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The School of Arts & Media offers a range of short professional courses aimed at people who want to improve their skills in the workplace.

Leading roles

Performance masterclasses for leaders and managers

Leading Roles is a series of performance masterclasses which use theatre and drama to explore key issues in leadership and management.

Our masterclasses are tailored to your organisational and development needs.

They offer a collaborative, collective live experience that enables an audience and participants to reflect, empathise and think.

More information
Leading Roles - performance masterclasses for leaders and managers

Masterclasses can be booked as individual classes (half day), or as a series (full day) and can be at a venue of your choice.

For more information, email leadingroles@tees.ac.uk

Leading roles – performance masterclassesLeading roles – performance masterclasses

Masterclass benefits

You will be able to share knowledge and experience in a creative and professionally structured context and expand your senior teams’ range of skills in:

  • emotional intelligence and rapport
  • effective and inspired communication and self-presentation
  • handling conflict, sensitive issues and difficult conversations
  • strategic thinking and influencing others
  • styles of leadership and adaptable behaviour.

We currently deliver four diverse and unique performance masterclasses:

Moving history: dealing with conflict

Created by Leading Roles, scenario scripted by Richard Stockwell

Who we are
Sharon Patterson and Mike Rogers during the moving history masterclass

Leading Roles is led by:

Sharon Paterson:

  • Sharon, Associate Dean in the School of Arts & Media, has worked professionally as a performer, facilitator, workshop leader and theatre designer.

Sheila Young:

  • Sheila has a BA (Hons) Creative Arts and works as a professional actress, director and writer for theatre.

Mike Rogers:

  • Mike has an MA in Shakespeare Studies and has worked as a professional actor throughout the UK, Europe, Japan and Scandinavia.

Moving history explores strategies for developing emotional intelligence and communicating effectively with colleagues, particularly when dealing with conflict. It follows the trials and tribulations of a newly appointed Associate Dean/Manager at a university as she tries to lead and manage a move into a new building. Participants watch two short scenes, reflecting on what they have seen, sharing their own skills, expertise and best practice, and collectively offering advice and strategies to the characters. Participants will have the opportunity to see their own suggested strategies in action and to refine and develop their ideas as the session progresses.

Moving history – dealing with conflict

Combined effort: dealing with sensitive issues

Created by Leading Roles, scenario scripted by Richard Stockwell

This masterclass involves two colleagues who are tasked to deliver a high profile initiative, but competing agendas and difficult circumstances threaten to compromise the success of the venture. Participants have the opportunity to see the scenario unfold through a series of short performances. The scenes are interspersed with a range of different exercises designed to enable the group to reflect and analyse events as they occur and to devise their own strategies for positive interventions.

Look to the lady: leading through change

A new Chief Executive of a voluntary organisation must make radical changes of priority and personnel, while ensuring that public perception of the organisation’s purpose quickly grows in strength. This masterclass explores the issues of dealing with saboteurs, valuing the culture of an organisation and adapting personal style.

Talk the talk: advanced presentation and communication skills

Talk the talk is a practical workshop specifically designed to increase confidence and develop effective communication skills when addressing an audience. It examines voice, personal impact in presentations and power point skills. This lively and animated masterclass includes opportunities to apply, practice and rehearse techniques with supportive and constructive feedback leading to the development of individual action plans.