Earlier this year we welcomed our new Director of Drama, Alex Mangan, to Chigwell School. We spoke to him about his career so far, his love for drama and his vision for our Drama Department.
Earlier this year we welcomed our new Director of Drama, Alex Mangan, to Chigwell School. We spoke to him about his career so far, his love for drama and his vision for our Drama Department.
Alex has been teaching for seven years now, with this being his first head of department role – ‘which is exciting, and it felt like the right time’. Alex’s decision to become a teacher, though was not what he had expected to do – it was a result of being inspired by his own teachers who are ‘some of the most inspirational people that I’ve ever met in my life… not only were they amazing teachers, but they were amazing professionals as well… I wanted to provide that same kind of environment, the environment they provided for me’.
A passionate teacher, Alex describes ‘I thought being on stage was the biggest buzz you could have, but then I realised having been in the classroom, seeing a student overcome a fear or challenge or develop that bit of confidence to say… a sentence in front of a class, that’s even bigger. I think it makes me feel even more than I would on the stage’.
However, Alex hasn’t stopped developing his own love for acting alongside teaching, and is actively involved in a theatre group he co-owns – ‘we formed it just after we left university, about 2016, and since then we’ve been making our own shows and touring them’. The theatre group, which adapts lesser-known Shakespeare plays, has won multiple awards, including at the recent Prague Fringe.
‘We like to take plays that people don’t really do: we took a version of his play King John… to give it some love and make it exciting, and bring it to an audience that hadn’t seen it before… in a musical, irreverent way. Audiences would vote for their favourite show at the end of the festival…we were lucky enough that they voted for us.’
On his experience of teaching at Chigwell so far, Alex is very positive: ‘The students are really responsive, there’s a lot of talent in the school… we will have had three shows this year after Made in Dagenham finishes, and next year we hope to have more… I want to be able to provide them with relevant and inspiring high-quality opportunities to explore this wonderful industry outside of lessons.’
Emphasising the importance of encouraging pupils to get involved with drama even if they don’t wish to act, perhaps through costume, set design or tech, Alex says: ‘this is why it’s so great to have the GCSE and A Level set up where those pathways can be taken for the students that don’t feel like they want to be on the stage… backstage roles are really important’.
On his vision for the future of our Drama Department, Alex hopes to inspire our pupils to develop a love for drama through maintaining our safe and nurturing environment. ‘This building should be a place where students feel happy and safe… Kindness is one of the reasons I’m here at the school, because that’s one of the Chigwell School’s main values.
‘Drama is a subject that every student can achieve in… what I want here is high engagement, high levels of wellbeing, high levels of quality’.
Don’t miss our Year 7-13 musical, Made in Dagenham, running from 27th-29th June. Tickets available on Wisepay or on the door.
