Distance Learning

I hope everyone realizes that this blog is a good place to look if you want to attend Drama class at a distance.  I am not sure how to communicate with all of you (my son's school district surveyed us to see if we all have access to computers, smartphones, ipads, etc., but I don't think Richmond has done that yet.)  I hope this won't go on for too long, but just in case any of you are bored with all the free time you've experienced, here are some things to keep you going until we figure out the next steps.  (That is supposed to happen this week.)

For Monday, March 30:

Question of the day:  What is something you learned over March break?  Here are some answers from me.  I learned a lot about the coronavirus.  I learned that you can do virtual tours of lots of great museums and art galleries around the world.  I learned that you can see productions from the Globe theatre on line.  I learned that it is really hard to get rid of ants in your house!

Warm-up:  Sit quietly in your room or outside or anywhere.  Give yourself two minutes of you not making any noise (you can set an alarm).  After the two minutes, list out the sounds you heard.  (This exercise is good for concentration and for sensory awareness.)

Theatre Production 11:  Watch the short clip from the movie, "Citizen Kane" (the clip is on you-tube and is listed as "Citizen Kane - Famous Last Words" http://j.mp/2jlHFgl).  What images, set pieces and props stick out for you?

With the music and the lighting, what would you predict the movie would be about?  (If you've seen the movie already, try to imagine you haven't.)

Kane says "rosebud".  That's his last word.  The movie tries to find out what "rosebud" means to him. What would your guess be?

(This movie is on every "greatest movie of all time" list, so it would be worth your while to see the whole thing.  It's a great story and there are lots of terrific performances and it really changed cinema in a lot of important ways and it's lots of fun to watch.)

Drama 9/10:  You are supposed to make two public service videos.  You have access to any actors and artists (like musicians) you want (in the class or even famous ones).  The first video is for young children and you want them to learn how to properly wash their hands.  Firstly, what do you need to know?  Secondly, how can you communicate that to children under 10?  The second video is for elderly people.  You want to show them the importance of social distancing.  What do you need to know?  How do you communicate this to seniors?

You could write a script of your videos and try to plan out all the details.

Drama 8:    Mime exercise.
1.  Observe yourself doing some ordinary task (like making toast, for example).
2.  Mime the same task - pay close attention to detail (how you hold the knife, whether the butter gets on your fingers, what is the difference between spreading butter or jam or peanut butter or cream cheese - in this time of hyper-awareness of germs, would you lick your fingers?)
3.  Play some music.  Do the mime again and see if the mood of the music affects your mime.  You could try different styles of music and see how your mime changes.

Everyone:  The above projects will take a little time.   I just wanted to give you something interesting to do over the next few days.  If I were doing this, I would keep a diary of what I did, but I am not sure what is expected of you (or me) at this strange time, so spend about forty minutes on these exercises and then see what you want to do.

I'll post a question of the day and a warmup each day this week and hope that you are engaged in the above activities.  Feel free to email me or comment here if you like.