Romeo and Juliet Field Trip

Well, we did it! We took 180 students to the Shakespeare Tavern on Tuesday to see Romeo and Juliet. What a treat! I, for one, enjoyed the performance, and even better, the students enjoyed it. Everyone agreed that Mercutio was incredibly entertaining, and I could hear and sense genuine sorrow when he died in Act 3. We studied the language a little before we went, and the students said, while they didn't understand everything that was being said at all times, they still understood what was going on. I look forward to delving into the text a little more now that they've seen the play. I think it will make reading the play an incredibly rich experience. I have assigned them an essay to write: "Which is better, the play or the movie?" I can't wait to hear the responses.

Tales of Edgar Allan Poe

SO MUCH FUN! This may very well be my favorite performance. I can't wait to see another puppet show! I am simply blown away by the creativity and talent displayed in this show. I am so thankful that we got to speak with the performers and director after the show. One thing from that conversation that has really stuck with me is the process involved in creating the show. As I was watching it, I kept thinking, "How did they come up with this?" Then, they explained how it developed in stages and how different people contributed - set design, music, etc. What a great lesson for our kids about teamwork and the importance of diverse talents. It takes so many different people to put on a great show. If I could one performance to take my students to, I think this would be it. These are tales they are familiar with and that they love, so I think it would be a very positive experience for them. Plus, they would get to experience the genius of the percussionist. Another thing I can take back to my classroom is the idea of turning a short story into a puppet show - and not necessarily a traditional, behind the curtain puppet show. I'm beginning to see that there are so many outlets for creative performance! I really want to give my students the opportunity to express themselves in these ways. My only concern is what to do for the students who don't want to do a performance. What creative outlet do I offer them?

Women and War

This was not my favorite production. I didn't really like the interpretive dance moves, but I did love most of the dramatic monologues. They were very compelling. I also found it interesting that they combined video with live performance. I noticed they were using the choral reading strategy we had discussed, and I thought it was interesting. What I did love about this production and what I want to take back to my classroom is the way the writers took NONFICTION and turned it into a dramatic piece. I'm not sure if I could assign something like this because it would be hard to communicate my expectations to the students since they haven't seen what I've seen. But then, maybe that's a good thing - this way whatever they produce is completely their own. It would be cool to offer this as an alternative to the traditional research paper.

Canterbury Tales at the Shakespeare Tavern

I sat down to enjoy this production loaded with the remnants of our discussion earlier in the day. The one question I really wanted to answer for myself was, "Why live theater?" (Do we need to cultivate an appreciation for live theater in our students? Why is live theater better than watching a movie?) Well, amidst some raucous laughter, I found my answer. It's fun! And a completely different fun than watching a funny movie. Why do people go to concerts when they could just watch the music video? It's fun! It's about the sense of community you have when you're there - that "energy" we kept talking about.

So, where does it fit into the classroom? into the curriculum? It is definitely one of our standards. But what exactly am I trying to teach them - how to read a play? how to perform a play? how to write one? how to appreciate one? all of the above? And what is the purpose - how will that knowledge help them in their future careers?

Here's what I've got so far: 1) Reading a play is an excellent way to teach close reading, subtext, reading between the lines. 2) Performance is a part of life - any customer service job requires it, it is the essence of courtships, and it is a must in job interviews. Therefore, teaching students to perform is a good thing. 3) In teaching a student to write a play, we can really focus on diction and how it creates tone. By writing plays, students will see that once a line is written, it is open to interpretation, and students need to understand that aspect of writing. It is extremely important when creating business correspondence. 4) I'm not sure it is possible to teach apprecation. Some students will like it. Actually, I think most students will like it, but there might be some that don't. And that's okay. No one is or should be required to appreciate anything.

Now, back to the Canterbury Tales:

This was an interesting playgoing experience for me because I had seen the Tavern's production of Canterbury Tales last year, and it is very rare for me to see the same play twice. While I enjoyed the first half of the show, I did begin to become a bit bored. The first half of the show was the same tales from last year. They were all the same jokes, and they made me smile but didn't make me laugh. (But it was still uplifting to be among all the revelry - going back to that whole energy/atmosphere thing.) The second half of the show sent me guffawing! It was hilarious - especially the chicken. Now, Laura Cole had mentioned earlier that morning how they designed the show to be funny but still convey Chaucer's "deep thoughts." I must say I missed those. I think they were there, but the action moved so fast, I didn't have time to ponder over what lesson the tale was supposed to teach me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing or even matters. It's just an observation. It was a delightful performance, and I definitely enjoyed it.

Peach Drop, Stop, and Roll

This production included a lot of allusions to people and places in Atlanta. This made it really interesting to watch - a challenge almost: how many of the allusions do you "get"? The content of this show was not really appropriate for my students, but I think I could use this idea in my classroom. Perhaps my students could write their own "allusion" plays using allusions to people, places, and events at the school. In reading/performing it, the other students (audience) would also be challenged to identify the allusions. OR, for my less capable students, I could draft a play with allusions.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the improv aspect. I love the idea of improv. It requires so much creative thinking. It's fun. It's engaging. It's hilarious. I used to watch Whose Line Is It Anyway on a regular basis. They had an exercise in which the partners were given odd objects and had to come up with uses for them. I once tried to do this exericse myself - thinking it might make a fun party game. It was HARD! So, I'm not sure how to justify improv in relation to the All Important State Standards, but I think it's a valuable mental exercise.

Around the World in 80 Days

What a delightful show! I truly enjoyed seeing this production. It was lighthearted and silly, but that's what I loved about it. I wish we studied more plays like this in our classes. Truly, the only plays we really teach are Greek tragedies and Shakespeare. What's the fun in that? Don't get me wrong - I love those plays, but I'm an English teacher. I truly wonder how the students would react to reading/performing a "silly" play. Perhaps they need to know that drama is FUN! In fact, I may try to squeeze in a "fun" play with my 9th graders before I attempt Romeo and Juliet. I just recently saw Julius Caesar, and this summer I saw a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Both of those shows were nice but emotionally draining. Caesar had NO comic relief whatsoever. Boy, that was tough.

I have never read the novel before, but now I am inspired to do so. I wonder, however, if not having read the book made the play more enjoyable. It created tension for me because I truly did not know what was going to happen next. I also had no expectations about what I thought should be included or how I thought a certain character should be portrayed. Have our students EVER seen a play that they didn't already read? How would this impact their views on drama?

One thing I found especially fascinating was meeting the actors before the show and then seeing them perform - there was quite a transformation in between. I'm not sure how this would benefit students, but I think they'd enjoy it. One thing it might help them to understand is the separation between author and speaker.