Digital Theatre Plus Reaches 1 Million Students Worldwide

By: Oct. 17, 2013
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Digital Theatre Plus - a website which offers High Definition films of West End and British theatre to schools, colleges and universities - announces that the number of students around the world with 24-hour access to its content has doubled in the last six months to over 1 million, and the launch of a partnership with leading UK Awarding Body, AQA.

Digital Theatre Plus, which offers access to the best of British theatre regardless of where you live, is now available in 26 countries across the globe. From homeschools in California, to universities in New Zealand, students are taking virtual seats in the front row of some of the UK's leading theatres.

Today also marks the announcement of a partnership between Digital Theatre Plus and AQA. AQA is an education charity and a leading provider of qualifications and support for teachers and students, and will now be promoting the ways in which Digital Theatre Plus can be used as a tool to improve the teaching of GCSE and A-Level English qualifications.

Much of Digital Theatre Plus' growth is attributed to partnerships with other leading educational organisations including Pearson, the world's leading learning company; JISC Collections, who work on behalf of UK higher education and further education to champion the use of digital technologies; and the International School Theatre Association (ISTA), who are committed to providing high quality experiences that develop creative learning and internationalism through theatre.

These partnerships mean Digital Theatre Plus is able to reach all levels of education, complementing the teaching of a variety of Drama and English qualifications including GCSEs, A-Levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTECs.

Digital Theatre Plus includes an expanding range of full-length theatre productions from Much Ado About Nothing starring Catherine Tate and David Tennant, to the Young Vic's award-winning production of A Doll's House starring Hattie Morahan and Dominic Rowan, and 2013 Emmy Award-winning writer Abi Morgan's Lovesong. The variety of the collection has appealed to educators and students of all levels.

Each production is accompanied by feature-length interviews with cast, production and creative teams; including interviews with well-known actors, directors, producers, and designers. This allows students to explore the wealth of roles that make up the theatre industry.

Digital Theatre Plus makes over 100 hours of interviews, documentaries and full-length productions available to students and teachers, all at the touch of a button.

Shakespeare In Your Space, launched earlier this year, is the latest resource available to teachers, which is a filmed practical workshop offering ways to improve their teaching of Shakespeare in lessons. Also available is a library of written content, with over 1,000 pages of detailed and exclusive study guide content on plays and playwriting written by experts.

Gary Pollard, Head of English at AQA, comments:

"We're delighted to be working with Digital Theatre Plus as we think this is a really valuable resource for teachers. It gives students the opportunity to experience a wide variety of productions, while teachers can call on the detailed analysis to support their teaching and learning."

Fiona Lindsay, Creative Producer, Digital Theatre Plus comments:

"To have reached more than 1 million students around the world is a great success, not only for Digital Theatre Plus but for the theatre industry as a whole. In bringing theatre directly to students, using a medium they are familiar with, we are in a unique position to share the wonder and value of the performing arts with a hugely diverse range of students, many of whom otherwise have little or no access to theatre. Students using Digital Theatre Plus may well go on to become the theatre makers of the future, and we look forward to expanding our resources to support their learning".

Marilyn Fordyce, Information Resources Manager, University of Otago Library (Dunedin, New Zealand) explained:

"While the individual films in Digital Theatre Plus are of specific interest, it is the whole package of the database that appeals. The 'behind the scenes' insights deliver added value to the study of theatre and the study guides assist students to gain further understanding of plot, character, language, historical context and the authors".

Annual subscriptions start from £360 a year. For more information and a free trial of Digital Theatre Plus, visit: www.digitaltheatreplus.com



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