Page 284 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21
P. 284
University and now doctoral programme leader at Guildhall
School of Music and Drama. ‘As a nurse, even coming into the
room in a particular way can have an impact.’
Transferable skills between theatre and nursing
Alex Mermikides: ‘What struck me
was the emotions of nurses’
The siblings made a show about their experience, touring it to
audiences of different healthcare professionals, including
oncology nurses.
‘What struck me then was the emotions of nurses and what they
go through, especially on a cancer ward where they’re losing
some patients and there is great distress,’ she says. ‘It was two
sides of the coin.’
Inspired by what she had learned, Dr Mermikides approached a
colleague at Kingston University’s nursing department, suggesting
she create a new performance working with nursing students.
‘As we were doing drama exercises with the nursing students, we
discovered they seemed to get a lot of out of it,’ she says. ‘For
example, standing in a certain way can make you feel more
confident. All the skills I was used to teaching drama students
were useful for them too.’
Well-received practical workshop sessions
