Batumi Access Program Students participate in a play “Robin Hood Meets Arsena Marabdeli”
On November 25, Access Program in Batumi organized an enrichment activity devoted to drama.
Access Program in Batumi closely collaborates with PH International’s U.S. Embassy funded English Language through Civic Education (ELCE) Program in the frames of which, five Access Program students got to participate and act in a play “Robin Hood Meets Arsena Marabdeli” written and directed by the ELCE Program English Language Teacher Trainer (ELTT) Chuck Kinney.
Just before the premier of the play in the period of intensive work and rehearsals, Chuck Kinney invited all the Access students to visit the troupe and discuss the process and challenges of writing a play and then staging it. The meeting took place in the theatre club of Batumi Public School #2 and was attended by Access students and teacher, Chuck Kinney and actors of the play.
At the meeting, Chuck Kinney spoke of the specifics of writing a script, the importance of drawing parallels between the cultural aspects pertinent to the main heroes and adapting the play to the audience. Access Program students asked questions about the plot of the play and the choice of famous English and Georgian heroes.
“Being here today made me feel a bit envious about my fellow Access students, who are participating in the play. When Chuck came to our Access class in October and asked who wanted to participate in the play he was going to stage, it never occurred to me it would be so much fun and that by saying “no” I would be missing on something this cool!” – said Ketevan Mamaidze after the meeting. “I sure won’t make the same mistake, when the opportunity comes my way in the future” – she added.
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Success Stories
 Dianne Zhambakhidze was once a shy and silent student, but that was before she enrolled in Access. It took her nearly a year to find her voice, but now she is one of the most helpful and friendly members of the group. Peers admire her diligence and hard work and always pay extra attention to what she has to say in class when she answers questions and gives advice on homework problems. > More Second rotation of the Access program in Adjara region of Georgia started with its own set of challenges. After consultations with PH, “Changes without Borders” the implementing partner of the Access program decided to cast the participatory net wider to the outer and more remote locations of Adjara. The level of education and achievement among youth, in those remote locations, is lower than that in the Batumi public schools. Although over 200 applications were received, general starting level of language competencies among the selected 25 Access students was dramatically low. The majority of students could hardly read in English > More  |
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