I think there is a huge difference in what high school teachers do in the classroom and what we do when we're directing a show.
During the rehearsal process for a show, I try to run things as professionally as possible. We have students sign a contract, and if they cannot adhere to those guidelines, they are "released" from that contract. I teach specific acting skills to the students involved in the production that we often would not cover in class. A specific dialect, combat sequence, or acting technique as well as production and design assistance. I try to include students in just about every step of the process.
However, in class, the level a student is in greatly affects what we do in class. Beginning students start off learning quite a bit of theatre history as well as reading plays from major points in history and performing scenes from them. This allows students to conquer their fear of public speaking and gives them a chance to work as a group. We then merge into basic combat, basic characterization, a brief unit on tech theatre and then they write skits to perform at the end of the year.
Second years cover more plays, history, and perform scenes from a range of genres from Commedia to Theatre of the Oppressed. They also do research and write 10 minute plays.
Third year is an "Acting Intensive" course where students delve into the basics of the "method", learn dialects, perform monologues, research a world theatre practice, do a musical theatre project, and direct themselves in a one act.
Fourth year is a "directing" course, and we do a student- directed class one act for state competition as well as a district competition. Students also design conceptually for a show considering the set, costumes, and lights. They make short videos to advertise for our musical and learn some film basics. At the end of the year, each senior directs their own 10 minute play. They must turn in a portfolio as their final exam.
*We are an IB school so some of my projects are dictated by the IB Programme, but I do plenty of things that the IB doesn't prescribe because I want the kids to be prepared for a BA Theatre program in college.
I have about a 3-5 % rate of students who go on to study theatre in college, which I think is AWESOME!!! Even students who don't major in theatre let me know how much the skills they learned in theatre helped them in college.
We all have our own methods, class structures, and limitations based on our school curriculum, but I agree that teaching good theatre is really teaching us how to be good human beings :)
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Lisa Dyer
Henrico VA
Original Message:
Sent: 03-10-2016 06:50
From: Elisabeth Ledwell
Subject: How do you approach teaching theatre?
Great question! Having come from the world of movies (I started out as an agent in L.A.), I have a twofold approach. Yes, I am a teacher, and there are techniques students can learn, but each show is unique, and we run them like professional theatre shows. I tell the actors and designers that while our aim is great art, we are engaged in show business, not show art! So, all must be punctual, professional, and creative, all within our budget dollars and time). We might investigate cool effects for our shows, for instance, like how to build a pool for Metamorphoses or how to do the pepper effect for a ghost in The Enchanted, but sometimes, we don't actually do them because of the reality of the budget or the geometry of our space. Our best routine, I think, is the initial production meeting, where designers and actors discuss themes and moods before settling on a design. Student designers use AutoCAD to make set and lighting designs. They run the boards, stage manage, etc. Our crew is incredibly professional, and many go onto careers in the field. It's a bit tricker for actors, in that they sometimes (by necessity or design) are cast in roles they would rarely get in the real world. But, I figure that's the point of educational theatre, to expand their horizons!
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