Annotated Bibliography

  I am very happy with the final selections for my unit on Ancient Greek theatre. The process started out pretty rough: my first choices were not young adult compatible, one of my approved choices was out of print, and my new choice was a bit out of the subject area but has actually become an extremely valuable text for my lesson plans. The unit would begin with discussions based on journaling of the assigned reading of Dramarama by E. Lockhart (1 block). This book would be assigned in chunks with some silent time given in class each week as well as time for journaling. The book would continue to be read throughout the following lesson with its completion before the final performance. We would examine the culture of ancient Greece, the Festival of Dionysus, and a timeline of great writers and thinkers of the era (2 class blocks and a quiz). Once background in both modern theatrical life (Dramarama) and ancient Greek culture (The Greek News) have been covered, we would focus on general stage movement, costuming and masks, and performance technique (4 blocks). During these lessons, selected readings from Ancient History Reader’s Theater would be used, with the “Getting Personal” discussion questions leading to character analysis in writing. The final product would be the performance of an excerpt from one of the great tragedies or comedies of the time (2 blocks for rehearsals and script analysis). These excerpts would be chosen from several that I had pre-selected and would have been distributed at the beginning of the lesson(such as a monologue from Antigone, Electra, or Medea or a scene from Lysistrata or The Birds). The final assessment will consist of the performance along with a worksheet justifying the student’s choice of costume, delivery style, and context.

Students who have never been onstage before will benefit from Dramarama because it is written from the perspective of a high school girl. It deals with issues every teenager can relate to: wanting to fit in but also wanting to be special. It gives a realistic depiction of what goes into putting on a show. The Greek News will benefit spacial and visual learners because of its illustrations and newspaper article-like arranged pages. Each story is no longer is set up to be read in its entirety without turning pages. It will give all students visuals on life in ancient Greece. By introducing students to Ancient History Reader’s Theatre before handing them a copy of something by Euripedes, I will hopefully have a more receptive group of actors who will not be intimidated by Ancient Greek plays.

Lockhart, E.(2007). Dramarama. New York: Hyperion.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8

I loved reading this book. Sarah, aka “Sadye” is endearing, funny and relatable. The references throughout the book to various plays and Broadway shows enhance the story for the theatre buff but do not prevent the theatre novice from enjoying and understanding the story. It covers the classic trails and disappointment of being in a play; even the quintessential humiliating role of a “tree” as well as the complications of girl/gay boy friendships, the awkwardness of acting exercises, and the glorious feeling of performing and how far you would go to save a friendship – and someone you loved.

I would assign this book at the beginning of the year in six sections (it’s 300 pages). I would allow 15 minutes of discussion and 20 minutes per week to read silently. I know it’s not a lot, but we’re a college preparatory school so that’s generous. I would create a blog or a discussion in Edline (our version of Blackboard) for students to journal on about the book. Our discussions would cover one of the many social topics addressed as well as the theatrical references. Blogs would be looser in topic. I would create a reference list of theatrical terms and plays covered in the assigned chunk prior to reading.



Powell, Anton and Steele, Philip.(2001). The Greek News. Massachusetts. Candlewick Press

Ages 9-14. Grade 5.  Flesch-Kincaid Grade level 10

With a layout that looks like a cross between a tabloid and a comic book, The Greek news gives the reader the feeling that he or she is a citizen of Greece between 800 and 300B.C. Besides the artist rendering of daily life in the ancient cities, the Greek News offers several useful maps, a timeline in the “classified” section, and some excellent recreated images of Greek art, common tools, and landmark buildings.

This publication would serve as a research tool for the cultural circumstances surrounding each scene selection. It would also serve as guide for costume and set design. Students would use the brief references and stories in The Greek News to help direct them to deeper research online. Students would cater their research to apply to the play they have been assigned for the final performance assessment. Finally, one of the performance work classes would be dedicated to creating a commercial to perform based on the ads in the book; such as oil lamps at “The Pottery” in Miletus or the call for wrestling instructors for a new school opening in Corinth. Each group would create a short presentation based on the add using their knowledge of the culture.

Smith, Robert W. (2011). Ancient History: Reader’s Theater. California. Teacher Created Resources, Inc.

Grades 5-8.  Flesch-Kincaid Grade level: 7

This book provides both relatable content about ancient Greece and an opportunity to practice performance skills. Each short script is based on actual historical events. It begins with a page of background information, a summary of the script, and a list of writing activities to extend the lesson. At the end of each script, Smith provides a series of discussion questions and some critical thinking “Making it Personal” questions. The script topics cover Babylon, Athens, Alexander the Great (a popular figure in The Greek News as well) Julius Caesar and Pompeii.

The book is formatted for easy copying; making handouts easy for note-taking on the scripts.

This book will provide a number of performance workshop opportunities as well as reinforce the cultural and historical information. I will begin a reading with a basic background lesson; making connections to other texts. The students would then read their assigned scripts silently, then aloud. We will review the characterization process for actors, discuss the types of masks their character might wear, and find parallel character traits between the reader’s theatre script and the assigned scene. Students would use the format of the reader’s theatre scripts to re-write a section of their own classic Greek play and read them aloud.

Theatre History.com [Self-publishing resource]. (2002). Retrieved from: http://www.theatrehistory.com/ 

This site offers an extensive overview of ancient theatre through archival articles and excerpts. Each selection has several links attached to key words and figures, making it a valuable research tool for students to utilize when discovering the background on their assigned scenes. In addition to the initial articles, the site has a “links” page that specializes in world theatre as well as technical theatre. The content can be dizzying; some of the articles are difficult to comprehend for the average teenager and there is so much information, one may get lost in the links. With proper guidance, however, it becomes a great asset.

Students will be grouped according to the playwright for their scene/monologue. Each group will be provided with a written guide to perform a small scale webquest using the articles and links in the website. For example, under “Greek and Roman Comedy”, Aeschylus, of Sophocles, and Euripides are all mentioned. Their names lead to a biography (not the easiest read) and a very comprehensive list of links to biographies, play summaries, and textual quotes. I will direct  students to the initial article and providing a guide on where to go from there with a few questions to answer on each page. I would also encourage students to share findings with other groups if it related to them.

Alvarez, Veronica. (2010) ARTSEDGE: City of Dionysia, The Ancient Roots of Modern Theater. Retrieved from 

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/series/AEMicrosites/city-dionysia.aspx#About

ARTSEDGE is by far the most current, navigable and resourceful website for educators and students of the performing arts. The City of Dionysia section is an interactive playwriting and animation activity that allows students to create their own tragedy.  It links to an overview of the festival of Dionysus, the tragic structure and references Aristotle’s Poetics and the dramatic form. It also links to some modern examples of ancient tragic form in some of the Kennedy Center’s past performances although I feel some of them were a bit of a stretch. The animation projects’ strongest resource is the architectural information; presented in a glossary. It is also present in backdrop selections for the stage.

This activity will be done during the final preparations for the performance. I will give the students an opportunity to explore the site in class, distribute a worksheet with the requirements and a rubric for assessment. We will review dramatic structure, new vocabulary, and architectural details of the time.  The students will find the link on their Edline account to create the project at home. They will create an original scene for the characters in their selected play and put it in modern language. Once they have finished their play, the site allows them to have the final product emailed not only to themselves but to me. This project will take a day of class and I will allow for the final email to be sent by the following week, giving them time to “play” with it at home or find reliable internet access if needed.

Reading Next Online Activity

 The Reading Next report enforces many of the methods explored in previous texts in class. The use of reading guides defined in McKenna's chapter eight directly correlates with the first element of explicit comprehension instruction.Guides can include summation and self analysis. The seven position statements of teh Commission on Adolescent Literacy line up with the elements of Reading Next: diversification, effective and explicit instruction, tutoring for specific learning needs, and so on. The 15 elements provide a concise summary of the characteristics covered in previous texts and case studies.

For this assignment, I have chosen to align myself with the English Language Arts content, even though I am often grouped into art. Theatre is a combination of English, visual Art, and Music. Because much of the reading and writing we do is based around classic literature (plays).  Theatre is, in essence, an extension of English through visual art (set and costume design) and performance (speaking, singing/dancing).
1. Diverse texts: In class, we cover classic scripts (Sophocles, Moliere, Chekhov, Tennessee Williams) as well as radio dialogue (Wells' War of the Worlds, "Soap Operas", This American Life). Students also have the opportunity to chose scenes written for teens and perform one-acts geared to students. 7. Intensive writing: students are required to write original speeches based on credible research, do detailed script analysis which includes translating subtext and character motivation, and do objective critiques. 4. Text-based collaborative learning: acting is an ensemble-based art. Students are required to rehearse and perform as a group based around a script. They provide direction to each other, analyze the plot as a group, and do a lot of partner pair/share work. Every script we work on involved student interaction.

Theatrical Exploration: Cool Websites

The Puppetry Homepage

 

Although the first thing that may pop into your head when your think of puppetry is the Muppets, puppetry is a well respected craft in many cultures. And even if we smirk at Miss Piggy, I'm sure many of us can attribute some of our literacy and social knowledge to Sesame Street.

Thanks to Julie Taymor's integration of puppetry into the costumes of The Lion King on Broadway, the art of puppetry has found its way into "higher arts". The skill is also very useful to have in the current animation industry.

Japanese Bunrako is an ancient high art and Indonesian shadow puppets are intricate and linked to religious ritual of the culture.

The Puppetry Homepage offers nice brief definitions of puppetry terms and a plethora of links to various puppet forms. The site itself is rudimentary and the images are limited, but it still does a great job in leading you to some great stuff.

KABUKI 21

 

This Website is the imdb of Kabuki theatre. It has a list of every Kabuki actor, images of those actors, the latest Kabuki revivals, etc.

It would be a great site to  use in conjunction with art history to create a virtual Kabuki play and Marquis.

The stylistic movements, erratic vocalizations, and symbolic choreography in Kabuki is so very different than Western performance that it would be a challenging but fun undertaking for a high school drama student. This website would serve as an excellent tool for a group project who could use the names and artist renderings to do more research in presenting a brief Kabuki performance. I have a DVD that I would show prior to the assignment as well as a brief description in my textbook. This would definitely take them out of their comfort zone; an important lesson for an actor.