March came in like a lamb! (March 7)

 Drama 9:

Write a brief scene based on one of your group's heritage stories.  Name the characters, make the setting clear and fit the story in to the plot line we have discussed.

How is your group doing?  Discuss positives and negatives.  Have you finished working on the second story?  Why or why not?

Drama 8:

How do you think the world was created?  Could you make a play about it?  Why or why not?  Explain what you might be able to do.  How has your rehearsal gone?  Who is the leader?  (How can you tell?) Is anyone holding the group back?  Explain how.

Whose "Creation of the World" presentation did you think was the best?  Explain why.

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On April 15, from 6 - 8, we will be presenting Fine Arts Night.  You must arrange to attend and be ready to present your projects to an audience of friends, family and staff.  I will send a message to your families and there will be an announcement posted in the WAAG.

Pink Shirt Day

Everyone:

On Wednesday, we observed "pink shirt day" which is a day set aside for us to resolve to demonstrate kindness and empathy for others.  Write a brief scene that could be used for a public service commercial about bullying and why we should stand up against it.

Here's mine:

Jordie is at his locker.  Andy, Carol and Fee approach him, laughing in a sneering way.

Andy:  Oh, Jordie, where'd you get that shirt?  Value Village?  I think my dad donated it because it was too unfashionable even for him.

Carol:  Yeah, Jordie.  What's wrong with you?  Did you even glance in a mirror before you came to school?

Fee:  You're such a loser, Jordie.

They laugh at him.

Killian comes up to the group.

Killian:  Fee, if you want to see a loser, maybe you should take a look in a mirror.

Andy and Fee:  Whoa!

Carol:  What, are you friends with this guy, Killian?  Want to catch the loser virus?

Killian:  Look, guys, you all need to grow up.  Who cares what somebody wears?  It's really none of your business.  

Carol:  Who do you think you are?

Killian:  I know who I am.  Who are you?

Carol has no answer.  Her friends look stupefied.

Killian:  Let's get going, Jordie.  We're going to be late for Band.

Jordie:  Yeah, don't want to be late.  (Killian and Jordie leave, while Carol, Andy and Fee stand there looking stupid.) 

Song plays -- Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" and a slogan appears on the screen.  "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.  Right is right even if no one is doing it."  - St. Augustine

Fairy Tale Mimes and Heritage Stories

 Grade 8:

Which fairy tale did your group choose to perform?  How did you make the decision?  What is the climax of the story?  Who are you playing?  What will you do to make your character believable?  (Think of costumes, facial expressions, gestures, actions, etc.)

Grade 9:

Remember, you need to talk to your family members about a story you can share about the family history.  (You are a part of your family, of course, so you can use something that happened to you as a story, if you want.) We have looked at a variety of stories that people have done in the past -- your story can be like any of those.

You will get a chance to write your story down in your journal on Tuesday in class.

MDI Survey -- D Block -- Thursday, February 20

 Please bring your device, if possible, to Drama class tomorrow!  You will be asked to fill out the MDI survey during D Block class.  If you do not have a device, you will be able to go to the library to fill out the survey.

Working Together

 Drama 8:

 On a scale of 1 - 5, with 5 being excellent and 1 being terrible,  how would you rate yourself at working with a group?  What aspect of group work are you good at?  Explain.  How could you improve?  Would you say you are a good leader?  Explain.  Tell about a time you worked with a group and what you learned from the experience.  (It doesn't have to be a good experience.)

Drama 9:

This week, I read about a rescue at sea off the Canary Islands.  A small dinghy (inflatable boat) packed with people was in distress, adrift off the coast of a place called Lanzarote.  On board was a pregnant woman who was about to give birth.  Domingo Trujillo, the captain of a search and rescue boat, and his crew were dispatched to help.  By the time they arrived, the baby had been born.  Write a brief monologue as if you were one of the people involved in the story (the woman, another passenger in the dinghy, Captain Trujillo, the baby (a girl -- you can imagine she is telling the story after she grows up).  You can read the article which Ms. Kosar has posted on the theatre bulletin board, or by going to this link:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/10/spanish-captain-rescue-woman-gave-birth-baby-inflatable-boat-canary-islands#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20hours%20of,themselves%20as%20best%20they%20can.

First journal of Semester Two

 Grade 8's:  What should Ms. Kosar know about you?  Have you had any experience in Drama at all (elementary school play, public speaking lessons, improv classes, etc.)?    Do you do any activity which requires you to perform (sports, music, dance, etc.)?  Do you have stage fright?  (Most people have at least a little bit.)  What pronouns do you prefer?  You can share anything else you would like that will help me teach you.  

Grade 9's:   If you haven't been in my class before, please answer the above.  Thanks!

Our first project is going to be "heritage drama" in which we share stories from our family history.  Most of us in Canada have come from somewhere else (unless we are indigenous).  Where did your family come from?  Do you know when they first arrived in Canada?  Do you know anything about their first experiences here?  Here is an example of what you might tell me.

My father's family came from Ukraine at the end of the 19th century.  My grandparents came in a boat with their five oldest children (my dad wasn't born yet).  They travelled across Canada in a train and arrived at a place called "Tiny" in Saskatchewan.  (It was very tiny.)  They lived in a "sod house" at first -- that is basically a building made of cubes of earth.  (There are very few trees in Saskatchewan so they couldn't build a log cabin.)  My grandfather was a very hard man, but he had to be -- he had to make sure they got a crop to grow before the winter, or the family would have starved.  It must have been very difficult for them in Ukraine to have gone through such hardships to come to Canada.

If you don't know anything -- you can find out.  You could ask family members or you could even go online and find out about your home country.

Journal for January 10, 2025!

 Senior Drama

Directors/Theatre Production:  Pitch your idea for your upcoming project (film or sound and light show).  Provide the rationale for the importance of your ideas.

Actors:  Write a five or six sentence description of a student you have observed in a classroom setting.  Don't use the student's real name!  (Make up a name for them.)

Grade 8 Drama

How do you think the world was created?  Could you make a play about it?  (Explain how or why not.). Who are you playing in The Creation of the World?  What will you do to create the character?  How are rehearsals going?