What the students have learned from this experience can be applied to different areas of learning. The following exercises and assignments are based on our play experience and should be rewarding to all:
Story Line
: Bring in a movie or video tape to school, something the students have not seen before. Have the students watch it and then develop in writing the
skeleton story line
, which would be a very basic narrative listing only the most important parts of the story. (
The Tell-Tale Heart
, by Edgar Allen Poe, would be a good example, with well defined beginning, middle, and end).
Field Trip:
Now is the time to go and see a play. The students will go with a mental list (discussed in class) of things to look for: people in the cast, others involved in the production, the lights, the costumes, even the selling of tickets outside the theater. Teacher may lead class into a discussion along the lines of who has the most responsibility? Who is needed the most?
Occupations
: Have the students choose an occupation as part of the theater group they visited (see
Field Trip)
. It could be anything, from leading actress to carpenter (looking at the play’s program will be of help in choosing). Have the students do research into that particular occupation: what kinds of skills would it require, education needed, opportunity this career/job offers.
Mime
: Students do a mime of a person who holds a job in the theater, doing one of the tasks usually performed by that person. The other students in the class guess what the job is.
Commercials
: Students write and perform a 30-second commercial about a product of their choice (could be imaginary). The class chooses which product they would actually buy, which commercial was effective in the “selling”. Use a tape recorder to play back commercials during the discussion period.
T.V. Credits
: Have students watch a favorite t.v. program and make a list of all the credits that show at the end. Students can compare the credits of, say,
Charley’s Angels
and a
National Geographic Special
, where the different content of the show would requires completely different crew and cast.
These suggestions provide for s transition between the drama content and the arts exploration material presented in this follow-up. These transitions may be in the form of class activities, discussions, or general relationships.
Is is in this manner that we can connect E.S.L. to Drama, and Drama to career choices in the field of performing arts. They are all inter-related, if the right strategies, sequence, and activities are instituted.