Day 2 – Picking Groups & Picking Scenes

National Standard
TH:Cn10.1.II.a. Choose and interpret a drama/theatre work to reflect or question personal beliefs.

Other National Standard Met But Not Assessed:

TH:Re7.1.II.a. Demonstrate an understanding of multiple interpretations of artistic criteria and how each might be used to influence future artistic choices of a drama/theatre work. TH:Re8.1.II.b. Apply concepts from a drama/theatre work for personal realization about cultural perspectives and understanding.

TH:Pr4.1.II.a. Discover how unique choices shape believable and sustainable drama/theatre work.

State Standards:

Standard L2.T.CO.1: Choose and interpret a drama/theatre work to reflect or question personal beliefs.
Standard L3.T.CO.3: Examine contemporary social, cultural, or global issues through different forms of drama/theatre work.

Other State Standards Met But Not Assessed:

Standard L3.T.R.2: Articulate responses based on personal experiences when participating in or observing a drama/theatre work.

Enduring Understandings:

1. Students will understand that theatre can be personally applicable.
2. Students will understand that they are storytellers.
3. Students will understand that motivated characters tell interesting stories.

Essential Questions:

1. What makes a good story?
2. How do we choose our art?
3. How do we collaborate?

Objective:

Students will choose plays/scenes that explore contemporary and personal issues through collaboration with their contemporary theme group.

Materials:

1. Whiteboard and Markers
2. Students should have chromebooks
3. Large empty space
4. D2/3 - CS Brainstorm
5. Drama 2/3 Daily Question
6. Projector, Projector Screen, Laptop, HDMI Cable, and HDMI to USB-C adaptor

Instructions:
Hook 1 – Daily Question (10 minutes)

1. Put the Drama 2/3 Daily Question up on the board and have the students scan the code and add their answer.
2. Read off answers and have the student attached to each answer raise their hand and give us a brief reason why they said that.

a. Suggested Question: What makes a good story? Hook 2 – One Word Story (5-10 minutes)

1. To start, have the students form a circle (and I’ll be part of the circle). Then, explain how the game works.
2. “We’re going to play ‘One Word Story’, so how this works is one person will start and say one word, then the person to their left (so we’re moving clockwise) says the next word, and it keeps passing around clockwise. Each person only says one word, and we’re trying to make a story that makes sense. So pay close attention! And don’t hesitate, go as fast as you can!”
3. Then play the game! Sidecoach as needed, particularly at the end when the story needs to start wrapping up. Keep the game going at a fast pace!
4. Once the story finishes, have the class clap for themselves and thank them for participating.

Instruction & Picking Groups (5 minutes)

1. “Now, we’re going to pick up where we left last time!”

2. Open the D2/3 - CS Brainstorm and look over the list of themes/ideas/issues again.

   Explain to the students they’ll have to pick a theme to focus on for their scene in this unit

   and that’s how we’ll pick groups.

3. Next, assign each theme an area of the classroom. Give the students 50 seconds to pick

   which theme they’re going to focus on.

4. After the 50 seconds, each student should have picked a theme, but if someone hasn’t,

   quickly help them pick one.

a. NOTE: If certain themes only have one person, recruit at least one buddy from

another group.
5. “Now, within the people who want to focus on your theme, make groups of 3-4 people.

You should not be in a group with someone you were in a group with for Shakespeare scenes.”

a. NOTE: Special permission can be given for students to work with someone that they worked with last unit if they’re the only 3 in their group, or a similar situation.

6. Give students time to pick their groups, but not more than a few minutes.

a. NOTE: Teacher guidance may be necessary for solidifying groups. Help around as necessary until everyone has found a group.

Instruction On Picking Scripts/Scenes (5-10 minutes)

1. Once everyone has found a group, start describing the guidelines each group should follow in picking their scene (and probably write the guidelines on the board)

   1. Script published year 1900 or later
   2. By an award-winning playwright – we’ll talk more about that in a second
   3. 3-5 minute scene

   4. No Mature Content (no sex, no swearing above Bible swears [damn, hell, etc], no

      drugs, etc – if you have a question, come ask me) – you can just cut this out of the

      script since it’s a class project

   5. Everyone in the scene should have an equal workload
   6. Scene should probably tie into your chosen theme somehow
2. Check For Understanding: After talking about these guidelines, ask if there are any questions (besides about the award-winning playwright, cause we’ll get into that). Answer questions as necessary.
3. “Now, let’s talk about the award-winning playwright thing. That is there to make sure you pick a well-written script. I will also accept award-nominated playwright, if the award is prestigious enough (Tony’s or Olivier’s, etc.)”
4. “There’s a few ways you can look for these playwrights. You can look on Wikipedia for winners of a specific award – Tony for Best Play, Olivier for Best New Play, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, etc. Or if you have a play in mind, you can look up the playwright to see if they’ve won awards. You are welcome to pick the play that was nominated or won the award, or you can pick something different by the same playwright”

5. “As for finding scripts, you’re welcome to use whatever resources you have at your disposal – school library, public library, etc.”

   a. “There are some plays post-1900 that are public domain that you can find online. You can also use something that is not in public domain, but you’ll have to figure out how to find it”

   b. “Scribd is a site that has some scripts on it, you can make an account and do a 30-day free trial to download the scripts, or you can watch ads to view pages of the scripts”

   c. “If you’re having trouble finding a script for a certain play, you can come and talk with me or Morrey. I have access to a few theatre databases as a BYU student and I might be able to help you find a copy of that script. But if you’re going to do that, have a script in mind, and probably the approximate scene you’d like to do (from Wikipedia summaries or something)”

6. Other tips
   a. Pick a scene with strong objectives – it’ll make your job easier

2. When trying to pick a play, look through summaries/synopses to see what appeals to you, your theme, your group, etc. – then once you have a play, try to find a scene and a script
3. You can cut other characters out of a scene if you want (and give their lines to someone in the scene or cut them out)
4. You all know what makes a good story – saw it in the game earlier – so pick a scene that tells a good story
5. Once you’ve picked your scene, it’s a good idea to read your whole play – this can help you with character work, understanding the world, etc.
6. If you find a physical script, I’d recommend making a copy of the pages you’re using so you can write directly on it. If you have a digital script, either print out pages or find a way to annotate it online.

7. “You’ll have essentially the rest of class to research and find your scene. Do your absolute best to have your scene picked by next class. Once you have a scene, you’ll want access to it for during rehearsal either on a Google Doc, or a printed copy - you’ll probably want to be able to take notes on it too”

Picking Scenes (40-55 minutes)

1. Students will now have time to find plays/scenes.

2. I will walk around and check in on the progress of different groups, providing help (and

   informally assessing) as necessary.

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

1. Once there’s about 5 minutes left in class, gather the attention of the class and tell them to start putting their stuff away.

2. As students are getting ready to leave have them hold up a number 1-4 for their progress

   1. 1 – I have not picked even a play yet
   2. 2 – I have picked a play, but not a scene yet
   3. 3 – I have picked a specific scene
   4. 4 – I have picked a scene and I have the script ready for it

3. Finally, remind them they should have their script by next class if at all possible, and

   remind them they should try to read the whole play once they have a scene picked.

4. Also, thank them for their work today!