Journal for May 30, 2025 -- Art for Life

 Drama 8

What is a lesson you think you need to learn?  (For me, I think I should learn to worry less about things I can't do anything about.) If you were going to create a story to teach the lesson, what would it be?  (If I was going to tell a story about not worrying, I would have a girl worrying about really silly things like "what if an alien invasion took place?" or "what if I turned into a werewolf?" -- she worries so much about the impossible things, that she forgets something important (like her best friend's birthday or something like that).  At the end, the best friend could say, "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday".

If you would like to request a certain person to work with in the final project, make sure you add their name here.  Example -- "Mary would like to work with John."

Drama 9

What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?  Pitch a story that you could use to put your ideas into a dramatic context.  (I worry a lot about climate change, so I might have a story about a mother orangutan and her baby in the rainforest of Borneo.  Their lives are idyllic until a logging company comes to cut down their forest.  Maybe one of the loggers encounters the mother and baby and it makes him realize that the natural world is more important than making money.)

Journal for May 23 -- Emotional Truth

 Drama 8:

How do you think the world was created?  Could you make a play about it?  If not, why not?  If you could, what would you do?

Who are you playing in the Creation of the World?  What should your character look like?  (You can draw it.)

Draw a simple picture of a face that is angry, then another face that is sad, then another face that is scared.  (Label them.)

Drama 9:

What makes you angry?  Have you ever been so mad that you felt like you could hit someone?  Describe how you felt (like the sensations you experienced).  Did you actually have a physical fight?  If you did, what did that feel like?  (You felt satisfied, or disappointed in yourself, or you got beaten up and were hurt.) If you didn't, what stopped you from lashing out?

(Actors use a technique called "emotional memory" where the actor remembers how they felt in certain circumstances (like being very angry) in order to make their performance believable.)

Journal for Friday, May 9 -- Group Work

 Drama 8:

How would you rate yourself at working in a group (give yourself a rating between 1 and 5 with 5 meaning terrific and 1 meaning not very good)?  Explain why you rate yourself that way.  (Maybe you're good at listening, but shy about saying what you think.  Maybe you have lots of ideas but feel impatient with people who don't jump on board right away.) Are you a good leader?  Explain.  Write about a time you worked in a group and what you learned from it?  (It doesn't have to be a good experience.)

What fairy tale did you choose for your mime?  Who are you playing?

Drama 9:

Describe how the Shakespeare plot project is going.  What have you accomplished?  What still needs to be done?

Write a brief scene based on your group's rehearsal. 

Example:

Jean:  Okay, who wants to play the king?

John:  Me!  I do!

Joan:  John, I think it should be somebody else.  Last time, you never practised and when we performed, you didn't know what to do.

John:  I'll be different this time.

Jerry:  I want to be the king.

Jean:  Let's let Jerry do it.

John:  Then I don't want to do it at all.

Joan:  Fine.  Tell Ms. Kosar you won't do anything.

John:  Why do you hate me, Joan?

Something like that.

Journal #2 for Grade 9's (no journal for Grade 8's)

Do you like to see fighting in movies or plays?  Explain why or why not.  We often say that drama is about "kissing and killing", meaning people like romance and violence.  Why do you think people like to see violent movies and read violent stories?  Do you think fighting can solve a problem?  Explain your answer.