Culminating Activity

Journal 9

Last week, I had the students revisit the scenes they wrote for our character development workshops. I was going to have them choose from a scene they wrote, or one of the scenes they used for the audition workshop; however, I left the audition scenes at home, so everyone ended up using a student-written scene. I think this was serendipitous though for a few reasons-- the characters were already developed, so they could focus on making their performances stronger, it was material they wrote themselves (and could therefore relate too), and it made the pace and tone of the class more consistent and supportive. I assigned certain students to direct their fellow classmates in their scenes, while mixing up the students so some of them were performing in scenes they hadn't performed before.
After they broke up into their director-actor groups, I went around to see how the directors were facilitating the development of their scenes. I made suggestions and asked if they liked my ideas, if it seemed they were struggling to really direct and come up with different options for their actors to try. Some groups were very on- task and in had time to develop their script more. Another group had to rewrite a lot of their scene since they were unhappy with the state it was in before. Dan Froot came on Thursday to observe my class – we're supposed to meet after the break to have a longer discussion.
Today we finished the performances for our culminating activity. I had to be creative with putting some of the groups together because a bunch of people didn't show up to class. Nevertheless, it went really smoothly overall! The critique of the scenes went really well I thought. I had them take notes, and I had the directors talk about the choices they made for the scene. I definitely saw how many of the students had improved, especially in their understanding of character, and how to make a scene more dynamic (using stage direction, use of their voice, their physicality, etc). I'm excited for tomorrow when we can wrap things up and get feedback from the students. I'm also looking forward to talk with Kori more about how she felt about our residency, and what I can do to improve my curriculum and teaching style. I can't believe it's already over, and I'm equally relieved and sad. I'm so happy that we were set up with Kori and that I can look forward to working with her more!!

Journal 8: Audition Workshop

Auditioning is always difficult, apparently even when it's not an actual audition.

Today, I had the students split into pairs and they had 15 minutes to go over their assigned scenes before they performed for the class. I also had them introduce themselves before they started as if it were a real audition. We also went over their vocab/skills before we started and I tried to give them a criteria to keep in mind for their performance, including eye contact, vocal projection, presence, etc. They did really well in terms of participating and being patient. They were very respectful when watching each other, and succeeding in applying most of the suggestions I made for their scenes. If I gave them a simple adjustment for their scene, or a line reading – they understood and went for it.

However, I'm still having difficulty with getting them to take bigger risks with their character choices – sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. To be fair, I think today was difficult for them in terms of focusing on character because they didn't have the same amount of time to invest in developing the scene- like we had with the scenes from last week. It's especially difficult for many of them to perform a cold reading because many of them are insecure about speaking English. It's frustrating because as much as I want to help them improve their acting and performance skills, I feel like they could also benefit from extra time going over their quickwrites/journals for class, or having more one- on- one conversations with them to insure they understand the concepts, but there just isn’t enough time to give everyone the attention I think they deserve.

I'm really excited for next week because I'm devoting most of the time to let them rehearse their scenes for the culminating performance and it should give me the opportunity to observe their progress more closely. In a way, I wish I could have worked on one major scene this whole time with them – and worked on very specific skills each time… ain't hindsight a bitch…

Character/Playwriting and other musings...

This week Iliana and I met with Dan Froot a second time to go over our lesson plans and ideas for the rest of our residency at Jordan. Dan is really supportive and confident in our outline for the next 5 sessions. He also gave us some great suggestions in terms of how to discuss our themes with our students and how to provoke discussion about their performances. The hardest part for me is making clear connections between the activities we're doing and their own lives. I do believe I am making connections when I work with them one on one/in smaller groups – it's easier to help them come up with ideas for scenes and characters when I tell them they can draw from their own life.
Today was interesting and revealed new challenges. I really wanted the students to keep working on the scenes we did last week. We didn’t have time for them to give each other feedback, and many students didn't have a chance to perform their scenes at all. So, I had those that did perform revise their scripts and rehearse them, while students who needed more time to finish their script could do so.
The most difficult task was trying to accommodate four students who were absent last week. I couldn’t spend the whole class-time teaching them everything we had gone over during the last session, especially considering the fact that there were groups who still needed more coaching in order to finish writing their scene. So I had to balance my time between three different "groups" – 1) kids who missed the last class and had to get caught up, 2) kids who were in the last class but didn't complete their scripts and hadn't performed, and 3) kids who had performed, but could still benefit from developing and performing their scenes more. I had a really hard time making sure everyone felt comfortable with what they were doing, while at the same time trying to encourage the kids who were already ahead of everyone else to figure out how to make their scene even better.
The students who were present but did not perform last week performed today finally, but we couldn’t squeeze in the kids who had been absent; so I have to make sure that in our next activity, those kids perform a lot. What was really successful about today's class was we had time to give feedback for the scenes that they did perform. Many of the students were able to note whether the actor needed to project more, or whether they used the space well, or whether or not their characterization was clear. Their dialogue was also much clearer since I emphasized that I wanted them to each write down all the lines in their scene, as well as specific stage direction. They are certainly improving, which makes me wish we could teach more often so that they could progress even faster.
Question: How can we best accomodate a large class when students work at different rates and levels? Has anyone else run into this issue?

Day 3 Teaching

Another satisfying day at Jordan…I felt very supported today – supported by the students, Kori and especially Amy, Vera and Jaynie when they arrived at our class. It was really nice to be reminded that we are part of a bigger support system while we were working in the context of our classroom. So far, we have only discussed our experiences in our Friday meetings, so it became more tangible that what we are teaching is part of a larger vision when our ArtsBridge cohorts showed up.
I love working with the kids in smaller groups and partners. Today, we had them form small groups in which they were to develop their own, totally original character, given only a name to start with. Every group's character was within their age range (16-19), and had qualities with which they could easily relate – high school life, siblings, social issues and concerns with the opposite sex. But the kids displayed a good understanding of what would make the character stand out; One group developed a hippie/peace and love character, another was a big dumb jock, another was a tagger/ graffiti artist, a romantic pretty boy, etc. Then we had the students move into partners, so that one representative from each character group was paired with a different character. With their new partner, they had to write a new scene, establishing the characters' relationship and the setting. We had a great mix of dramatic and funny scenes. And again, like on the improv day, got a glimpse into what issues are prevalent in their reality. One partnership performed a scene where one of them was visiting the other one in juvenile hall. In another scene, one character came upon the other while he was in the middle of tagging the side of a wall. I also tried to mix them in a way so that outgoing students who were comfortable onstage were working with kids who aren't always so eager to get up in front of the class – so that one student sort of pushed the other to perform, which seemed to work out well.
One of my concerns is how to deal with inappropriate subject matter in the scenes that the kids come up with. A couple of them often curse, or they end up talking about drugs, etc. in their scenes, and I'd like to steer them away from these themes for obvious reasons. At the same time, I feel like it would be naïve to just shut down their ideas and force them to write a scene based on one of my own ideas. I want to encourage their independence, creativity, individual voice, and provide a safe space for them to talk about these issues, but I'm not sure to what extent its appropriate for me to humor them before I say what is or is not okay. I'm sure Kori and I could talk more about this, but I was wondering how other people have reacted to this kind of subject matter in their classes – even if it's just conversations they overhear. How do we set a good example without seeming righteous and preachy?

Journal 5: Day 2 Observations and Concerns

I love the kids at Jordan. Within our two classes, we have very different groups of kids. The first period acting class is outspoken, funny, and full of personality. But it's difficult to keep them focused, and I have to admit I'm unsure if they are taking the material very seriously. It feels like some of them are in acting class because they thought it would be easy, and a handful of them really don't like getting up in front of the class. Some of them really don't want to participate, and I'm not sure how to get them involved. I could be wrong, but I feel that in an art class, it's easier to engage with students one on one on a project, but acting requires them to interact with others. In a limited class period, it's hard to give attention to everyone.
Our 10th graders are very different. There are definitely a few talkers, but the majority of them are typical, well-behaved students. They follow directions and ask lots of questions – probably because they are used to coming into their English class when we are there, so they know it's time to work. Both groups provide interesting challenges and environments for us to teach in.
Today, I think the success of our lesson could be attributed to having them work in groups. It enabled them to create a scene without having to do it totally spontaneously (like the last session) and they had each other to create dialogue with. It also gave Iliana and I an opportunity to talk with them more personally, as we went around the room to each group to see how they were working together. The acting class especially were much more open to sharing their ideas with me when I was talking to their group, but when I asked them to share what we had talked about with the class, they were more hesitant to voice their opinion. I want to be put more pressure on them to speak up and volunteer to talk, but it's difficult when kids keep responding with "I don't know…" I'd like to know what tactics other people have utilized to enable their students to make connections with their lessons and ideas.

Journal 4: Jordan at UCLA!

Today, we got to spend time with our friends at Jordan on our own turf: UCLA! We met up with them at the Fowler Museum and walked through the Condom Couture Exhibit, then saw the performance "Flesh and Blood," put on my Kevin Kane, and danced/acted by WAC Alumni and friends. Iliana and I mostly documented the day, taking video and photos while the kids participated in the activities that the Museum Educators had planned for the students.
From what I could tell: the kids loved the performance. It was put together in a way that was extremely accessible to high schoolers; it didn't talk down to them, and it didn't make them uncomfortable. The production was a perfect example about how the performing arts can raise awareness about serious issues, without alienating the audience. In other words, the kids gained a sense of how important the issue of HIV/ STDs is, and rather than being bombarded with statistics or lectures, they had a glimpse into the personal stories behind these diseases, and were left with the sense that they were in control of their own bodies and health. The kids really enjoyed the Condom Couture Exhibit as well. They were impressed with the aesthetic appeal of the dresses, and I heard many of the girls say they would wear a dress just like the dresses featured (though they probably wouldn't wear one that was actually made out of condoms). They understood that the purpose of the exhibit was to make it acceptable and more commonplace to talk about condoms and that it doesn't always have to be in a medical or negative context.
I think overall the day was very successful-- in that the kids were able to walk away with some information, and (hopefully) were inspired by the examples of what they can take part in when they go to college. It's so important for them to see that college is not just a continuation of high school – that college can provide a new world for them to explore certain issues and artistic endeavors that interest them. I realized that that's probably one of the most important pieces of information that I can impart to them: College is what you make of it, and any college you end up at has so much potential to expand your world and improve your life. Seriously! That's what college has done for me…

Journal 3 - February 8, 2007


Today, Iliana (or should I say Ms. Phirippidis?) and I experienced our first day teaching our own class at Jordan High School.We officially started our residency! I have to say, overall, I thought it went very well. Most of the kids that were in Kori's theater class last semster are in one of (or both) our classes for this semester. It made me very grateful that we had the experience of observing and getting to the students before we started teaching. Seeing familiar faces made me feel much more at ease. the ones we knew seemed noticeably more comfortable interacting with us. Though it's hard to say if they were more outgoing because they knew us, or whether it is just in their nature; some of the kids have a natural knack for making jokes and performing in front of people. Also, it is clear that the kids who had Kori's class last semester are more confident.
For the first class, we went over the most basic skills and concept in theater/drama and introduced them to a couple improvisation games. Though I had high expectations that they would be creative with their character choices, most of the kids had a really hard time thinking on their feet and being able to stay engaged in the scene. We had some very good laughs though, and it gave us a good sense of who our class-clowns are, who we can count on to participate, and who needs a little gentle coaxing to get involved. I'd say the most successful part of the activity for them was getting more comfortable in the group, since it's their first week in their classes, and for us, it was an opportunity to get to know the students as much as possible in the first meeting.
Expanding on their character choices, etc -- I noticed one thing that was really interesting. We instructed them in the game "freeze" to start a new scene when they took the place of another actor in the scene. However, most of the scenes ended up being about similar topics: a drug deal, gambling/making a bet, spittin' game/hollerin', breaking up with a cheating boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. And it was hard to influence them to try a different setting and characters. Then after I thought about it, I realized that part of the game is thinking on your toes, and extrapolating scenes from your consciousness in order to use them for acting/improvising in the scene. It made me realize that the reality they were drawing from is much different than the one I would draw from when I played improv in high school. It was a good reminder for me as to where these kids are coming from, and what they've been subjected to in their environment. And it makes me so happy to see that so many of them have really good hearts and really want to learn.