I would like to add to this as well, I sorta got 'thrown' into teaching Theater---interviewed for an English position, "but the degree covers Theater, right...and oh yes you've had 15 yrs at camp, a few years working with a drama team at church, oh wait you have a Master's Degree in Media, Design, and Technology, so you could teach the technology class right?" We had a theater teacher who just left, he also taught the Music classes, so while you won't do those classes, you can just pick up the Theater ones. Great, no problem ---right?
By the way, I teach at a 6th-12th grade College Prep school that runs on a college schedule, while the Core Subject areas are not mixed, the Electives are where the school decides to mix the grades. Try planning on doing Juliet and This Guy Romeo and not realizing the girl you've cast as Juliet is 12 and the guy you've cast as Romeo is 17 almost 18. Yeah...talk about bringing Romeo and Juliet to real-life...Covid hit and shutdowns did as well before things got too out of hand, but it is truly a mess at times.
I walked into the Theater 1 class on the 1st day of school into my class of 6th-12th graders, believing that all students were in the class who wanted to be in the class, who wanted to perform, who had a desire to perform. I couldn't have been farther from the truth--they would have much rather had root canals done. I had two weeks of pre-planning of not really knowing what was there, finding out that there was absolutely nothing left behind, no curriculum, no textbooks, no plays...oh there's a Drama Club, but it isn't run by the Theater class teacher. So I created my own path of Theater 1... I have tweaked things, swapped things around and I have also allowed the students to somewhat guide the class---keeping to the Florida Standards.
I have done a Nine-week study of the Theater History, Pre-Theater--using Lip Syncing Competition, Reading Children's Books, Improv Games, lots and lots of Fairy Tales, the Elements of a Play/Literature, Using song titles to write skits--calling it a slight bit of Improv, throwing in a bit of Theater and Group Building Games, Radio Theater, and for their Mid-Term creating a Character who they then had to create a backstory and the create a "Movie Trailer". In the 2nd Nine Weeks, we would continue our journey through Theater History getting to Shakespeare and Musicals so I could show Into the Woods. I think I do things at a decent pace, maybe a little quick at times, but I have learned if I drag things out too long I seem to lose interest pretty quickly
The problems I have run into, the Middle Schoolers can't keep up with the High Schoolers when I lecture, or switch gears, no matter how slow I go, no matter how short I make the slides of information, or interactive. The High Schoolers get frustrated because they just want to get through the lecture so we can get onto the Hands-On portion of the component. I have learned if I would lecture about a particular Historical component, then we do a Readers Script or some type of Moving activity I got better results. The students actually enjoyed themselves.
Last Spring, I only had 1 theater class and 3 tech classes, but that class was the most different class I had had to date. They wanted to act, they wanted to perform--I didn't know what to do. So we did an actual play and I threw out my carefully laid out plans from the 1st semester and started over.
Then this year came along....I was so excited, I was told I was going to have Theater 1, Theater 2, and Theater 3, but when I got my schedule it just became a laughing stock of schedules. I have 4 Theater 1 classes, mixed in my 3rd pd class I have 5 Theater 2 students--at one point that class was all Theater 2 students---6th graders who had never taken a drama/theater course before in their lives, guidance was going through something. Theater 3 was canceled due to a lack of anyone signing up for it, and all of my classes have at least 20-30 students in them. All who started off the year wanting to do anything possible besides acting. Then my games, my activities, the pure 'silliness' of theater, and our ability to slip past defenses and suddenly they all wanted to perform.
(Oh, by the way, my Spring Semester---Theater 1 for 3 classes with Theater 2 students mixed in two and a Debate class---like I have a clue about Debate--oh wait I took that in 10th grade....I looked at the numbers, if they would just pull all the Theater 2 students into 1 class it would be a very nice doable class)
We have performed more this semester than I have with my previous classes, we had a Visual Performing Arts Night where the Chorus teacher organized our Arts Department to showcase our students, giving her chorus students the opportunity to perform and any of my students who may want to try this new thing called performing a chance. After I picked the 4 groups, all of my classes were upset they weren't picked--ok it lasted about 20 seconds, but I had to shake my head and snicker as I thought back to their 1st conversations in my class, "Oh I ain't performing in front of no one"
I took my Mid-Term Movie Making Project and broke it further down and made it into both their Midterm and Final Exam Projects, so they are learning technology while in Theater, and we will end with creating and performing Human Videos using the Mime we learned.
Sorry for the long rant, but I guess I too am in the same boat of needing ideas of what I can present to the Administration for 2022-2023 class suggestions. I get so many students who are dumped in my class who have absolutely no desire to be in it, but have to because a Performing Arts credit is required and it is either Chorus or Theatre are the options. We did look up and saw a Film course in the Theater listing so I know I want to present that as an option.
But how does one really handle having Middle and High School mixed, do I have a valid argument to have separate sections if I want to pursue competitions? If that is the only reason, will that be enough? The standards have an Intro to Drama course that is Middle School but it is a 1/2 credit so what do I give to the Admin as an option for the other 1/2 of the year?
------------------------------
Lauri Quick, Theater & Debate (Spring)Teacher
Somerset College Preparatory Academy
Port Saint Lucie, FL
O. 772-343-7028 ext 276
F. 772-343-7029
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 11-18-2021 09:17
From: Amber Hugus
Subject: Theatre Class Units of Study
Hello!
I have been teaching Theatre and Advanced Theatre for a few years now and I am working on re-vamping some of my older materials. I inherited a lot from the previous teacher and I don't love it all.
I'm curious what "Units" others teach? I know there are standards and curriculum and all that, but does anyone else base their course on units? For example, with my Beginning Theatre class, I do a unit on production roles, a unit on pantomime, a unit on the audition process and the monologue. In Advanced, I do a unit on Shakespeare, a unit on Stage Combat, etc. But I need fresh ideas! What units do you all teach??
------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Seneca Valley High School
PA
------------------------------