Last Night

Journals:

Report cards are due on Tuesday!  Get your journals in to me by then, if you want that reflected in your midterm mark.

Senior Drama:  Those scenes about the painkillers are post apocalyptic.  The play is "Endgame" by our old friend, Samuel Becket (who wrote "Waiting for Godot").  I really loved the variety of scenes we saw today -- well done!

Two parts to your journal this week:  If you knew the world was coming to an end today, what would you do with your last day?  (There is this great Canadian movie called "Last Night" directed and written by Don McKellar, who is a really quirky and enjoyable actor, and it is about a bunch of people in a city like Toronto and what they do with their last day.  Everyone has known for a few months that the world is going to be destroyed on this particular day and so  they all make decisions about what they want to do.)

Part 2:  Write about your monologue character.  The plays I chose your pieces from are all fairly well known, so it shouldn't be hard to find out some things about who you are and why you're talking the way you do.  You can write about the character's age, in what time period she lives (and how that might affect her), her family situation, his hopes and dreams, his relationship with the person to whom he is speaking, whatever else you think is important.

Drama 9:  What does a person need to be happy?  What qualities in people cause them the most trouble?  Give reasons for your answers.  (Here's an example of an answer and I think it might be what I think although I might change my mind tomorrow!)  I think one thing a person needs to make them happy is work that they enjoy and value.  I enjoy teaching drama (although sometimes I find it really hard and I know I can improve in a lot of ways) -- I think it's important to teach young people to appreciate the arts and I think drama really helps us understand and empathize with others.  I like to talk about great performances and how we can improve and I love to see what you think of when I give you a project -- it's just very interesting and absorbing work for me and it makes me really happy.  I think one thing that causes people trouble is fear.  Fear stops us from doing what is right sometimes and sometimes it makes us do things that are wrong.  Sometimes we let fear cripple us.  We want to try something new, but we're afraid we might look silly or fail and so we don't even try.  I think fear is one of the sources of bullying and racism.

Drama 8:  Whose speech was the most memorable?  Explain why.

Grades 9, 11, and 12:  Bring your monologues on Monday!

Grade 8:  Learn your lines!