Tell us a bit about yourselves.

Mollie: Hi! I’m Mollie, I’m 27 and from South East London, but I’ve lived in Liverpool for the last 4 years – it’s such a great city. I love making theatre and working with young people because they have the most brilliant ideas and wildest imaginations. I love cooking for friends and family, cycling, and swimming in the sea.

Lottie: My name is Lottie (she/her) and I am 24 years old. I am from West Yorkshire, but I live in Liverpool. I studied Applied Theatre and Community Drama at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

 

What is a creative learning practitioner at Storyhouse?

Mollie: The creative learning practitioners work in partnership with local partner schools in creating and leading workshops with young people. We take Storyhouse and its ethos to the schools, encouraging inclusivity, confidence-building, freedom of expression and, most of all, fun!

Lottie: A creative Learning Practitioner designs and delivers workshops that promotes creative learning. We bring Storyhouse to our partner schools by supporting students and teachers to apply creativity within their learning. We deliver the national curriculum, but we have a lot of fun doing it!

 

What does a typical week look like?

Lottie: No week is the same! We work with different classes every week from nurseries all the way through to Year 8. Every Friday, I pick Mollie up and we drive to Storyhouse for a day of planning, training, and team meetings. I have also recently taken on delivering some Youth Theatre sessions at Storyhouse every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning.

 

What schools do you work in?

Lottie: I am fortunate to work with Kelsall Primary every Tuesday from 9am-3pm and St David’s High School every Thursday morning.

Mollie: I work in Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School on Mondays, Newton Primary on a Tuesday and Dorin Park School on Wednesdays!

 

Tell us about your favourite workshop you have delivered so far.

Mollie: That’s a hard question, but I really enjoyed a recent workshop with Year 5 in which we were exploring ancient Greek democracy, everyone got a chance to express their own opinions and vote on issues that affect them. I’ve also really enjoyed creating sensory adventures at Dorin Park this year, bringing in loads of things to touch, hear and see.

Lottie: I had the pleasure of working with Year 2 at Kelsall Primary in preparation for their ‘Fireside Nativity’. Together we built a fire out of tinsel and torches, we collected sticks from outside and roasted ‘marshmallows’ over the fire whilst singing campfire songs and sharing stories. That was a really special moment for me!

 

What has been your favourite show you have seen in Storyhouse?

Mollie: I was lucky enough to see the recent production of Romeo and Juliet several times, and absolutely loved it! This 50-minute version was made specifically to tour to schools, as well as showing at the Storyhouse. It was such a joyful, funny and touching production.

Lottie: My favourite show I have seen at the Storyhouse is the The Snow Queen. I really enjoyed the live music and dancing. It seemed like the cast were having so much fun which made the audience have fun too. It was magical!

 

What is your favourite book?

Lottie: I can’t put a finger on my favourite book but I’m really enjoying anything to do with Greek Mythology at the moment. I’m currently reading Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins which centres around Ancient Greek heroines such as; Athena, Helen, Circe and Penelope.

Mollie: One that’s stuck with me over the years is and I have re-read a few times is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I first read it while I was studying English Literature for my A Levels – It has such an interesting narrative voice – at times viewing the world through a child’s lens.

 

What is your favourite food?

Lottie: I love all types of food, so I find it really hard to pick a favourite. When I was younger my dad would say ‘if you don’t try, you don’t know’ meaning ‘if you don’t try this piece of broccoli, you won’t know if you don’t like it’. So, now I am always willing to try new foods and really enjoy finding new recipes to cook. If I had to pick, I’d say my current favourite food is a Pad Thai (which is a Thai noodle dish with lots of flavour).

Mollie: Another hard question! I love most food, but especially savoury, salty things. Crisps of any kind are my favourite snack. And a Thai Massaman Curry with sticky rice is probably one of my favourite meals!

 

Find out how to become a Storyhouse partner school here.