4th Quarter 2006
OCTA BEGINS EXPANSION OF IN-SCHOOL BASIC THEATRE TRAINING
Want to get in on an fun and valuable program with school students? The in-school basic theatre training project may be what you need if you can't sponsor summer theatre camps… or even if you can!
The program to introduce school students to theatre began In March, 2004 when The Oklahoma Arts Council gave OCTA a grant to design a curriculum for the project and test it in selected schools using theatre teacher-artists from OCTA theatres.
The goal of the program is not to develop young performers, thought that can be a real by-product. Rather it is to give Oklahoma students information about the roots of theatre, the practice of theatre, and of the many and diverse tasks of production and management that go into creating a theatrical presentation. It is hoped that it will lead to an appreciation of theatre and begin to build audiences for the performing arts in the future.
A curriculum provides the basis for five introductory lessons: What is theatre and how did it begin?; Types of stages and stage directions; The collaborative process; An actor prepares; and, The importance of the audience.
The Grove Community Playmakers got to work and developed the program for their school system. A task force was formed to decide the structure of the program. This group chose to present the lessons in nine fourth grade classes in the spring semester of 2006. The program was supported by the Superintendent of the Grove Public Schools, the Principal of the Upper Elementary School, and the nine fourth grade teachers. One hundred eighty-three students took part in the first effort, 80 boys and 103 girls. Playmakers' theatre teacher-artists instructed the students and developed the more specific lesson plans which gave form to the curriculum --exercises and theatre games that created an enjoyable learning opportunity for fourth grade students. High school speech & drama students performed for the classes in the final lesson, providing an change for the students to become 'the audience.'
As the fourth grade students progress to fifth grade, The Playmakers will once again work with all classes. In 2007 they will help the 5th grade students write a script for their end-of-semester program using Oklahoma's history as the content for the program. They will continue to work with these students as they go through mid-school. Additionally, every year, there is a new 4th grade class. As long as the school system allows the program and The Playmakers have the volunteers, the program will continue.
Three more community theatres will present this curriculum in their school systems in 2007: Elk City, Muskogee, and Lawton. Vanessa Adams-Harris will organize the training for Beggs and the KIPP school in Tulsa. The program doesn't have to be as extensive as Grove's; you can tailor it to your own circumstances. Be creative and share your successes with other theatres providing the training. If you are interested in learning more about this project in order to participate in the future, please call the OCTA office, 401-236-0788 or email us.
Plans are to put the curriculum on the OCTA webpage very soon as a 'work in progress.' As community theatres apply the basic curriculum to different grade levels, the specific exercises they use will be added to the curriculum.
This format forms the basis for a "cohort study" as it focuses on the same specific population each time data are collected. If there is anyone needing a research project who would like to set up the methodology and research tools for such a study, please contact The Playmakers at 918-786-8950. Although the OCTA project is not a 'study,' evaluations are conducted at each stage. Evaluating students when they reach eighth grade might give us useful information about the effectiveness of this kind of program in developing audiences or theatre participants for the future. The classes could be questioned when they are Seniors, also, to see how many of these students had become "theatre audiences" or "theatre participants." The Playmakers are keeping students names and attendance for just such possible research projects.
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