As a theatremaker, Naomi has created an impressive body of work for the venue’s Take the Stage and the Tomorrow Project. By working collaboratively with young actors she provides an exchange of ideas and places their voices front and centre of the productions they create, culminating in a season of plays hosted by the venue.

Naomi joined a project team at the venue as an actor-practitioner, directing a range of young people as part of the theatre’s Residencies programme in primary and secondary schools, and established the Almeida Academy, which provided children with opportunities to build creative skills and engage with professional artists.

As lead workshop tutor with The Old Vic on Old Vic New Voices, Naomi devised a series of workshops exploring plot, character and context, introducing schools and colleges to stagecraft techniques which had been used in the rehearsal process at the Old Vic, as well as her own collaborative-based methods to create theatre.

After a recommendation, and being able to easily adapt her skills to support a wide range of young people, Naomi began work on Minding the Gap, a programme supporting young refugees and migrants not in mainstream education. She was their main tutor, using drama know-how to develop confidence in oral and written skills.

“P is for Poetry” is Naomi’s programme of teaching children about the power of words and expression through poetry. Working alongside each school’s curriculum, she encourages all pupils to engage with words and express ideas confidently, whilst empowering them to develop their emotional resilience and wellbeing.

This is where Naomi’s “P is for Poetry” began. Using her knowledge of performance and language, she initially created the programme for Key Stage 2. Now she teaches poetry to all pupils and it has become a valued part of the curriculum, with termly assemblies and ongoing success in LAMDA exams.

Working across all year groups, Naomi’s programme has a whole-school impact, introducing poetry from Nursery through to Year 6. Children begin exploring their poems linked by a topic or style, and share their initial feelings about the poet’s ideas. They then begin to interpret this into their own dramatic performance

When this new school opened its doors to its first ever intake of Reception pupils, Naomi was there, welcoming all with her smile, infectious energy and poetry programme. Since then, her work has gained popularity with pupils and families, who enjoy both her online programme of activities and her in-class poetry lessons.

During her in-class poetry lessons, Naomi encourages pupils to be bold with their choices and believe in their ability to perform in front of others. This confidence grows in differing ways, from raising a hand in class, through sharing their ideas about a word or an action, to standing in front of others and performing an entire poem from memory.

With her support and care, Naomi’s pupils explore the ideas and feelings of poetry, and incorporate this into their interpretation of it, making each poem their very own. Using gestures and movement, intonation and articulation, children enjoy this expressive way of engaging with poetry and the challenge of remembering it.

At all of her primary schools, Naomi introduces pupils to the LAMDA programme of examinations. For over 130 years the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art has been providing examinations in communication and performance. Naomi prepares her pupils for exams in Verse, Introductory and Graded for Solo and Group presentations.

Naomi’s online resources continue to provide valuable extra opportunities for children to engage with poetry, in their own time and with families. There is a huge range of poetry activities to join in with, including ‘poems to listen to’ and ‘poems to perform with Ms Naomi’ and stand-alone lessons - each one focussing specifically on either Early Years or Key Stage 1 or 2.

As a lively teller of tales, Naomi provides drama-based interactive storymaking workshops for all ages. These bespoke workshops, either stand-alone or part of a series, encourage creative expression, develop pupils’ confidence and support all areas of the curriculum, particularly creative writing and other aspects of literacy.

Naomi has created a trilogy of storytelling workshops depicting pioneering stories of women from Black History – Mary Seacole, Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges – women who made the world a better place. Each workshop also includes its own drama activity session introducing the themes and achievements of these heroines.

Naomi was the specialist artist on a project created to specifically work with ‘looked after children’ in the local community. She sourced a variety of objects from the museum’s Handling Collection to create fascinating and new stories, encouraging all participants to voice their ideas and escape into a world of imagination.

Naomi was lead facilitator and devised in-school sessions combining storytelling and writing activities to develop Key Stage 2 pupils’ literacy, and in particular their writing composition and confidence. She impressed all with her storymaking ‘magical formula’ for collaborating with pupils.

Naomi has worked with many SEN schools, supporting students with a range of needs from Autism and sensory impairment to Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties. Her inclusive methods are welcomed by staff, who recognise her successful approach in engaging with students.

Naomi’s inclusive and inspiring approach to theatre-making makes her one of the ‘go to’ theatremakers for the company. She has worked with their young and ensemble companies exploring different ways of creating powerful and thought-provoking plays, and has shared Graeae’s artistic approach with other creatives.

Naomi worked as a resident artist with this community special school, developing a series of short plays with students and staff, using storytelling, repetition and choral work. She responded to the wide range of abilities within the group, spending time developing communicative skills and encouraging the sharing of ideas.

Naomi created a series of workshops, using storytelling techniques to encourage SEN Key Stage 1 pupils and their parents in developing and understanding aspects of communication through creative play. This was an ongoing project supported by Haringey council as part of its parent-and-child programme.

Naomi is associated with community arts organisations as a young actor’s director or as a youth theatre tutor. Using stagecraft techniques – movement and voice work, storymaking and devising, creative writing and multi-sensory learning – she creates exciting and vibrant work with young people.

This theatre and community arts hub based in the heart of Woolwich continues to work with Naomi. She has directed their senior actors as part of the National Theatre’s Connections programme, hosted a series of informative Masterclasses for their emerging artists, and facilitated outreach projects across the borough.

Naomi’s work included developing their outreach programmes for Early Years children and their parents living in the most disadvantaged areas of East London. She also devised new shows with the company’s inclusive youth theatres, empowering their expression, confidence and creativity.

Naomi has worked with the venue to devise productions with their youth theatre members and as a storymaker, and created Early Years workshops encouraging self-expression and confidence. She also introduced theatremaking skills to primary schools to enable them to devise their very own Twits-inspired ‘upside down circus’!