you discover a part of you that you didn’t know you had”.
Lockdown was a great time for Elodie; she said: “in lockdown, there was nobody there to judge what I write, so it was very important for me, as it allowed me to have more freedom”. Elodie is currently a PhD student at the University Lumière, where she studies theatrical and sound arts, hence her involvement in the scheme.
Elodie Hervier is working with Darrick Wood students to write her script. The initial idea for the drama is an interaction via WhatsApp between a family. It is the anniversary of the grandparents, and it has fallen upon the younger generation to arrange a party. However there is a lot of tension between the generations, and this is where the story lies. The script centres around themes of intergenerational respect and conflict, making use of the comedy genre but with serious underlying tones.
The Darrick Wood students involved in the scheme are part of DWS Audio. This is a successful group run by Darrick Wood School, which has received many accolades for its work. This includes the recent publication of ‘Rough Diamonds’ on BBC Radio Kent, which won silver at the Community Radio Awards 2021 in the ‘Podcast of the Year’ category.
The scheme allows exposure of up-and-coming authors and script-writers internationally, alongside talented young people who stand to gain much knowledge from both their assigned playwright and their peers.
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