"You must get to a place of problem-solving."-Playwright/ Performer, Anna Deavere-Smith on craft.
Big Idea: Voice.
Inquiry Question: How is student voice amplified through the Arts?
Our Approach to Online Teaching:
We were 'lucky' as many plays had moved to online presentations, so we were right in the loop. Students joined via Google Meets twice a week for Drama Club.
Cultural Capital:
"Cultural capital functions as a social relation within an economy of practices (i.e., system of exchange), and includes the accumulated cultural knowledge that confers social status and power. It comprises all of the material and symbolic goods, without distinction, that society considers rare and worth seeking. "
Student's voice was valued and leveraged constantly in this class. The culture of the student, their accumulated knowledge of both social status and power is exhibited in both plays.
Academic Standards/SEL Standards.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.
Students then developed fully formed characters with backstories and desires!
Months were spent crafting each play. 'The Case of the Lingering Water Bottle' received an entire play table read in front of CAPE staff and invited guests. Students then began recording parts of the play via Google Meets and Imovie.
'Detective and Luna' scene performed by NG Drama Club students from 'The Case of The Lingering Water Bottle'.
Students created a trailer for the play: 'The Case of the Lingering Water Bottle'.
Student-created art to support and publicize the play. Incorporated into a sweatshirt design!