Sally B. Kaczynski
I agree with that famous line of William Shakespeare’s which states that “All the world’s a stage.” As a teacher of drama I expand upon that idea in my teaching philosophy by saying, that the players who get the best parts in life are most often, the ones who prepare themselves well for life’s future roles. Therefore, I am very concerned when new students come to me with a negative attitude toward the English language because one of the major skills required for success in today’s world is the ability to communicate effectively. I find that the majority of my students in the seventh and eighth grades are inhibited in their use of language in general. Moreover, in the case of speech, students seem even more reluctant to share themselves.
One of my primary goals of teaching drama is to help students overcome their fear of spoken language. I try to make language friendly and personal and fun. Unless I find ways to help my students have a more positive, self-confident attitude about themselves, I cannot hope to be successful in teaching acting technique.
The actor relies heavily on language to communicate his art to the audience. Unfortunately, for the adolescent beginning to study acting, his/her ability to use language effectively is linked to his/her self-esteem. Therefore, any criticism of a student by the teacher with regard to language is generally received by the student in a negative fashion. This produces a situation which is counter-productive in the student/teacher relationship. In drama it is essential that the student trust his/her teacher because the nature of acting requires the actor to take risks in the aspiration of his art. An actor must have the confidence to explore new and untried ground. I try to select material for students that helps them gain further mastery of the English language, while at the same time, allows them to experience the fun of trying new and different roles. This unit “The Family on Stage in the Americas” is designed to provide the secondary school student with a basic understanding of acting technique while providing the student with opportunities to improve his/her ability to communicate with confidence.
The language of contemporary literature lends itself for study by this particular age group because it closely resembles conversational speech of today. Any barrier to interpretation caused by unfamiliar vocabulary, archaic or strange usage is practically non-existent. In addition there is little need to provide historical background to the students, who generally have little or no knowledge of generations other than their own. I have placed two further restrictions upon the material selected for use in this unit.
In order to expose and introduce students to the work of many writers I will use the form of the monologue in this unit. Students will be able to study selections from many works before making a decision on a character they wish to develop during the marking period. When a student develops a role for the stage for the first time, it is helpful if the student can identify with the character. Therefore, I have deliberately chosen monologues which have family members as characters so that students can draw from personal experience while building a character.
The list of monologues found below provides the basic material for the unit. The characters in the monologues are from a wide range of family types and backgrounds.
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1. “The Captive” by Jorge Borges
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2. “Macario” by Juan Rulfo
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3.
The Amen Corner
by James Baldwin
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4.
Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller
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5.
The Little Foxes
by Lillian Hellman
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6.
Take a Giant Step
by Louis Peterson
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7.
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
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8.
A Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
by Lorraine Hansberry
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9.
I Never Sang for my Father
by Robert Anderson
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10.
Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?
by Don Peterson
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11.
Growing Up Puerto Rican
edited by Paulette Cooper
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12.
West Side Story
by Arthur Laurenstand and Stephen Sondheim
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13.
Me, Candido
by Walt Anderson
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14.
I Too Speak of the Rose
by Emilio Carballido
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15.
Orchids in the Moonlight
by Carlos Fuentes
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16.
All the Way Home
by Ted Mosel, based on
A Death in the Family
by James Agee
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17.
In the Beginning
by Humberto Constantini
