As I've said... this is hard. The keeping up part. Just so you know, all of you who complain about having to keep up YOUR drama journals and portfolios, I am aware of what it takes to be disciplined in this regard.
That being said... where are we now?
Well, Week 5 is nearly over. Week 5 of an eleven week term. I guess that actually puts us a little over halfway through the first term. Wow. It's moved rather fast!
The 9's
We're done our Movement study. The Year 9s have patiently, and at times enthusiastically, waded through the beginnings of my drama course. That part where I don't ever let them speak on stage. That part where we focus only on those three other Drama techniques. The big M, the big B, and the big S. Yes, Movement, Body, and Space. My reasoning for starting with this study (in all of my classes) has been quite clear in my head ever since I began doing it. Of the four tools the actor has at their immediate disposal at any time in any place, three of them don't involve the voice at all! Therefore, it makes perfect sense to give any drama student a strong base in these techniques right off the bat. Right?
Well, after many starts this way, (Let me see... I'll do the counts now.... this would be the
twelfth time I've started a group of students off this way), it still seems to be working. I've.......
Okay, I'm straying a bit..... where was I? My Year 9s, right.
They're great. I'm really enjoying them. They completed their final movement project today, and while the results were typical (not a criticism), they were also reflective of a lot of hard work and imagination. I will admit, that I have seen an awful lot of sneaking around, chasing, stealing, and the like when it comes to this project. But it's all good. I'm probably leading them that way with the music I'm choosing.
Good on you 9s. We're going to have fun with
Improv next!
The 10s
They continue to surprise me. Both classes have done some really creative work in our Physical Comedy study. Especially recently with our short slapstick routines. I admit, the unit was chosen and designed to try and keep an average 14 year old boy interested. Not an easy task, often. I find, in this subject, if you don't choose very carefully what the lesson is going to contain, you can lose the boys in an instant. Too much
wishy-washy movement stuff, and they're gone. Too much discussion, they're out. Too much theory, they're not interested. Action, motion, a really quick pace, and you can usually keep a boy engaged for a good amount of time. Thus, my Year 10 program has evolved to include Physical Comedy, and evolved even further so that it is one of the first things we study. Yep, it's an honest attempt to win the boys over at the beginning. And you know what.... this time around, I'm getting some really good stuff from them. The boys, I mean. Good stuff, boys.
As for the girls.... they'll typically engage in whatever we're doing. And I'm thankful for it everyday. In a unit designed to keep boys interested, I often get some of the most creative work out of the girls. Several pairs of girls truly kept me laughing as we watched their slapstick routines today. In a lot of cases, girls will take a fresh perspective to this stuff. They don't always need the action and the motion to keep their brains active, so they're able to put a little bit more ingenuity into the projects. I saw some of that today, and it was a good thing.
I look forward to seeing more tomorrow.
The 11s
A truly amazing group of students. In just four weeks time, they have truly gelled together into a class. Absolutely vital for a theatre class. They have learned to work as an ensemble. I have absolutely no fears in putting them into any combination for any project. I know that there is enough maturity and even
camaraderie within the whole, that the job will get done. Because we have had this start to the year, it's going to be a great ride, I think.
The 12s
They pulled together after a dangerous ride towards the performance date of our first project. I have to admit that I had moments where I wasn't sure we'd make it in one piece. But I discovered that it's simply the personality make-up of the class. Some very strong personalities have combined to create a small power struggle at times. It's not an overt struggle. But it's there, under the surface. There also though, is a great desire to succeed, and to perform well, that seems to be present in everyone. In the end, it was that desire that allowed them to succeed and complete the project with accolades. From my perspective as teacher, I have to take note of this, so that it doesn't frighten me again. I feel like it may be a slow start to our next study on Elizabethan theatre, but I must remind myself to look back at the success of the first project to see the end product of our next project. It will succeed as well. I'm sure of it.
They want it to succeed. I'm sure of it.
They need it to succeed. After all, some of their futures are at stake, if it doesn't.
More soon.....
