8th GRADE DRAMA

Trimester Project Overview

In 8th grade, students work together to produce a play. As an ensemble, they select, adapt, design for, and produce a chosen play or piece of literature with a specific audience in mind. This year, both cohorts chose picture books to perform for the primary students: The Lorax and Swapped - a reimagining of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood.  Along the way, they explore adaptation, stagecraft (theatrical design), and acting technique. The project culminates in a performance for their chosen audience and the MP&MS community. 

Play Selection

In 7th grade, looking ahead to their 8th grade year, in small groups, students prepared and presented pitches on what play they wanted to produce as a cohort. They were asked to either pitch a picture book to perform for the primary grade levels or a Shakespeare play to perform for the middle school grade levels. Pitches were widely ranged -- The Berenstain Bears all the way to Macbeth. In the end, they voted to produce The Lorax and Swapped - a reimagining of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood. 

Ensemble Building

Throughout the trimester 8th grade actors took part in a variety of drama games to build ensemble and practice performance fundamentals such as cue recall, projection, maintaining character, and proprioception. 

Costume Design

Students designed costumes for their characters. They were challenged to create designs that were balanced in functionality and aesthetic. 

Set Design

Each 8th grader drew an elevation sketch of an original set design for their production. They were asked to create something that fit the needs of both plays (tonally and practically) and the limitations of the performance space. The final set was inspired by their designs.

Character Analysis & Rehearsal

In rehearsals, student actors were engaged in conversation with the director to collaboratively make blocking and acting decisions. They explored character objectives, physical expression, and "the moment before" for their entrances. They also took a deep analysis dive into their characters by creating character webs. This exercise challenged each actor to think beyond the context of the play and imagine their characters existing before and after it as well. This knowledge helped guide acting choices. 

Student Build Day

Leading up to their performance, students were invited to participate in a build day to put the set together -- painting, sawing, and more!

Final Performance

Student Reflection Snapshots

I am most proud of my Super and Minor Objectives assignment because through this it allowed me to think about what my character was thinking about in the moment, or advocating for. So, through this I was able to use what my character was thinking about and apply it to my on stage performance.

Something that has stood out to me in the rehearsal process is how well we collaborate with one one another. Even if we don't get along outside of the classroom, we all come together to create art and we all work hard to be a cohesive classroom. We all put our full efforts into making the show the best it can be and we do it together, which is not something you get to see in every class.

I am proud of some of the acting skills I have learned. I love acting and performing, however, I haven't been in a show for a while. So I was a little rusty. We learned a lot of acting technique, however some of my favorites are the moment before and objectives.

Something that stood out to me during the production process was how much I enjoyed acting. I had never really given acting much thought but this production made me realize that I enjoy it more than I expected.

Something that stood out to me was the casting process. I enjoyed how I had a say in the casting. I also enjoyed helping at the build days. It was fun. 

Something that has stood out to me throughout the production/rehearsal process would have to be the commitment and practice that everyone in this play put their time into. It was really rewarding to see the whole cast work hard, and the show coming together because of that. Thanks, Katie, for creating a great environment to do that!