Truth and consequences

Journals for this week!

Grade 8's:  How would you rate yourself on your ability to work in a group?  (from 1 - 4, with 1 being not very good and 4 being excellent)  Explain why you rate yourself the way you do.  What is one good thing about your group work skills?  How can you improve?  Write about an experience you had working in a group and explain what that experience taught you.  (It doesn't have to be an experience in Drama.)

Grade 9/10's and Theatre Production 11:  Which heritage performance was the best in your opinion?  Why do you choose that one?  Write three things (at least) that you liked about it and two ways in which it could improve.  Which actor was the best in the class?  Explain why.  Which scene had the best production?  (Lighting, sound, costumes, props, etc.)  Explain why.

Senior Drama:
Characters (and regular people) need motivation to do the things they do.  In the plays you are working on now, what motivates the character you are playing (or, in the case of the directors, write about one of the characters)?  Think about real people -- what motivates them?  Choose three people -- they can be famous or people you know -- and write about what motivates them.  When you make yourself do something unpleasant, what motivates you?

Don't forget that "High School Confidential" is running on Friday and Monday at 7 p.m. each evening.  And D Block -- you will be attending the play on Tuesday at 1 p.m. (don't be late, it's rude).  Make sure you bring your $5 a.s.a.p.

D Block - Grade 8 Drama - High School Confidential

Hi D Block!

Just a reminder that we will be attending the Tuesday, December 5 matinee performance of "High School Confidential".  The ticket price is $5.  The funds go to support the drama club and so it is very helpful if you can pay, but if you can't, please tell Ms. Kosar and you can attend the play -- no problem.  Try to bring your $5 by Thursday of this week.

Getting to know you!

Grade 8 recitation:

All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man, in his time, plays many parts.

Journal #1:  (Grade 8) What should Ms. Kosar know about you?  (Mention any experience you have in Drama, whether you have stage fright or not, have you any experience performing -- even in sports.)  What do you think of Drama so far?

Grade 9/10:  What have you learned from doing the heritage project?  (Think of three things.)

Theatre Production:  Provide Ms. Kosar with a detailed outline of your lighting and sound plot.

For example, Scene one -- Paris, 1798 -- a scene in the streets.  Actors dressed in shabby clothes, girls in long dresses -- fade wash in to 8 -- fade out music ("Songs of the Revolution").  Julie:  I hate the aristocracy!  Henri: Me, too.  Julie:  Let's kill them!  (Sound:  Blade dropping.)  Blackout.

Acting 11/12:  What is the worst performance you've ever seen?  Write a review of it.  Think of one nice thing you can say.

Directing/Scriptwriting:   What inspired you to write your adapted play?  What are you trying to say with the script?  What do you want the audience to get out of the play?

and now we lie in Flanders Fields

Journal for all:

Write your thoughts on Remembrance Day.  Is it of value?  Explain why or why not.  Why do we wear the poppy?  Is it significant to you?  What do you think of having a ceremony at school when it isn't on the proper day (November 11)?  Can there be such a thing as a "just war"?  Explain.

What do you think about during the moment of silence?

Speak the speech!

Grade 8's, tomorrow many of you will present your show and tell speeches.  I know it is nerve-wracking, but I don't want you to stress too much about it.  I believe fervently that if you are interested in your presentation, then all of us will be, too.

When I said, "formal" speech, I didn't mean you had to be fancy and speak in a British accent or use big words or anything.  I just meant that you should be prepared and that you should not slip into the kind of speech in which you repeat words like "like" or "yeah" or phrases like "sort of" or "kind of".

Remember, if your speech doesn't turn out as well as you hoped, you can always do it again.  I know this is difficult, but I really want you to have fun with it.  Really.

See you all tomorrow.

He who hesitates is lost!

I am slogging through report cards this weekend and have discovered a number of you are missing journals!!   Hey, I've been nagging for weeks.  Get them in.  Procrastinators never prosper!!

Brrr!

Did you see the snow falling?  As I left school today, there was snow in the air.  There was snow in New Westminster as well, but here it's just raining.  I wonder what it will be like tomorrow morning.

Here are your journals for the week:

Grade 8's:  What have you chosen to speak about for "show and tell" next week?  Why did you choose it?  What are you thinking of saying?  (Just give me an idea, not the whole speech.)

Remember!  You will be presenting your 2 minute speeches on November 8 and 9.  (I strongly suggest you practice in front of someone you trust.  Ask them to time you and tell you honestly if they can hear you clearly.)  You will be presenting your Aesop plays on November 6 and 7 -- make sure you know your lines.  In order to memorize lines, remember you need to say them OUT LOUD!

Grade 9/10; Theatre Production 11:

Write about the experience of creating "Chiller Horror Theatre".  What was the audience response?  Did it surprise you?  How did your performance develop as you gained experience with different audience responses?  What went well?  What would you change about the project?

Senior Drama:  Lin-Manuel Miranda has said, "my only responsibility as a playwright or a storyteller is to give you the time of your life in the theatre".  What do you think of that?  What do you think the responsibility of a playwright, director or actor is?  Bertolt Brecht thought theatre artists should use drama to make people grapple with social issues.  What do you think?