5th-6th Winter Play Pathway Portfolio

About This Theatre Class

Middle school students participate twice a week in lessons geared toward performing a play.

The first half of a trimester we worked as a team to prepare a magical show for the preschoolers! We worked as members of the "Polar Express" and brought the magical world to life through their dancing. Students learned choreography to the dance "Hot Chocolate" and then broke into small groups to choreograph "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!"

The next half of the trimester students are separated into groups: stage manager and performer. The stage manager assists in the attendance, organization, and design of the rehearsals. The performers learn their scenes, block their movement, and rehearse their acting. Finally, students fine tuned rehearsals and put on a performance for the public.

Everything you wish you knew about your teacher!

This play was a great introduction into performance, because it broke the show into smaller scenes that could be tackled by small teams of actors.

Each scene was a vignette. Each vignette was a comedic skit about the mysterious life of teachers. The day of the show, students were responsible for setting their props, remembering their blocking, and being off-book for the performance.

These actors really stepped up to the plate, as THREE cast members where out sick the day of our performance. In classic theatre fashion, the show must go on! They came to me during lunch and already told me they sorted out who would be covering what roles. I was immensely proud of them!

Studio Habits of Mind

Develop Craft: I can memorize lines, learn blocking, and project my voice on stage for a performance.

Engage and Persist: I can perform in a scene with my castmates.

Observe: I can observe the strengths of my castmates and identify areas of improvement.

Reflect: I can listen to the feedback my classmates and director give me and use that feedback to enhance my performance.

Express: I can use my voice and body to portray different characters.

About Ms. Welser

Our design lessons focus on the importance of the costume/makeup designer in bringing the character to life. During our short time together, students learned how to use their designs to reflect the character the actor is playing, while considering the performance needs of the actor.

I believe that theater is a multi-media artform, and that often students don't get to experience the design aspects of theater until much later in their educational career. Through this course, students are exposed to design elements at a younger age, and now see their potential to bring their artistic talents to the theater in a method that is more than just performing.

You can contact me with any questions at mwelser@alphonsusacademy.org

About the Studio Habits of Mind

Arts classes at AACA use the Studio Habits of Mind as a framework for guiding student learning. These 8 habits describe the learning and thinking processes that students engage in as they create art, music, drama, and dance with us. Look for these habits throughout the project descriptions in arts classes portfolios to better understand the learning goals we are working on with your children.