Lesson #8 – Putting it together
(Two to four class periods)
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
Students will demonstrated their understanding of “the big picture” by working under the teacher/director to put the individual stories into one performance. (This could include cutting whole stories, reworking transitional moments, adding other background actors into stories etc.)
MATERIALS NEEDED:
None
HOOK:
On the board, have the order of the stories selected by the teacher to be part of the Children’s Theatre production. Tell students to be prepared to work on each story in that order.
STEP ONE:
Have all students sit in a semi-circle in the acting space. Have the director of the first piece stand and state the name of his/her story. Have students run the story as they have rehearsed it.
STEP TWO:
At this point the teacher may stop and add, cut or change any part of the story to get it ready for performance. The usual things added are interaction moments with the children, or incorporating background actors (who are on the stage all the time) into the story.
STEP THREE:
The class then goes through all stories selected in the same manner as STEP TWO.
STEP FOUR:
The director adds some type of closure to the show.
STEP FIVE:
The show is now ready to rehearse in order as many times as time will allow before the first performance
CLOSURE:
Teacher will give “notes” to students for improvement on performance
ASSESSMENT:
Students can be assessed by being flexible and learning new blocking for certain stories or being okay and adaptable when some of their ideas are cut or changed to fit with the overall performance and theme.