Getting in to role

The year 11 drama students are preparing for an upcoming GCSE piece which involves acting as homeless people. To get in to the role, Miss Unwin and Mrs Pearson asked the boys to live as the homeless do for a night by sleeping outdoors in the stable yard last night. The boys slept on cardboard mattresses, had a brazier for heat and were allowed no home comforts at all. The boys had to suffer interruptions from members of staff offering loose change, the temptation of a warm boarding house and people revving car engines in the early hours. I'm sure they have learnt a lot from the experience and they did not seem a bit put off when their housemaster insisted on blinding them with the camera flash.