Back to school for some!

I know some of you are going to school today and I wish you the best on your return to SLSS!  Make sure you follow the rules and keep two metres away from other people.  Bring your own stuff and make the best of your time at school.  I'll be there on Tuesday.

Question of the Day:  I expect most of you have seen the news about what has happened and is happening in the United States.  Martin Luther King Jr. said, "the riot is the language of the unheard."  What do you think of that?  When I saw the horrible video of George Floyd being killed, I heard passersby asking the police to let him up and telling them that he was a human being.  It is hard to see a person being treated like that by people who are supposed to uphold the law.  I thought what would I do in that situation?  My first thought was I would call the police, but of course, in this case, the police are the criminals!  What could you do?

Warmup:
Everyone:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/28/arts/design/thomas-eakins-gross-clinic.html?
This is a link to a great article in the New York Times which shows a painting by Thomas Eakins called "The Gross Clinic" (the doctor in the painting is named "Gross").  The writer walks us through this dramatic painting and teaches us about composition, the use of detail, metaphor, staging, character and colour.  As artists, we can all learn a lot from this great work.  Follow along and look at the things Jason Farago points out.  If you just glance at a picture and say, "oh, that's nice" or whatever, you don't notice all the fascinating details that help tell the story.

Lesson:
Drama 9/10:  Your monologues are due.  You can send me a video recording of you performing it (remember to use lots of expression, think about gestures and wear a costume you think expresses the character) or you can perform live.  I will begin the live performances at 1 p.m. with a Zoom.  You will perform only for me.  The rest of the people will wait their turn in the waiting room.  If you want to do it live, send me an email before 12:30 p.m.
Theatre Production 11:  In the period you've chosen to research, think of how they would use light and sound to create the spectacle of theatre.
Art 8:  Remember when we explored textures with our pencils -- we did what they call "rubbings" putting something textured under the paper and colouring over it with our pencil.  Today and tomorrow, experiment with texture using paint.  Use your brush in a variety of ways to see what textures you can create.  Use a different colour for each small rectangle of texture.

Have a great weekend!

If any Drama 9/10 student wants to recite your monologue one on one with me, I will set up a Zoom meeting at 1 p.m. on Monday.  You will be able to sit in the waiting room until it is your turn.  I will invite you in and you can recite and then you can leave and I will invite the next person.  It should go fairly smoothly.  If you want to do it this way, just send me an email before 12:30 p.m. on Monday.

I hope you all have a great weekend.  Remember to wash your hands and keep two metres away from other people.

If you have not done several assignments, I will have to send an academic alert to you and your parents.  I will list what you are missing in the report.  You need to make a plan to get caught up.  The end of this crazy school year is quickly approaching.

I will be at school all day on Tuesday.  I hope to see some of you there.  Make sure you observe the safety protocols and bring all your own gear that you need to do your work.   The health declaration is on the honour system.  If you have any of the symptoms of COVID 19 (difficulty breathing, headache, fever, sore throat, tiredness), you need to stay home.  If you have been out of the country in the last 14 days, you need to stay home and isolate yourself.   It is a support and tutorial model so it is helpful if you know what you want to work on and are able to ask questions of the teachers who are there hoping to help you.

Safe and Sound! Lessons for May 29

Question of the Day:  If you had a chance to speak to the Grade 7's who are going to come to Steveston-London Secondary School next year, what would you tell them?  (I usually tell them to take Drama, because I think it's really important and also for a Grade 8 who is new to the school, it's a good way to meet people.  I also tell them that they might feel nervous at first, but before they know it they'll feel at home.  I usually advise them to go to Grade 8 camp, too, because, from what I hear most students enjoy it.)

Warm-up:
Art 8:  Think of what sort of wash would be good to act as a background for your pressed flower or leaf.  You can use more than one colour, you can make it look like a summer day with clouds or the colour of a field of flowers just like the one you picked, or a leafy green tree for your leaf to be in.  You can use a piece of crumpled paper to dab the paint, or you can dab with something that has an interesting texture (water colour paint will wash off).  Let the wash dry.

This is a wash I made.  I used green and yellow-green paint and I took a grass stem and dragged it across the paper.  I think it will look nice with the ferns I am pressing.
Drama 9/10:  This is a game called "Crossing the circle" and usually we play it with the class, but you will have to imagine the class is with you.  Maybe everyone does it at 3 p.m. this afternoon (May 29) it will almost be like you're with your class!  (I say 3 p.m. because I hope everyone is awake by then!)  Find yourself a place where you can take five steps without turning.  Take five steps as if you were sneaking up on someone.  Take five steps back as if you were in a marching band.  Take five steps as if you were walking on a tight-rope.  Take five steps as if you were walking away from someone who really made you mad.  Take five steps with a scenario of your own choosing.
Theatre Production: 
https://images.app.goo.gl/u1YSHTKUnhShxXoQ9
Look at the picture at this link.  It is a painting of Kabuki theatre.  What does the painting tell you about this style of theatre?

Lesson:
Art 8:  Send me your wash of watercolour with the shapes you found when you started dabbing.  Make sure you outline the shapes with black marker.  Check to make sure you are up to date with your sketches (look at the blog).
Drama 9/10:  Plan your costume for your monologue performance.
Theatre Production 11:  I hope you have chosen a period in theatre history to research.  I have tried to give you an idea of some of the periods you might find interesting.  The first thing to do is gather your ten fun facts.

I went in to the school today to be trained in the safety protocols for the school opening on Monday.  It is a support and tutorial model, which means the purpose is to help you with your online studies and not to teach new lessons.  You must be able to declare that you are healthy and have not knowingly been exposed to someone with the virus and have not been out of Canada in the last fourteen days.  You must bring all your own supplies and must maintain social distance while you are in the school.  If you are coming into the school, you must make sure you wash your hands and do not touch your face and do not share drinks or food with each other.  I am looking forward to it, even though it is not like normal school.  At least, it is a step towards normal!

You need to contact me if you think you are behind in your work, because after your zoom meetings this week, I am sending out academic alert reports to let you and your parents know if you are having difficulty keeping up.  These reports are meant to be a little signpost to remind you that we are getting close to the end of the semester and that soon we will produce report cards!

Lesson for May 28 -- Learning at a Distance

Question of the Day:
Are you being scrupulous about social distancing?  (I am.)  If someone gets close to you, what do you do?  (I back away.  I feel annoyed when people do it, but I don't get nasty about it or anything.  I felt annoyed at the grocery store the other day.  They make you stay behind the plexiglas and don't want you to put your groceries in the cart yourself, so I did that -- that's fine.  But then the cashier wouldn't put the groceries in the cart either!  What was I supposed to do?)

Warm-up:
Drama 9/10:  More stretching!  Sit at the end of your chair.  Stretch your hands behind your back and interlace your fingers.  Try to keep your palms together and roll your shoulders in circles.  Try to lift up your chest.  To extend the stretch, try to lift your arms.  Hold the stretch for about five seconds.

Still sitting on the end of your chair, make sure your feet are flat on the floor and your hands on your knees.  When you breathe in, push out your chest.  When you exhale, tuck your chin into your chest and roll your shoulders forward.  When you breathe in, your chest goes out, and when you exhale, roll your shoulders forward and tuck in your chin.

Stretching helps to relax you.

Theatre Production 11:  Send me your ideas about "light after lockdown" (by Friday).

Art 8:  Go outside and pick a flower or a leaf or a stem.  Bring it into the house and put in between two pieces of paper or into a book and then put heavy books on top and leave the plant there (it might take a week or two to dry out and flatten out).

Lesson:
Drama 9/10:  Practice your monologue (out loud is the only way to memorize it).  Think of the character you are playing.  You might want to think about how your character would dress.  You will be expected to perform your monologue on June 1.  You can film yourself and send me the video or you can perform it live on Zoom.
Art 8:  Yesterday, you prepared a wash by wetting paper thoroughly, then stroking across the page with the brush with paint, and then dabbing at the paint with a crumpled piece of paper.  Now that it has dried, look carefully at the wash you've made.  What shapes were made by the dabbing of crumpled paper?  Use a black sharpie or felt marker or dark pencil to outline the shapes you see.  You might see realistic shapes, like flowers or mountains or a forest.  Or it might look like abstract shapes like triangles, polygons, random shapes.  Either way, outline some of the shapes with your marker.  I'll show you my examples tomorrow at the Zoom meeting. "Shape" is another element of art (along with line, texture, value and colour).  Remember -- "Something Happened" is due now!
Theatre Production 11:  Work on your theatre history project.

I watched a play online this morning.  It was a one-man show called "Sea Wall" and performed by Andrew Scott, who played Moriarty in "Sherlock".  He is a wonderful actor.  It is a great performance (a monologue, something like what you're doing in Drama 9/10, but this performance is 34 minutes long) and there are all sorts of great supporting films in which Andrew Scott talks about his process in creating a character, telling the truth onstage (the emotional truth), using empathy and even learning lines.  Just a warning -- if you decide to watch the film, it does have some swearing in it.  Here is the link to the film on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j01kVmBoJW0

Zoom meetings:
C Block -- tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:30
B Block -- Friday at 12:30

Masked avengers!

Question of the Day:  Are you wearing a mask when you go out?  (I am.)  Do you know what a mask is supposed to do?  (It is supposed to protect other people if you have the virus and aren't aware of it, if you are asymptomatic.)  If you are wearing one, what does it look like?  (My friend's daughter likes to sew and she made a bunch of masks and mine has zebras all over it!)

Warm-up:
Theatre Production 11:  Some artists in England are proposing a "light in lockdown" event in which people design a light display at their home over this weekend.  Think about what you would do if you were going to design a mini-light show at your house!
Art 8:  Do a little reconnaissance.  Go outside and find something -- it could be a rock, or a weed or a cloud or a bird.  Really look at it.  My mother liked to paint and she would always point out that you "would never imagine there was green in the sunset or in the centre of a flower", but if you really look, you notice all sorts of colours and things you wouldn't expect.
Drama 9/10:  Simple stretches to combat sitting in front of a computer (which I know a lot of you have said you are doing way too much!)  First, eye rolls -- look down at the ground to the right,  then roll your eyes up to the sky, then roll your eyes down to the left, then go back to the sky and then down to the right again.  Do this five times.  Now, a little self massage.  Look over your shoulder to the right and make a note where your gaze lands.  Now put your right ear to your shoulder and walk your fingers from behind your left ear, down the sternocleidomastoid muscle (which is a channel behind your ear).  Check your gaze to the right again.  Then do it on the left side.  More tomorrow.  This is for relaxation and stretching, of course.

Lesson:
Drama 9/10:  Work on your monologue.  Finish your heritage presentation if you have not done so.  If you are having trouble sending your video, try google drop.  That is working well for me.  Read the feedback I sent from me and Viaan and Claire.  We need to start thinking about how to use Zoom as a performance tool!
Theatre Production 11:  The National Arts Centre of Canada has an Indigenous Theatre Company who put together an exploration of Inuit stories -- this might be a good place to find information for your theatre history project.  The name of the presentation is "Unikkaaqtuat" and is a combination of music, storytelling, circus, puppets and shadow theatre.  Here is a link to a trailer for the presentation which was performed here in January (when we could still go to the theatre!)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJFcYqYH1c
Art 8:  I hope most of you were able to find some water colour paints.  We're going to explore the technique to create a wash of watercolour.  This is a good way to create a nice background or the sky in a painting.

Let this dry.  We'll continue on with this tomorrow.  Make sure I get your "Something Happened" drawing!

A Block!  Remember we will zoom tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
C Block -- you guys will meet on Thursday at 12:30
B Block -- you guys are Zooming at 12:30 on Friday!

Due Dates!

Question of the Day:  Imagine the phone rings.  How do you feel?  (I hate the phone, so I always think "who's calling?")  Who do you wish was calling?  (I always hope it's my sister because I love talking to her!)

Warm-up:
Art 8 and Theatre Production 11:  Colour is another of the elements of art (like line, texture and value.)
Read through the Colour Theory worksheet (this is the link -- https://lfhs.lfcisd.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_904/File/ECCastillo/Color%20Theory%20Worksheet.pdf
You don't need to answer the questions at the end, but if you like, see if you can.  What do you think of the descriptions of the colours' emotional impacts?  (For example, "Blue is a masculine colour".  Really?)

Drama 9/10:  This is a vocal warmup from a website called Vocal Exercises for Actors.   Actors always want to be able to improve their voices.  The voice is one of the actor's most important assets.

Lion- Mouse Technique

This vocal exercise for actors is like cardio is for athletes. It will stretch out all the necessary muscles that are involved in speech. Many actors like to do this in front of a mirror. If you are new to these exercises, you should use mirror.

Exercise Technique: First, stretch your mouth wide open. Try to stretch it as wide as possible. It would be like you are imitating Lion’s roar. Then immediately scrunch your face muscles just like a rat. Keep switching it for 10-12 times.

Stretch your tongue

Stretching your tongue out will remove any tension from your tongue. And while stretching your tongue, you will also stretch out your jaw muscles.

Exercise Techniques: Try to pull your tongue as far as you can. Then try to reach your chin, then try to touch your nose tip and then try to reach your left and right year. Repeat this movement few times until you feel your tongue and jaws tension free.

Lesson:  Art 8:  Today, "Something Happened" is due.  Tomorrow, we are going to start with painting.

Drama 9/10:  Work on the monologue.  Try to figure out what the character is like.  I will send feedback on your heritage stories.  If you haven't finished that yet, get it done!

Theatre Production 11:  Work on your theatre history project.

Colour your world! (Lesson for May 25)

Question of the Day:  What famous person from history (must be dead now), would you like to replace for one day?  Why?  I think I'd like to be Cleopatra for a day.  I just watched "Antony and Cleopatra" presented by the NationalTheatre@home and then I read the play again.  In the play, this is how she is described -- "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety".  She was so exciting and brave and strong-willed.  She apparently embraced life and had all sorts of adventures and experiences and I think it would be interesting to see what it was like to live in Egypt so long ago.

Warm-up:
Art 8:  Blindfold yourself.  Draw a picture of something you see everyday.  Take off the blindfold and see what you drew.
Drama 9/10:  Practice your monologue.  You will present the monologue on Monday, June 1.  It needs to be memorized and it is nice if you can stage it -- make an entrance, plan out how you will be moving and how you will use your voice.  Think about to whom you are speaking and your motivation in saying what you say.
Theatre Production 11:  Here is a film that gives an overview of Greek Theatre, which is where western theatre (like Broadway and London's West End and our own little theatre) got its start.  If you are looking for a time in theatre history for which we have quite a bit of information (and you don't want to do Shakespeare) this might be interesting.  https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/file/introduction-greek-theatre
One of my life's dreams was to see a play in Greece at the beautiful theatre at Epidaurus, which is known as one of the most perfectly designed theatres for acoustics in the world.  I got to fulfill this dream and saw a production of "Lysistrata" (one of the great comedies written by Aristophanes) there.  It was glorious!

Lesson:
Art 8:  Your "Something Happened" drawing is due tomorrow.
Drama 9/10:  You need to make sure your group has submitted your third heritage play!  Monologues will be performed a week from today.
Theatre Production 11:  Work on your theatre history project.

Remember our Zoom meetings:
A Block -- Wednesday at 1:30
B Block -- Friday at 12:30
C Block -- Thursday at 12:30

Something Happened

I am really enjoying all the great stories from your heritage project.  I know that a group project is really hard in these days of social distancing and I really appreciate those of you who kept working away to get it done.  If this continues for a long time, I'll bet artists will start thinking of all sorts of creative ways to use things like Zoom and one of those artists might be YOU!

For those of you in Art 8, here is another example of a style you might use for your "Something Happened" drawing:

I tried to use texture with the coins, the footsteps, the hair on the figure, the wood and paper on the signs.  I used line for the lettering and the broken line of the footsteps.  For value, I shaded the X and the curled paper.  I started drawing this style of cartoon figure when I was in grade six.  I call him a "sturgeom".  My best friend at the time told me her father's name was "Stirling" and I thought she'd said "Sturgeom" and that's where that strange name came from!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lesson for May 22 - "We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future."

The playwright, George Bernard Shaw, said that.  Question of the Day:  What does he mean?  Are you a responsible person? Think about why or why not?

Warm-up:  Drama 9/10, Theatre Production 11:  Remember when we were talking about interesting set changes?  I watched "Barbershop Chronicles" last week (presented by the National Theatre of Great Britain).  I loved it.  One of the many things I loved was how they switched from one barbershop to another (the play went from Lagos in Nigeria to Johannesburg in South Africa and Accra in Ghana and to London, England).  Here is a video about how they did the scene changes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvY-FWySBdg

Art 8:  Make a map of a place with which you are familiar.  Label it.  (This could give you an idea for your "Something Happened" drawing.)

Lesson:
Drama 9/10:  Your 3rd heritage story was due yesterday.  If you did not manage to contact your group, you need to come up with a presentation of a story yourself.  If your group has not submitted your presentation, you must do so!  As you all know, I am flexible about due dates, but you need to have a plan and put your performance together.
Practice the monologue you have chosen to do.  Actors like to make a dramatic entrance, know where the scene is taking place and to whom they are speaking.  You need to decide who your character is -- imagine how old the character is, would he or she have an accent or a certain way of thinking?  What would the character wear?  These are all things that can help you create a believable person on stage.

Theatre Production 11:  Prepare to present your prop to the class tomorrow and explain what play it is from, what you started with and how you transformed it into the prop.  You should also be working on your Theatre History project.

Art 8:  Work on "Something Happened".  Remember to include line, value and texture in your drawing!

B Block:  Your Zoom meeting is tomorrow at 12:30.  This is your regular time for your Zoom meetings, because this is when we would be meeting if we were at school.  Everyone should be prepared to share their five item story (the warm-up from two days ago).  I will ask random people to share their stories!  Rachel will ask the question of the day.

Be sure to talk to your family about whether you will be coming to school in June.  The school has sent out the survey asking if you are planning to come -- they need to know because that will affect their planning for welcoming students back to school.  We will also continue with online learning, so make sure you keep up with your work!

Lesson for May 21 - Responsibilities and Duties

Firstly, Art 8!  I made a mistake in the four pictures I gave you that showed "something happened".  The first link was for a video about lighting at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.  I meant to link you to Botticelli's "Birth of Venus".  The link is correct now!

Question of the Day:  What are your responsibilities and duties?  Mine are to take care of my sons and provide them with leadership, love and help in order that they become good, kind men who contribute to the world they live in.  I am responsible for Daisy, our dog, because I adopted her from the SPCA and agreed to care for her and of course, because I love her and treasure her.  I am also responsible as a teacher to provide you with help and encourage you and teach you about Drama and Art and be a positive role model as a lifelong learner.  Those are just some of my responsibilities.  I feel like I have a responsibility to my community and my country as well.

Warm-up:
Drama 9/10:  Play the mirror exercise with yourself.  Change your facial expression in the mirror.  Do you believe your expressions?
Theatre Production 11:  Decide which period in theatre history you will focus on.  Let me know by Friday.  (If you change your mind after you tell me, just let me know.)
Art 8:  What's your favourite smell?  Try to draw it in your sketch book.  (You can draw what makes the smell or just how you feel about the smell!  Nothing you draw is wrong!)

Lesson:
Drama 9/10:  Your third heritage story performance is due today!  Some of you have not contacted your group or contributed to the performance!  This is one of your responsibilities!  If you have not contacted your group, you will likely have been left out of the plans for the performance.  It is your responsibility to come up with something you can do on your own or with another person.  (I have tried to help people contact the members of their group, but I have also told them that they are not responsible for you.  If you are not actively reaching out, I have told them to go ahead without you.)

I will be contacting parents this week to update them on what is going on in class.  Don't be surprised if your parents ask you what you are doing in Drama.  Don't disappoint them by saying you don't know.

Art 8:  Work on "Something Happened".

This is a sketch I made of a scene from "Antony and Cleopatra".  Cleopatra is about to go into a sea battle with Augustus Caesar.  She has the advantage, because she has more ships, but for some reason, she becomes cowardly and calls her ships away.  Through her cowardice, Marc Antony, who is her ally, loses his reputation and is humiliated.  Here is a quote about the scene:

I' th' midst of the fight,

When vantage like a pair of twins appeared

Both as the same, or rather ours the elder,

The breeze upon her, like a cow in June

Hoists sails and flees.

(Act 3, scene 10)

Theatre Production 11:  Hand in your prop project.  Be prepared to talk about it on Friday when we have our Zoom meeting.
Work on the Theatre History project I described yesterday.

Zoom meetings:
C Block -- today at 12:30
B Block -- tomorrow at 12:30
Be sure to attend!  Be ready to tell your 5 item story!

Another responsibility is to attend Zoom meetings.  At today's and tomorrow's, I will ask random people to tell their story about their five items.  (This is the warm-up from yesterday.)  Be ready to tell your story.

School days, school days; dear old golden rule days! (Lesson for May 20)

Question of the Day:  So it sounds like we are going to be invited back to the classroom on June 1!  What do you think of that?  Will you be coming?  (It's optional.)  I was at school today and it was very quiet and lonesome so obviously I would like to see you back to normal and in class with me and your other teachers.  But I understand some of you might be concerned about the virus and how safe it is.  (I confess, I am slightly concerned because I read that the virus is harsher on people over sixty and I am over sixty!  But I feel quite good and I think my immune system is quite strong, so I think I will be fine.)  The provincial government has said it will only be part-time so for high school students it will amount to one day a week, so that isn't very much but we could finish off the school year optimistically, perhaps.  I am very interested in your thoughts, so if you want to answer the question, I'd love to read what you have to say.

Warm-up:  (Everyone)  I am reading this great project book called How to Be An Explorer of the World by Keri Smith.  She says "life is a scavenger hunt".  Here is one of the fun ideas she has for an activity.  Collect five or six random things that catch your eye.  Put them in front of you and look at them for one minute.  What kind of story could you tell based on the five things?  (I am going to do it and I will share my story at the Zoom for A Block this afternoon.  Be prepared to share your story at your zoom this week.  I will ask random people.)

Lesson:  Art 8:  Work on "Something Happened".
Drama 9/10:  Your third heritage story is due tomorrow.

Theatre Production 11:  Your prop is due!
THEATRE HISTORY PROJECT for Theatre Production 11 – Due on June 17.

 It is important for a theatre producer to be aware of theatrical styles from the past and from other cultures.  It provides the theatre artist a palette from which he or she can draw when creating the mis en scene for any production and helps communicate a variety of unspoken messages to one’s audience.

Here are a few types of theatre you might be interested in investigating: 

Greek theatre -  the origin of Western theatre

Kabuki theatre – classical Japanese dance-drama

Noh theatre – the oldest existing form of theatre – Japanese musical theatre

Shakespeare’s theatre – no explanation needed here!

Shadow puppetry – Pekingese or Cantonese or Wayang kulit (Indonesian)

Comedia del’Arte – Italian improvisational comedy of the Renaissance

Expressionism – a highly metaphorical form of theatre popular in the 1920’s (such playwrights as Eugene O’Neill and Elmer Rice)

First Nations theatre  - from “before contact” to the present day

Naturalism – the attempt to create “reality” on stage, most popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th century (playwrights like Ibsen, Checkov, George Bernard Shaw)

Poetic realism – popular in the 20^th century (and to this day), it is theatre that appears to be realistic, but that makes extensive use of poetic imagery (Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Lilian Hellman)

If you are interested in another form of theatre, let me know.

What am I supposed to do?

 1.Choose a type of theatre that interests you.  Find out about it.  (Become an expert!)   Be ready to share at least ten “fun facts” about the form of theatre you chose.  (For example, that in Shakespeare’s theatre, no women were allowed to act, so all those great roles for women – like Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth, Titania, and Viola were played by teenage boys! . . . or in Greek theatre, all the actors wore masks which helped amplify their voices for the huge crowds that came out to watch.)

/10

2.  Create a model of the type of stage this theatre would use.  (A shoebox is a great start for something like this.)    The model should be a three dimensional picture of the type of stage on which performances would be presented. )

/20

3.  Create a representation of one actor dressed in a costume that would be used in your theatre style. (You can create a life-sized costume {which would be great!} or you can dress a cardboard or plastic doll.)

/10

For #2 and #3, you should be prepared to explain what your representations show us.  You will want to label your model clearly.

4.  Find a play/playwright that makes use of your type of theatre.  (If it’s Shakespearean, you already know lots of plays that fit this description and you know the author – that’s why Shakespeare is so phenomenal – his name identified a whole genre!)  If you choose a more traditional period, it might be harder to find an actual script or playwright, in which case, you can find out a plot or actor or even a modern play which exemplifies qualities of the theatrical style you choose, for example – Tomson Highway is a modern Canadian playwright who uses lots of First People’s imagery in his plays.  Find a passage from the play that tells us something about that style of theatre and explain why you chose it.  You can write this down, but be prepared to share it with the class.

/5

Zoom meetings this week:
A Block -- Wednesday @ 1:30
C Block - Thursday @ 12:30
B Block - Friday @ 12:30

Lesson for May 19, 2020

I am going in to the school today to help any of the students who come in for extra help.  I think if you need extra help, you can just call the office and they will arrange a time for you to come in.  Some of you probably heard that we are going to start in class instruction on June 1.  We aren't exactly sure what that will look like yet, but online instruction will also continue so it is important for you to try to keep up with your work.  If you have questions about Art or Drama, just email me and I will do my best to help you.  I know your other teachers want to help you, too, so don't be afraid to ask questions!

If you sent me work over the weekend or early on Tuesday, I might not get to it until Wednesday, because I will spend the day at school on May 19 and haven't really done schoolwork over the weekend.

Question of the day:  If you were going to have tea with the Queen, what would you talk to her about?  What is one question you would ask her?  I think I would be interested in what it felt like when her father died and she had to become the queen.  That must have been very difficult.  I think I would like to know if she feels like she has served the people of Great Britain and what has been most difficult for her.  I wonder if she would be able to be honest, because she has spent most of her life doing her duty and saying appropriate things and maybe not what she is actually thinking.

Warm-up:  Drama 9/10  Work on your monologue for ten minutes.  Will you sit or stand?  (Try both.)  Where do you imagine they are?  To whom is the person speaking?  Why are they telling the other person this stuff?
Theatre Production 11:  Watch the video -- Lights at Stratford Festival.  Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOuB1OvoZxo
Art 8:  Look at the following samples of story-telling in Art.
https://images.app.goo.gl/A1BVUWJ3h7NbPtTg6
https://images.app.goo.gl/cdENTXhRpf73MEAY9
https://images.app.goo.gl/he7TkN7pTS4Yj6vW9
https://images.app.goo.gl/ALsbUM1PaWzcrWQR6
What story does each work tell?

Lesson:  Drama 9/10 - prepare to present your third heritage story on Thursday
Theatre Production - send me your prop project -- it should include the item you started with, how you transformed it and what it looks like now.
Art 8 - This is a project that will include your ideas about line, value and texture.  It is called "Something Happened".  The examples you looked at in the warm-up are all telling a story.  You are going to tell a story with your drawing.  It can tell any story, so the Archie comic actually tells a little story with a defined plot line.  The political cartoon tells a story, but in a different way.  You probably have to understand a bit about current events to understand it.  The Botticelli painting tells the story of a famous mythological character.  In the Picasso, we have to imagine what might have happened to make the woman so upset.  You are going to make a drawing (using line, texture and value) about something that happened.  It can be a comic strip, a political cartoon, an illustration from the plot of a book, it can even be a map!  Use your imagination.  This will be due on May 26 so you want to think about it and take your time to make it interesting.

Some of you in Art 8 have asked what I have collected so far.  Here is a list:  your sentences about the four pieces of art (which included the "Fountain" by Duchamp and "Mona Lisa" by da Vinci); the hand, the face with the item related to the person, the warm-up with the lines and the rectangle with the values, the "readymade" (like Duchamp) - a thing you have repurposed and renamed.  If you didn't bring your tile (called a "zentangle") to the Zoom on Thursday, make sure I see that.  I hope that helps.

Have a great long weekend!

Have a cup of tea and toast the queen on Monday!

(That's a good reason to get dressed up.)

"Barber Shop Chronicles" by Inua Ellems is being presented by National Theatre@home beginning tonight.  Stratfest@home (Canada's pre-eminent Shakespearean theatre company) is presenting "The Tempest" this week with the great Martha Henry as Prospero.  If you're like me and pining for the theatre, these are two great chances to see fantastic theatre, albeit on a small screen.

COVID Couture! Lesson For May 14, 2020

If you are having a Zoom with me today, dress your best for a bonus mark (and send a photo to STUCO)!

Question of the Day:  When was the last time you got dressed up?  Do you think there are things that you should always dress up for?  (I think you should always dress up for a funeral or a wedding to show respect for the people involved.  It can be fun to dress up.  I always try to dress up for the WAGGIES -- our film festival in February at the school.)

Warm-up:  Drama 9/10:  More yoga for relaxation!  This one is called "child's pose".  It is good for relaxation, breathing, gentle stretching.  Kneel on your hands and knees, hands in front of shoulders slightly, knees hip width apart, big toes touching.  As you exhale, lower your buttocks towards your heels, your torso should rest on your thighs and your head should touch the floor.  Rest your arms alongside your thighs, palms up.  Relax your spine.  Breathe several times.  (If you can't picture it, there are lots of examples online.)

Art 8:   Use line, value, and texture to design your name.  I will show an example at the Zoom today.

Theatre Production 11:  What is this item?  How does it work?

Lesson:  Drama 9/10:   Hand in your group report -- it should include when you got together (just list the people who were there), which story you decided to perform and how you have decided to perform it.  There should be one report per group.

Theatre Production 11:  Your prop is due on Tuesday (Monday is Victoria Day).  Be prepared to show it and talk about it at our Zoom meeting next Friday (May 22 at 12:30).

Art:  Make sure you are prepared to show your "tile" at the Zoom meeting this afternoon at 12:30.

Zoom meetings: Drama 9/10, Theatre Production 11 (Block B) -- 11 a.m. (this week only, next week we will meet at 12:30 on Friday!)
Art 8 (C Block) --  12:30 p.m.

You must attend Zoom meetings.  This is part of your mark!

Quaran-meme!

Here's my attempt at a "quaran-meme":

I have never created a meme before so I'm pretty pleased with this.  Do you get it?

Question of the Day:  Define "meme" (your own words).  What's your favourite?

Warm-up:  

Art:  Put on a timer for five minutes.  Draw your own face or someone else's.  Put an object next to the drawing that you think reflects part of the person's personality.  IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT LOOKS LIKE THEM AT ALL.  Send me your sketch via email.

Drama 9/10:  Say the monologue you think you will do out loud at least three times.  (We will perform these on June 1.)

Theatre Production:  Play the prop game with yourself.  Grab a random item.  Use it as at least 10 different things (like a ruler could be a whip, a spatula, a flute, a needle and thread, etc.)

Lesson:  Art -- Send me your Value drawing.  Make sure you say what you think it is!

Drama 9/10 -- Your group plan for your third heritage play is due on Thursday.  If you are not in touch with your group, you need to reach out to them.  I sent all groups' emails last week.

Theatre Production:  Work on your prop (due May 19).  Make sure you photograph or draw what it was before you start to transform it.

Zoom meetings:  As I told you, we are hoping that staff will arrange their class meetings at times that we would normally be in class together, to prevent scheduling difficulties.  A Block -- we will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1:30 p.m.  (Charles, you will ask the question of the day.)

C Block:  Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (Be prepared to show your rectangle with the two dots and the filled in areas.)  (Kashev, you will ask the question.)

B Block:  I would like us to meet on Friday at 12:30, but apparently that is a professional day.  Is it okay for us to meet that day?  Our alternative is to meet at 11 on Thursday.  (Sarah, you are going to ask the question.)

Some of you are not keeping up with the assignments.  I am not assigning a lot of work, but you need to do what is assigned.  Don't let things build up and then feel overwhelmed in June!

Influenzers!

Question of the day:  Who is someone who has influenced you?  I am going to say William Shakespeare because I have quotes from him popping into my head all the time!

Here I am with one of my many Shakespeare t-shirts!  

Warm-up:  Drama 9/10:  This exercise is called "Make an Entrance".  Go out and shut the door.  Open the door and enter as a different person (maybe your influencer!)  Try to "be" the character and don't take a long time.  Just be the character for a moment.  Then go out again and shut the door.  Open the door and enter as someone else (maybe you're a little kid playing a prank on someone!)  Then exit and do it one more time.  This is good for improvisation.

Theatre Production:  Watch this video about making a big puppet for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "As You Like It" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlSeSxp53Ys

Art 8:  Texture is another of the seven elements of Art.  Put different textures under your page in your sketchbook and colour over the texture under the paper.  A cheese grater has a great (see what I did there?) texture.  Try leaves from the garden or different kinds of wood or raised letters or a coin). Write what the texture came from next to the sample.

Lesson:  Drama 9/10:  Get in touch with your group and brainstorm ideas for presenting your third story.  Send me a report (one for each group) that tells me what you plan to do by Thursday (May 14).

Theatre Production:  Work on your prop.

Art:  Send me an email with the hand picture from May 6!  Work on your VALUE sketch.

Zoom meetings:  We had a meeting about scheduling Zooms and we are hoping to keep our Zoom meetings within our scheduled block times.  For this reason, I will try to set up our Zooms during times we would actually meet if we were at school.  Please let me know if you absolutely CAN'T make these meetings.  Do your best to be able to come!  (They are scheduled within school hours and set with when we would normally meet, so you should be able to attend.)

A Block:  Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

B Block:  Friday at 12:30 p.m.

C Block:  Thursday at 12:30 (I want you to show your "tile" at this Zoom (the rectangle with the two dots we made on May 8).

Spirit Week - Fun in the Sun!

I don't like the hot sunshine too much, so my fun is in the shade with my sunglasses and a big hat!

Fun in the Sun!

Bonus mark:  Send me a picture of you having fun in the sun and I will give you a bonus mark!

Question of the Day:  What is your favourite kind of weather?  Explain.  (I like all weathers, except if it is really hot.  I am interested in the weather and every day (for about 25 years!) I write down the weather details in a book (I have many books of these records) -- wind direction and speed, barometer, humidity, precipitation, temperature and the cloud formations!  I can't stop now, I've been doing it for so long.

Warm-up:  (ART - you must do this in your sketch book!)  One of the elements of art (there are 7) is LINE.  Write LINE at the top of the page in your sketch book and make as many different lines on the page as you can in ten minutes (time yourself).  You can have a straight line, a squiggly line, a jagged line, a dotted line, a line that makes a SHAPE, a line that looks like waves at the beach -- don't censor yourself.

Warm-up (Drama 9/10):  Which monologue (posted on Friday) would you choose to do?  Say or read your choice out loud in a very low voice, in a high squeaky voice, with an accent of your choice.  This is a good vocal warm-up and will help you learn the monologue.

Theatre Production 11:  https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/WatchandExplore/BehindTheScenes Watch this short video about the props department at the Stratford Festival.  The Stratford Festival is the pre-eminent Shakespeare festival in Canada.  It takes place yearly in Stratford, Ontario.  They do other plays, too.  If you ever get the chance to see a play at Stratford, do it!  It is a wonderful theatre experience.

Lessons:
Drama 9/10:  Work on heritage drama's third story.
Theatre Production:  Work on prop.
Art:  The second element of art is VALUE, which refers to light and darkness.  Make a  rectangle.  Divide it into five equal sections.  Make the section on the right as light as you can.  Each section should be darker until the fifth section is very dark.  Use your imagination -- what have you drawn?
(Have this done by Wednesday.)