In Sheffield, United Kingdom, Inova Consultancy held the 4-day training event for Fake It Till You Make It project. This event started on the 30th January 2019 – 2nd February 2019; the training programme was held at Theatre Deli in Sheffield City Centre- a very apt venue for such an exciting theatre-based training course.
The training was facilitated by Inova’s experienced trainer, Val Boulding who is a highly experienced trainer working with adults in Community Development. At the end of the course Val commented on this being a very rewarding course to teach and it was a pleasure to be a part of this exciting new programme.
The idea of using drama as a confidence building tool is quite new with adult learners in Sheffield. Over the course of the four days, participants developed and improved a range of soft skills; confidence using theatre techniques were explored along with self-awareness. All participants’ gave positive feedback with regards to their personal development and improved employability skills.
All learners engaged in presentations which were both fun and serious. For example role plays’ explored low status versus high status and the issues that arose. Elements of humour made the experience more enjoyable while the seriousness of for example “not being listened to” and “not having a voice” were themes explored. This was particularly powerful for the learners and also for those observing.
As a result of the Fake It Till You Make It training, learners who were lacking in confidence were able to explore theatre as a positive tool to improve their self-esteem, self-awareness, confidence and to improve their job prospects.