by:
Craig Mason on
January 17th, 2012 | No Replies
We’re back from a whirlwind theatre trip to New York and have a whole week of blog posts and videos about the trip.
The second show holds the distinction of having one of the longest titles in theatrical history – The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill Volume 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays.
The text of the show was comprised entirely of stage directions from Eugene O’Neill’s plays. For example:
Rose Thomas, a dark-haired young woman looking thirty but really only twenty-two, is discovered sitting on the chair smoking a cheap Virginia cigarette. An empty beer bottle and a dirty glass stand on the table beside her. Her hat, a gaudy, cheap affair with a scraggy, imitation plume, is also on the table. Rose is dressed in the tawdry extreme of fashion. She has earrings in her ears, bracelets on both wrists, and a quantity of rings—none of them genuine. Her face is that of a person in an advanced stage of consumption —deathly pale with hollows in under the eyes, which are wild and feverish. Her attitude is one of the deepest dejection. When she glances over at the bed, however, her expression grows tenderly maternal. From time to time she coughs—a harsh, hacking cough that shakes her whole body. After these spells she raises her handkerchief to her lips—then glances at it fearfully.
by:
Lindsay Price on
January 16th, 2012 | No Replies
Use these pictures to jump start your writing. For each picture write a monologue or scene inspired by what you see. Not sure now to start? Write a monologue from the perspective of the person taking the picture. Write a monologue from the perspective of the object in the picture like the battered umbrella.
Write the scene that takes place the moment before the picture is snapped, or the moment after. A couple of the pictures involve strange signs, like the kitchen and footwear store, (who decided to sell those those things together?)- write the scene that lead to the posting of the signs.
Write something completely unrealistic and fantasy inspired that explains the picture. The possibilities are endless….
by:
Lindsay Price on
January 14th, 2012 | 2 Replies
I come across a lot of people who like to talk about their creative projects. They like to talk about their plans, their goals, how great their plans and goals are going to be. They talk…. a lot. Yes it can be good to verbalize what you’re doing and how you’re going to do it. But many of these folks talk about the doing and yet don’t actually do anything. Sometimes I get tired hearing about projects to be, instead of seeing those projects come to fruition.
It’s a trap to talk about doing more so than participating in the act of doing. If you’re talking, it makes you think that something is happening. That talking is part of the process. Which it can be, sure. But the fact of the matter is that the words coming out of your mouth go into the ether and vanish. It’s the words on the page, or the paint on the canvas, or the dance through your feet that matter. The doing is what makes you an artist, in whatever genre you enjoy. The talking about the doing does not make you better at your craft.
And further to this, there are those who talk so much about how they can’t do something (not enough time, no ideas, not good enough, blah, blah, blah) I’m sure they can talk themselves out of anything. There seem to be a million and one reasons why something can’t be done.
I often tell student writers the only major difference between those who write for a living and those who don’t, is that a professional writer starts writing and doesn’t stop. They are engaged in the doing, every day. Sometimes they don’t do it well, sometimes they only do for a few moments. But that doesn’t matter, there’s no time limit on the doing. It’s all part of being an artist. Nothing is perfect all the time, nothing is perfect the first time out of the gate. The important thing is to never stop the doing.
by:
Craig Mason on
January 13th, 2012 | No Replies
The sun-drenched common room at the south end of Columbia Garden Village retirement home in Invermere, B.C., is quiet most days. The shuffle of slippers on linoleum, the clink of a coffee mug in the sink, or the click of knitting needles are often the only sounds.
But every Tuesday and Friday, 18 kindergartners from Eileen Madson Primary School arrive in a yellow school bus and take over, turning the home’s common room into a classroom, and the home’s residents into active participants. The kindergartners go about their lessons, crafts and play time surrounded by the seniors who live there. Some elders watch from the sidelines, others roll up their sleeves and build block towers or indulge in a reading of a Scooby-Doo storybook.
This recent article in The Globe and Mail reminded me so much of Bradley Hayward’s wonderful play Smarty Pants. The central thesis of Smarty Pants is that the lessons we learn in kindergarten aren’t just for kindergarten, and that if we forget those kindergarten lessons, we forget the most valuable parts of our education.
That’s why you’ve come back to kindergarten. To let your inner child out. It’s no use having a ton of knowledge if there’s no dream behind it.
It’s a lovely notion. I think it’s second nature to those of us in the arts, but it’s a sentiment rarely found in the outside world. So nice to see it validated with a program such as this.
Learn more about Smarty Pants (and read some free sample pages) here.
My first reaction to this is, YES! Money for the arts! In school! Go NBC! You rock! And then I start to get a little skeptical. I get wary about the idea of a TV company giving away money. For the arts. Production companies aren’t really aren’t known for funding educational programs, particularly arts programs. And of course it’s a bit of a gimmick. It’s promotional. They’ve got a new show coming out (Smash) which is based around putting together a broadway musical.
All this is great if the show is a hit and runs for years and NBC has a reason to fund this program in conjunction with it’s hit show. But what happens if the show is a flop? Will NBC still go ahead with the initiative if they pull the plug on Smash? Or will they get cold feet coming up with some lam reason why they can’t after all, put money into arts education. I want this to be real and I want to believe that NBC is thinking about students and how much impact those musical theatre programs could have. I want to believe that there’s something in place for which NBC will stand by its commitment regardless for at least a couple of years.
In this newsletter you’ll find sample Emergency Lesson Plans to use in the drama classroom and also suggestions so you can make your own. Create your own plans to suit your particular classroom.
The Emergency Lesson Plan is a necessary teaching resource. Life does not always run smoothly. You could be called away from class. You could fall ill. You could have something planned that just isn’t working out. It’s nice to be prepared for the unexpected.
How
How do you create an Emergency Lesson Plan?
It’s not as hard as you think. Simple and straightforward is going to work in your favour.
Who
How do you present an Emergency Lesson Plan for a stranger?
A substitute is going to walk into your classroom with nothing prepared. How do you make sure the work is done exactly the way you want?
Where
Where can you find Emergency Lesson Plan Resources? Try these websites.
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I come across a lot of people who like to talk about their creative projects. They like to talk about their plans, their goals, how great their plans and goals are going to be. They talk…. a lot. Yes it can be good to verbalize what you’re doing and how you’re going to do it. But many of these folks talk about the doing and yet don’t actually do anything. Sometimes I get tired hearing about projects to be, instead of seeing those projects come to fruition.
