A teacher's testimonial about the impact of the ‘Theater and Heritage!’ project

The aim of this ambitious project, centered on theatre, is to prevent pupils from dropping out of school by providing them with essential tools for their personal and collective development. Through this initiative, they develop fundamental skills: mastering space, refining their listening skills, reinforcing their ability to let go, perfecting their elocution, exploring movement, imagining stories and making texts their own. These activities are all innovative ways of approaching learning from a new angle.

In line with the principles of the Charter for Artistic and Cultural Education, the project offers a complete experience, combining visits to emblematic cultural sites of the 18th century (such as the Hôtel de Caumont and the Marseille Opera House), enriching encounters with artists and their works (notably the Compagnie Souricière and the Théâtre de La Criée) and real artistic creation workshops (music, theatre, plastic arts). In all, over 50 hours of artistic and theatrical practice are offered to each group, providing an in-depth look at the fundamentals of the discipline: occupying space, diction, appropriating texts, letting go, etc.  The culmination of this adventure will be the final performance, where the students will take to the prestigious stage of La Criée - Théâtre national de Marseille.

The Culture for Children team is delighted to present a testimonial from Mathilde Humbert, a CM1 teacher, who talks about the richness of the project and its profound impact on the pupils.

‘Projects such as the ‘Theater and Heritage!’, set up by Culture for Children, go a long way towards helping pupils who have dropped out of school to regain confidence in themselves and their abilities, and in the fact that school is not just an over-serious, stuffy and highly restrictive place of learning.

In fact, it sometimes happens that certain pupils have something to say to their parents about whether or not they come to school. In such cases, the pupils, who are very often experiencing serious difficulties at school, may not come to school at all, because they don't see the point, and neither do their parents.

Engaging projects such as this one enable pupils to get away from the usual school environment and discover their abilities in a different way. This creates a desire for them to come to school, to make progress so that they can progress in the theatre, and the beneficial effects spill over into other subjects. As a result, attendance has increased because the pupils realize that they are not trapped in the role of a pupil with difficulties and that they are sometimes more capable than certain pupils whom they would have identified as ‘stronger’ or ‘more at ease’.

There was a case of a CM1 pupil last year who benefited from this project who had dropped out of school, had major difficulties and had lost a large part of her self-confidence. As the project progressed, she discovered what she was capable of, that she could help others and that she was good at it. Her school attendance increased enormously as the year went on, and her motivation to work increased exponentially, including in subjects other than those directly affected by the drama project’.

Click here to listen to the audio version of the testimonial

A big thank you to the educational team, the artists, our partners and sponsors, without whom this project would not have been possible. 

We would also like to extend our warmest thanks to the donors who supported this wonderful project!

Together, let's give every child the opportunity to play an active role in their own development.