Yes! I included independent play reading and reporting in every Drama/Theatre Arts class I taught.
In my last 19 years, block schedule, semester-long classes, students read a play every three weeks and submitted a written report. On the due date, we sat in a circle and each student shared a review of the play they read, not telling so much of the plot as to ruin it for other students. ("That's enough!") I graded the written reports, giving full credit if the report was complete and making brief margin notes to explain, encourage, or just respond as a fellow reader.
Some students wouldn't read. I counted the play reading and reporting as 20% of the grade, meaning they could score a C in the class without doing the reading.
In Theatre I, we read a couple of one-act plays and wrote the reports in class so students could learn how to read plays creatively and complete the report well.
I spent several hundred dollars a year from our budget to buy new and replacement play scripts--mainly acting editions--for our classroom library. Students chose plays and signed them out and back in.
I wrote "Strong language" in Sharpie on the cover of plays that contained language to which the most conservative parents might object. It was a simple "buyer be aware" label that allowed me to put contemporary plays on the shelf.
I loved reading students' reports, and I loved listening to their reviews in class. I really enjoyed ushering them into the community of theatre people who read plays to choose monologues, scenes, or entire seasons. And when graduates came back to thank me for preparing them for college, expressing shock that their fellow Theatre majors hadn't read
anything [emphasis theirs], I felt good.
So there you have it. Could two CJs be wrong?
I'm attaching my play report instructions. Nothing magical or unique about this form, apart from the fact that it climbs Bloom's taxonomy.
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CJ Breland
Retired Theatre Arts Educator
NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-17-2022 00:58
From: CJ Hindman
Subject: Some Sage Words of Wisdom
SOME THOUGHTS ON PLAY READING
There has been a lot published in the past few years about theatre students entering college training programs without a solid background of classic plays or even more contemporary theatrical works that have made a significant social impact . I realize it can be challenging to dedicate time for play reading in course curriculum. It can be particularly challenging for those who may have shorter courses (12-18 weeks) that don't run a full year. However, many of us do have extensive play libraries or access to plays through out school libraries and English departments.
I would encourage you to consider a play reading group with your students. It's like a "book group" for students. You and your students read plays and then spend time in discussion. When we did it at my school, students read a play each month on their own with a study guide and then we got together one day after school and had a great discussion about the play. This was a great opportunity to explore a variety of plays, both classic and contemporary. This was a great experience for both actors and technicians. We explored the entire "world" of the play and it allowed kids to really see how working through a play together can be a spring board for directing, acting and design.
In addition to wonderful discussion and exploration, students gain access to a variety of different plays where they can use scenes and monologues for competition, auditions and design opportunities. We all know, the work is better when you are familiar with the entire play. These play reading groups allowed students to gain a real depth of knowledge to pull from. I noticed more interesting perspective in their writing, in creating characters, and making choices in their designs.
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CJ Hindman
Retired Theatre Teacher
OR
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