Primary Drama Collective

📸 Behind the lens...

A photo of the photographer taking a photo taken by Simon Minesvankan!

A huge heartfelt thank you to photographer Mea Baráth for capturing the Auaha Conference 2026 so beautifully.

It is such a gift to have these photographs as a lasting record of the learning, laughter, creativity, and connections that were shared over the two days. From moments of deep reflection to joyful play, Mea captured the spirit of the conference with such care and artistry.

Mea is an award-winning photographer with an incredible eye for authentic storytelling, and we are so grateful that she shared her talents with us. 💛

If you're looking for a photographer for your event, school, or family, you can get in touch with Mea through her website: https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/ and her social media pages Storytelling Photography by Mea.

What works in my classroom? 🍎 🎭
A conversation with classroom practitioners Kate Tarrant, Sarah Thompson and Alice Keirle
Facilitated by Charles Bisley and Juliet Cottrell

Kate shared about a process drama she originally developed during the 2023 election year, stepping into the world of an imagined town facing a difficult decision. This was a powerful reminder of how drama can support critical thinking, empathy, and active citizenship in the classroom.

Alice and Sarah shared their experience using Mantle of the Expert to meet the needs of their ākonga in a multi-level classroom. Using a recent example of their learning focus on rivers, they demonstrated how drama can drive learning in literacy, science, and social science.

Thank you to these kaiako for sharing their classroom practice. It is integral to the kaupapa of the Auaha conference and the Primary Drama Collective, providing professional development for teachers by teachers.

📸 Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

Leonardo's Studio: The Painter Who Invented a Flying Machine
Jess Acheson

Drawing on Laurence Anholt's beautiful picture book Leonardo and the Flying Boy, Jess wove together science, invention, and drama.

Participants stepped into the imaginative world of Leonardo da Vinci, observing birds, exploring the wonder of mechanical invention, and bringing the cheeky characters of Zoro and Salai to life.

This unit could be great compliment to further learning on machines and inventions.

📸Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

The Grand Hotel of Feelings 💛🎭
Judy Norton and Sam Bates

In this workshop, we explored the many creative possibilities that can emerge from a single picture book through process drama.

Using The Grand Hotel of Feelings by Lidia Branković as our inspiration, participants stepped into an imagined hotel where feelings arrived as guests and took on the roles of hotel staff. Using a variety of drama conventions, we explored practical ways to connect drama with literacy while supporting children's social and emotional learning.

Thank you to everyone who joined us with such enthusiasm, curiosity, and willingness to play at the end of the second day!

📸 Photo credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com

Conference Highlight: Bringing Stories to Life Through Puppetry🎭
Ifat Vayner-Itzkovitch

In this hands-on workshop, participants explored the power of puppets as a tool for storytelling.

Ifat guided us through the development of puppetry storytelling, sharing practical tools and techniques that can be taken back into the classroom. We developed our puppet manipulation skills and discovered how to bring a “mouth puppet” to life.

Thank you Ifat for giving of your time and sharing your skills and expertise with us.

📷 Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

Blank Page to Full Stage - Joanna Odds

In this workshop, Jo shared practical pathways for moving from a blank page to a finished play while keeping student voice at the heart of the creative process.

Drawing on her experience as a Performing Arts Specialist at Clevedon School, Jo explored classroom-tested strategies for devising original plays of any scale, empowering students to take ownership of their stories from script to stage.

📷Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

Take a Step Back in Time🌿
Kerensa Mackinnon

In this workshop, Karensa shared the pedagogical approach she uses at Oratia District Primary in Auckland, integrating Aotearoa New Zealand Histories with process drama and film.

We explored how process drama can engage ākonga with the history of Aotearoa New Zealand, inviting students to step inside significant moments and explore different perspectives.

Together, we explored pūrākau, the Springbok Tour, Māori navigation, and the meaning of Tino Rangatiratanga (Sovereignty). We saw how drama can deepen our understanding of identity, history, and place.

📷Photo credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

Flood 🌧️ 📖 🎭
Dr Marthy Watson - University of Southern Queensland

Using Jackie French and Bruce Whatley’s powerful picture book Flood as a creative provocation, this workshop explored the human and environmental impacts of climate change through process drama.

Participants stepped into drama-based strategies that supported comprehension, inference, vocabulary, student voice, and empathy - experiencing first-hand how imaginative, embodied learning can deepen connections to story.

Later, during our resource sharing session, Marthy also introduced her teacher-led writing platform, Creative Arts Circles which offers free, classroom-ready unit plans and resources for arts educators.
https://creativeartscircles.org/resource-library/drama/

📷Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/

Pedalling into Story: Using Tricycle and Process Drama to Deepen Literacy and Engagement in the Primary Classroom 🚲
Dr John Saunders

This practical workshop explored how Elisa Amado’s picture book Tricycle could become a powerful springboard for literacy learning through process drama.

Participants experienced drama strategies that supported comprehension, inference, vocabulary, student voice, and empathy - showing how embodied, imaginative learning can deepen children’s connections to stories and enhance meaning making.

This was such a wonderful exploration of how drama can inspire literacy, creativity, and engagement in primary classrooms. 🎭📖

📷Photo Credit: Mea Baráth
https://lifeistooshortforposes.com/