VOLUntEER FORM

TEECHERS LEAVERS 22

Director- Jayne Skudder

About the Play- John Godber’s classic school comedy Teechers was recently revamped into Teechers Leavers ’22, followed by an updated tour that continues to run. The modernized version is an energetic, biting, and highly relevant take on the UK’s two-tier education system. 

Updated Elements

• Post-COVID Era Settings: The revised play reflects the educational fallout of the pandemic, including digital poverty, lockdown isolation, and the resulting burden on school resources.
• New Tech & References: It swaps out old pop culture for teenage swagger, modern pop, TikTok dances, and students writing essays on their smartphones.
• The Plot: Still framed as a BTEC/drama performance by three Year 11 students (Salty, Gail, and Hobby), they retell their year under an idealistic new drama teacher, Miss Nixon, who ultimately abandons the struggling state academy for a lucrative private school job.
  Characters:  The Core Student TrioThe three school leavers double as the narrators and the various teachers: 
  • Ian Salt (“Salty”): A laid-back, streetwise, and slightly cynical teenager who is unsure what the future holds after leaving school.
  • Gail Saunders: The bossy, sassy, and enthusiastic leader of the trio.
  • Lilian Hobson (“Hobby”): Fed up with her friends at times, but heavily invested in the drama and their futures. 

  
  The Teachers & Staff – The students portray a varied lineup of terrifying, hopeless, and inspiring teachers: 

  • Miss Nixon: An idealistic, newly qualified drama teacher who inspires the trio but is heavily tempted to leave for a soothing, well-funded private school.
  • Mrs. Parry (formerly Mrs. Hudson): The loud, large headmistress of Whitewall who has a terrible dress sense.
  • Dr. Basford (formerly Mr. Basford): The nasty, strict deputy head and maths teacher who hates children.
  • Miss Jackie Prime: The bouncy, energetic sports teacher.
  • Ms. Whitham: A hopeless English teacher who is desperate to leave the school.
  • Mr. Dean: A male teacher who delusionally thinks that all of the kids love him. 

   

  The Audition

  The audition will be part script and part improvisation, to explore the colourful characters without the restrictions of reading text. I will be looking for actors who can think on their feet and be versatile enough to play a range of characters in a fast paced manner.

  Age range- this very much depends who comes to the audition really. I am open minded about age but it makes sense to have three actors of a similar age range. It would work with three teenagers 16+, who then play all the teachers, as suggested in the script. It could also work the other way around where adults play the school kids.

  As a rough guide- 16-30s age range may work best but that’s not set in stone.