Are you a healthcare worker? Darlo Drama wants to thank you!

While we all owe healthcare workers a debt of gratitude, Darlo Drama wants to put them at centre stage, giving them a chance to unleash their inner performer…for free!

When the pandemic first hit New York City, New Yorkers would stop whatever they were doing at 7:00 pm every night and break into spontaneous applause, leaning out of their windows and balconies to thank healthcare workers for fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

Similar tributes took place in India, Italy, Spain and throughout the world.

This wasn’t the only way that grateful people have been showing their appreciation for the people on the front lines. The Eiffel Tower and Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue have carried thank-you messages, while murals and other artworks honour essential workers for their endless hard work.

Some people are donating directly to front-line workers, be it through food, flowers, or free haircuts. Sydney acting school Darlo Drama, the home of beginners acting since 1992, also wants to offer what they can to these front-line heroes, having themselves brought confidence, creativity, and community to adults of all ages and all walks of life for more than 27 years.

As a way of saying thank you, Darlo Drama is offering two complimentary spots in their signature Level One Beginners Acting courses, for the remainder of this year and into 2022.

The course is designed to build confidence, creativity and community in its students, by allowing what begins as a safe place to play and explore with fun acting and drama games, trust exercises and improvisation. The group gradually gets more comfortable, relaxed and spontaneous. With greater confidence and a sense of play and exploration, students learn techniques for presenting in front of a group, working through ‘stage fright’ and connecting to an audience.

If what we offer at Darlo Drama can bring some spark of joy and creativity into the lives of even a handful of Sydney’s medical heroes, then I think that’s the least we can do.

The course helps develop communication skills, a sense of personal leadership and confidence through acting. Students learn about performing a monologue, working with a script, developing character, voice projection and taking direction. The course culminates in a performance at the Darlo Drama Theatre, where family and friends can join in to help celebrate performers’ achievements.

This course usually costs participants $585 but is being offered for free as Darlo Drama’s way of saying thanks and showing their gratitude for the hard work that’s been done over the past 18 months.

Romney Stanton, Darlo Drama’s General Manager, said that of the many ways people and businesses could give back to this hard-working sector of the community, this was perhaps the most unique, but represented a gesture from the organisation’s heart.

“We’ve all seen just how much tireless work has been done by front line workers in hospitals, clinics and other places during the pandemic,” she said. we are in the fortunate place we are as a community because of the tireless efforts made by our health care workers.”

“If what we offer at Darlo Drama can bring some spark of joy and creativity into the lives of even a handful of Sydney’s medical heroes, then I think that’s the least we can do.”

If you are a healthcare worker, or you know someone who deserves a hard-earned evening of fun each week, then the people at Darlo Drama want to meet them!

To register your interest, email admin@darlodrama.com.au