Hola! So this is winter! Mid-December as I write and we've already
topped all of last year in both snow and low temperatures! "The
Recyclables" have also enjoyed a record year. It seems that as
the word spreads, everyone wants Reader's Theatre for their meetings
and programs. People are learning that we simply can't accept all
of the requests, so they are already booking for the 2006-2007 season.
I'm sure all of you are finding the same growing demand. Enough of
that! Let's deal with another area of need in this article.
In
November I received an urgent email from Professor Monica Bergers
at the University of Iowa asking if I had used RT in the classroom
and could I let her know how it had worked out. She had an idea for
using RT in her literature classroom and would welcome any help I
might offer. I thought this might be of interest to all of you, so
here, in part, is how I answered.
She had read many of the articles in this series and my first advice
was to go back and reread the article on writing your own material.
This method is easily adaptable to almost any classroom and I have
often used it to have students create their own plays…from RT to a
full musical!
First
I would have the students break into small groups developing a general
project in which they would improvise a short scene based on any story
they knew well. Even better it might be something they had experienced
in their own lives. This worked wonderfully well and you will be amazed
at how creative your students are. As always class enthusiasm is directly
related to your own and they will quickly catch on and run with it.
Next,
bring the groups back together and have them read each others material
to the class. Use stools and set it up like traditional RT if possible.
You can point out to them that current humor, stories and happenings
from the news relate to the contemporary literature of our time…i.e.
some might choose to put the RT piece in "rap."
Now
that they have the process you can proceed to the content of your
course. Professor Bergers is teaching a literature class…I have used
Bradbury, Vonnegut, Brecht, Salinger and others. In the past we have
even applied this method to classes as varied as Science and Music.
One of my favorites is to let the students choose their own material
from a list of authors I provided relevant to the form of literature
being taught.
Don't
worry about your students connecting with this; I can assure you they
will. Professor Bergers will be implementing RT as a method in her
literature class. I will keep you informed as to her progress.
Once
again we (the "Recyclables") are fully booked in January,
but as always I will find time for any questions you might have (especially
those about using RT in your community or classroom.) You can contact
me through RTD or by internet at: bcplayers@chartermi.net or you can
write: Recyclables, The Bay City Players, 1214 Columbus Ave, Bay City,
MI.
Break-A-Leg!