In-school Theatre Instruction
Through a 12 or 20 week program, Students will:
- Learn basic skills of the voice and body
- Apply those skills as they interpret and embody characters
- Collaborate, brainstorm, and direct each other and their teaching artists
- Perform in choral character teams before an audience
- Deepen understanding of literature by acting out a scene from a play or book
- Self-assess and reflect
To get an idea of how the 12 program works, here is an example of a project calendar.
| Activity | Notes |
|---|---|
| Initial Planning Meeting (Facilitated) To talk with the teachers about the program, set the schedule and choose scripts. |
Meeting |
| Classroom Teacher Professional Development An opportunity for teachers to learn more about the skills of the program—whether before the residency starts or during, if teachers want more information. This can be a 10 minute activity during the planning meeting, or an hour long professional development session. |
Optional |
| First Visit by Teaching Artist: Observation The Teaching Artists visits each classroom for 20 minutes to get an idea of the teaching style and set up of each classroom. This helps collaborate better with each teacher. |
|
| Lesson 1: TA Performance & Signature Activities The Teaching artist(s) will engage the students with a short performance and introduce them to the program. |
Optional Pre-Assessment |
| Lesson 2: Theatre Skills |
|
| Lesson 3: Theatre Skills | |
| Reflection/Planning Meeting (Facilitated) This meeting is to talk about what is working and what is not with the teachers. At this point, the teachers will understand more about the program, and might have specific ideas about how to work best with their students. Also, the teaching artists and the teachers can start planning for the performance and additional events. |
Meeting |
| Family/Community Event This is a great way to show parents and the community the work of your students. This can be an open class during school hours or at a PTA event. |
Optional |
| Lesson 4: Theatre Skills |
|
| Lesson 5: Rehearsal The students begin putting the skills that they learned together to begin the rehearsal process. |
|
| Lesson 6: Rehearsal | |
| Lesson 7: Rehearsal | |
| Reflection/Planning Meeting (Facilitated)At this meeting, the teachers will plan for the performance, including timing and costumes. | Meeting |
| Lesson 8: Rehearsal | |
| Lesson 9: Rehearsal | |
| Lesson 10: Culminating ActivityThis performance is a sharing of skills, an opportunity for the students to show the work they have done. Parents and other grades are often invited. | |
| Lesson 11: Reflection This is an opportunity to students to talk and learn from their experience in preparing and performing. |
Optional Post-assessment |
| Lesson X: Lecture Demonstration This movable lesson can happen anytime after lesson 4. The students will utilize the vocabulary they have learned to direct actors through a process during this one hour demonstration. The lesson can take place at your school or at Queens Theatre in the Park. |
|
| Final Reflection Meeting (Facilitated) This final meeting with teachers will cover the entire process, and talk about what will work best next time. |
Meeting |
This program meets many NYC Theater Blueprint Standards. To learn more about the Blueprint, download the PDF NYC Theater Blueprint guide.
