The Chocolate Affair

If you're hurting for some last minute inspiration, I encourage you to read "The Chocolate Affair," a ten minute play by contemporary playwright Stephanie Alison Walker. You can download on my Siena Webpage.

Peer Review Workshop

Peer review, if taken seriously, can be immensely helpful in crafting one's work. Peer review is more than going through a checklist of requirements or checking for correct grammar. It is about responding thoughtfully to someone's work as an authentic and truthful audience member. Does the piece honestly do anything for you? If you want to help your peers, you would answer that question truthfully. And if you do happen to really enjoy someone's work, you must say more than this: it was good. Take your time. Read the script twice. Be specific in your responses.

PART I: Written Peer Review

Just follow the worksheet


PART II: Verbal Peer Review

After reading someone's play, please discuss the following with the writer:

1. The strong points of the play

2. The weak points of the play

3. What you think the play's message is

HW: Please complete your 10 minute play. Tomorrow in class you should have the following items:

1. Your 10 minute play, typed (6-10 pages)
2. Peer review worksheet
3. Rubric (please print out here if you lost your original copy)

While the Auto Waits and Workshop Postponed

Well, we've changed things up quite a bit today. The peer review workshop has been moved  to Thursday due to technical difficulties.

I would like to remind folks that there is NO excuse for not having something  typed and ready to be reviewed by a peer during tomorrow's class. We spent three classes writing in the computer lab at school. You've been allowed to email your work to yourself, save it on flash drives and even print out your work when necessary.

Today, we will read  and discuss O. Henry's "While the Auto Waits." This 10 minute play will hopefully give you greater insight into how to develop a short, effective piece. We need to get away from the idea that this assignment is asking you to write a full length play in the span of 6 pages. You are writing a short play, which requires a narrower focus, rather than trying to have your characters complete the "Greatest Hits" of dramatic situations in the span of a couple pages ( for example: saving the world, curing a disease, solving a double homicide, while making time for the family)

FINAL LAB DAY

This was your final day in the computer lab.

HW: Please complete at least (that means at bare minimum), 2/3 of your 10 minute play. PLEASE BRING TO CLASS TOMORROW FOR A PEER REVIEW SESSION.

LABWORK: DAY 2 (and some helpful hints)

We will continue to work on our plays in the lab, but first let's go over some advice/reminders.

1. Here's a phrase I put on several of your scripts: Too cinematic. Cinematic means that the way in which you're presenting your play is more appropriate for film (the use of a camera). So, when your scenes are too cinematic, it means your play is taking on a form that is not well-suited for the stage.

examples of too cinematic: constantly switching scenes, explosions, the use of  vehicles, sets that are far too complex (a shopping mall where characters keep going into an out of stores, a street on which characters walk down for the duration of the play...how big of a stage are you working with here?)


2. In light of those comments, KEEP YOUR SETS SIMPLE. Believe it or not, this will spark creativity, rather than snuff it out. Keep in mind, 10-minute plays are usually performed in black box theaters, much like the space that we had created for our production of Our Town in Rm. 120. I'm not saying abandon props and set design. Just keep it simple.

3. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are VITAL, ESSENTIAL, CRITICAL, IMPORTANT. Choose any one of those words, they all suggest the same thing!

A note on grammar: Keep your stage directions in present tense (so, not "she was", but "she is") You may have fragments, however, because people don't always speak in complete sentences: "You hungry?"

A note on spelling: Enough with the "Hellooooooooooooooooo's" and the "u's" instead of writing out the word, "you." Those are distracting to the actor who is trying to learn the part. You may spell words incorrectly, but only to convey accents or dialects. Remember "Saturday," looking like "Satiddy" in Our Town?  Or "liquor" looking like "likker?" Those misspellings were to help the actor with the accent. Is it necessary to do that? No, but you certainly are allowed to.

A note on punctuation: Don't be afraid of the period, ladies and gentlemen. Many of your scripts lacked them. Lack of (and excessive use of) punctuation is also very distracting to actors. Many of you will insert the comma between two independent clauses (two complete thoughts) because you want the lines to flow, but that is actually called a comma splice. Take this sentence, for example: "She went to the store, she likes it there." This is actually a run-on. It should read like this: She went to the store. She likes it there. Each sentence is a main or independent clause, meaning, each phrase completes a thought, requiring a period between the two, NOT a comma.

Also, the use of hybrid punctuation is confusing, and therefore should be avoided: You're here?!?!?!

And please, for the love of God, one punctuation mark will do when concluding a sentence (of course, the exception being the ellipsis to signify trailing off: Excuse me, can you me find the. . .

HW: Please read Play Rubric and fill out the slip. Continue to work on plays at home. 

LABWORK: 10 Minute Plays

We will be in the computer lab today working on our 10 minute plays.  Please stay on task because it is A.) part of your participation grade and B.) you'll be cutting down the amount of time you have to devote to this outside of school.

Please do not access the internet because permission to do so has not yet been granted by our technology guru, Mr. Moore.

Please reference the 10 Minute Play Formula handout to make sure you are hitting all the necessary points of this type of play. If you've misplaced the original copy handed out in class, it is on my webpage. Click here.

HW: Continue to work on your 10 minute play.

*Please note: excessive off-task behavior in the lab will result in a sooner deadline for this writing assignment.

Play Script Format

Today in class we'll be running a script formatting workshop.

HW: Please complete a one page scene, which can be absolute nonsense, but must maintain correct playwriting format throughout. See handout given in class for assignment details.

Forget your script format sheet at school? Don't panic. Click here to get it.

A Friendly Reminder

I've been noticing some off-task behavior in class lately. Please be mindful of the expectations you have set for yourself 2 weeks ago today. While enthusiasm and excitement are always welcome in our classes, please be sure you are directing your energy toward the work.

Thank you,

Mr. B.

Our Town and 10 minute plays (day 2)

Please note: Make sure you're reading the information on this post for your section.

Sections 8-2, 8-3, 8-4,  and 8-5.

1. Please take a seat. We will be watching a 10-minute play by playwright George S. Kaufman called "If Men Played  Cards As Woman Do."

2.After the film, I will hand out a helpful cheatsheet, if you will, on what needs to be included in your 10-minute plays. On that shee you will also find some more brainstorming ideas. Please read them and try a few.

3. Play Script Formating Workshop
Sections 8-1 and 8-6: Please take out a half sheet of paper (yet again!) and focus yourselves for a short quiz. This quiz should take no longer than 10 minutes.

After the quiz, we will watch Act III of Our Town. Unfortunately, that will take us right up to the end of class and we won't be able to discuss it. But we will.

You have no official homework, but you will begin writing your 10-minute plays starting Wednesday (after a mini-lesson). It would be wise to start/continue brainstorming for plot, characters, setting, theme, etc.
Check past blog posts for brainstorming activities: Theme Brainstorm
                                                                        Character Brainstorm
                                                                        Scene Exercise

Still stuck? Try the 36 dramatic situations webpage to help get you started.

10 minute play formula/ Our Town Act III

Please note: Make sure you're reading the information on this post for your section. Because 4 of the sections took home Our Town, their agenda for the day is significantly different than the agenda for the other 2 sections.

Sections 8-1 and 8-6.

1. Please take a seat. We will be watching a 10-minute play by playwright George S. Kaufman called "If Men Played  Cards As Women Do." Please fill out the sheet in response to the short film.

2.After the film, I will hand out a helpful cheatsheet, if you will, on what needs to be included in your 10-minute plays. On the back you will find some more brainstorming ideas. Please read them and try a few.

3.  Begin brainstorming and writing today. Do not concern yourself with the format just yet.

CLICK HERE for 10 Minute Play Formula and Brainstorming Activities.
HW: Please read Act II of Our Town. Expect a short quiz the following day.


Sections 8-2, 8-3. 8-4, and 8-5: Please take out a half sheet of paper (yet again!) and focus yourselves for a short quiz. This quiz should take no longer than 10 minutes.

After the quiz, we will watch Act III of Our Town. Unfortunately, that will take us right up to the end of class and we won't be able to discuss it. But we will.

You have no official homework, but you will begin writing your 10-minute plays starting Wednesday (after a mini-lesson). It would be wise to start/continue brainstorming for plot, characters, setting, theme, etc.
Check past blog posts for brainstorming activities: Theme Brainstorm
                                                                        Character Brainstorm
                                                                        Scene Exercise

Still stuck? Try the 36 dramatic situations webpage to help get you started.

Play Structure Workshop

Welcome back to another week of drama...literally. Here's today's agenda:

1. Reverse Quiz on Play Structure Handout
2. Discuss: helpful, new, interesting, or confusing ideas in Play Structure handout
3. Activity: Short Scene exercise

SHORT SCENE EXERCISE:

ALONE OR WITH A PARTNER, please write a short scene that includes 3 of the following 8 playwriting devices: INCITING INCIDENT, MAJOR DRAMATIC QUESTION, CRISIS, MAJOR DECISION, TIME LOCK, DARK MOMENT, ENLIGHTENMENT, SARCEY’S PRINCIPLE OF OFF STAGE ACTION. Be sure to establish the who (characters), where (setting), and what (theme or main idea).

To start this exercise, please write a short synopsis or the main idea (1-3 sentences) of the play. This will help organize your scene.

Example of synopsis: Bernie Breckett, owner of a smalltown convenient store, finds himself in a frustrating situation when elderly customer, Gail Hall, can't seem to remember what she's shopping for.

HW: Sections 8-2, 8-3, 8-4, and 8-5- Please read Act II of Our Town for tomorrow's class. Be ready to take a short quiz.

Completing Our Town, Act I and Brainstorming Theme

Hello everybody! First, I need 2 things from you:

1. Reading Response to Our Town
2. PBS article response

Next, remember that video I mentioned, about how fiction can change reality? We never got around to it, and I think it's an important clip for aspiring playwriters, such as yourselves, because it really drives home the point that the premise of your play (the main idea you want to communicate about the human condition)  MATTERS! I'll say it again: YOUR THEMES MATTER, but they must matter to you first!

How do you think of themes that matter to you? Try this exercise:

If you were going to die tomorrow, what is the one thing that you would absolutely need to communicate to the world.

or this one:

Think of a memory or experience you hold dear. Why is this memory so powerful? Why do you keep going back to it? Is it something you may be able to develop into a play? Is it something that might be universally understood?

or maybe this

What's the best advice you've ever received? At what point in your life did you receive this advice and why? Can this advice be universally meaningful? Since taking the advice, how has your life changed?

And, oh! That video. Here it is! Fiction Can Change Reality 
__________________________________________________________

We'll be concluding Rm. 120's brief stint as a fully functioning black box theater. As George Harrison says, "All things must pass."

We will discuss your response sheet to Our Town within groups.It's important you share your ideas about the craft and form of the play with others because they may reveal elements of the play that you had originally missed or undervalued. This will be a Monday activity.


HW:  -Please carefully read and mark up the Play Structure handout. 
          - choose 2 things you found to be helpful and be ready to discuss on Monday.
          -be prepared to take a Reverse Quiz. You must generate 3 questions based off the article. These questions, however, must be points of confusion for you. Please do not ask questions that you already know the answer to. I will take (physically and mentally) your quizzes. Note: you will take the Reverse Quiz in class on Monday. Forget the article at school or absent. No problem. Download it here: Play Structure Handout

Our Town continued!

Welcome back to RM 120 Theater! Please take your seats and prepare to enjoy the rest of Act I of  Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. We may require new actors, depending on level of interest and cooperation.

Hw: Please complete the Responding to  Our Town handout. We will be discussing your responses in our groups tomorrow, so please be responsible and complete your work. Your group is depending on you to contribute to the discussion. **You will hand in your work, so please fill it out with diligence, using complete sentences. Forget to take the sheet home? Download the file from my school webpage by clicking here .


P.S. I'm aware that the PBS website was down last night. Please complete the work for Friday.

Here's the assignment once more: HW: Please read this article about an urban school putting on a production of Our Town. In a well developed paragraph (5 sentences), on loose leaf or typed, please explain how Our Town, a play that takes place in a small, middle-class village, is still able to relate to students living in an impoverished city, rife with dangers and violence that Grover's Corner never had to worry about. In your response, be sure to include an explanation of universal themes and how it relates to the article. 

Characterization mini-workshop

Today we'll begin class with a characterization mini-workshop. You will be able to use your notes, but not your friends. You'll receive a handout with directions, and I'll facilitate the workshop once everyone understands the directions.

We'll be jumping into Our Town with full force today. Please be sure to complete the homework for tomorrow's class:

 HW: Please read this article about an urban school putting on a production of Our Town. In a well developed paragraph (5 sentences), on loose leaf or typed, please explain how Our Town, a play that takes place in a small, middle-class village, is still able to relate to students living in an impoverished city, rife with dangers and violence that Grover's Corner never had to worry about. In your response, be sure to include an explanation of universal themes and how it relates to the article. DUE: Thursday, September 13. 

Thorton Wilder at a Glimpse/ Notes on Theme

Hello everybody. Here is a digital version of the handout you read today in class.



Thornton Niven Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1897. The second of Amos Parker Wilder and Isabella Niven Wilder's five children, Wilder spent his childhood traveling back and forth to the Far East where his father was posted as the United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Shanghai. A strict Congregationalist with a Ph.D. in economics from Yale, Amos read to his children from the classics and insisted that they spend their summers working on farms. Wilder's mother was a cultured, educated woman who instilled a love of literature, drama, and languages in her children. She read widely, wrote poetry, and was actively involved in the cultural life of communities where they lived. She was the first woman elected to public office in Hamden, Connecticut. Thornton remembered her "like one of Shakespeare's girls -- a star danced and under it I was born."

The Wilder children were all highly educated and accomplished, as their father and mother expected. Thornton's older brother Amos was an acclaimed New Testament scholar and nationally ranked tennis player. His oldest sister Charlotte was an award-winning poet who suffered a nervous breakdown in 1941 and remained in institutions the rest of her life. His youngest sister, Janet Wilder Dakin, was a professor of biology and noted environmentalist. Of all the Wilder family members, however, Thornton was closest to his middle sister Isabel, herself the author of three successful novels and a member of the first graduating class of the Yale School of Drama (1928). She acted as his secretary, business manager, and literary adviser. After her parents' deaths, she and Thornton lived together in the family home in Hamden, Connecticut.


While living in Chicago, Wilder became close friends with fellow lecturer Gertrude Stein and her companion, Alice B. Toklas. In fact, Stein's novel The Making of Americans (1925) is said to have inspired Wilder's Our Town (1938). Tracing the childhood, courtship, marriage, and death of Emily Webb and George Gibbs, the play finds universal meaning in the ordinary lives lived in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. (The fictional town was based on Peterborough, New Hampshire, where Wilder spent summers at the MacDowell Colony.) A huge success on Broadway, Our Town earned Wilder his second Pulitzer, making him the only American author to win Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and drama. Wilder himself took on the role of the Stage Manager for two weeks in the Broadway production and in summer stock productions in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. (In 1988, the play's 50th anniversary revival on Broadway earned the Tony Award for Best Revival; the 2003 Westport Country Playhouse revival would earn a Tony nomination for the same award.)


Here is a video of director Gregory Boyd speaking about Thorton Wilder and his own production of Our Town. 

Discussion: with your groups, discuss what Mr. Boyd means when says the bare set design helps reveal"universals of people and the deeper truths." What does he mean by the term "universals?" What literary term might be used to describe what he's talking about?

Themes: the statement(s), expressed or implied, that a text seems to be making about its subject.  All literature deals with the human condition: the struggles, thoughts, and emotions that are experienced by all people, regardless of status, beliefs, ethnicity, etc.  For example, if your play takes place during the Civil Rights era, a theme of your work could be the effect that racism has on the black working class. 

All good plays (dramas AND comedies alike) deal with human struggle and human themes to communicate the human condition. Effective plays help us to realize certain truths and understand our world more clearly Your plays should do the same thing! The key to writing an effective play is to write about a theme or idea that you feel passionate about.

Here's an interesting video on how themes from fiction actually make us more aware about the world we live in, and as a result, change our way of thinking.

HW: 1. Please read over your notes about characterization as well as the blog notes on the types of characterization. That blog can be read here. It may be a good idea to jot down some of the terms and ideas from that blog in your notebook. Be prepared for a short characterization assignment during class on Wednesday.

 2. Please read this article about an urban school putting on a production of Our Town. In a well developed paragraph (5-7 sentences), please explain how Our Town, a play that takes place in a small, middle-class village, is still able to relate to students living in an impoverished city, rife with dangers and violence that Grover's Corner never had to worry about. In your response, be sure to include an explanation of universal themes and how it relates to the article. DUE: Thursday, September 13. 

Characterization Notes

What is characterization? Well, it refers to the various means by which an author describes and develops character. In class today, we talked about the various ways in which authors allow their characters to "come alive." So how do authors do this? Here are some of your suggestions: describing characters' thoughts, emotions, physical appearance, family, culture, environment, actions, and conversations.

There are two types of characterization:

direct characterization- explicitly presenting information about the characters (telling the reader about the characters)

indirect characterization- depicting who characters are through their actions, statements, thoughts, and feelings (showing the reader what a character is like).

As playwrights, you are encouraged to show, rather than tell, who your characters are, because if you simply explained everything, you'd have a hard time finding actors to play the parts. Instead, think of developing characters through the action and dialogue of the play. This way, the dialogue and action of the play is purposeful  and would keep the plot moving.

  As discussed in  class, your characters must be complex individuals who your audience can relate to, whether or not they approve of their actions. The more you brainstorm and develop characters, the easier it will be to make them convincing. *Remember, your characters must have a compelling motivation for their actions and beliefs.

Here's a video that explains characterization. Great explanation, and even better accent: Characterization Video

Creating Characters

When we read a book, see a play, or watch a movie, we tend to connect more with the work when there is a complexity and depth that mirrors real life. This complexity is usually derived from the characters. Just think: if you had dull characters in your play, is your work going to be very engaging? Probably not.

So, in order to get a few ideas about character design, before even attempting to write a scene, please do the following excercise:  For the following people in the photos, give a name, an age-range, a one sentence description, and goal or urgent desire they have in life.

Here's an example:  NED FLUM, age 39-42. Ned spends every afternoon downtown by his favorite brickwall, and most people think he is crazy. Ned wants to prove that if shows up everyday at "his" brickwall, he'll become a national sensation, based on his belief that people are fascinated with meaningless publicity stunts.

Now in your notebook, do the same thing with 2 of the pictures.

1.   2. 3.

4.    5.

Housekeeping and Getting Started

Hello everybody. Today will hopefully conclude the introduction to our class. We will be going over the syllabus (general class overview), getting assigned seats, going over the participation rubric, and learning about the almighty class blog.

Our first unit this year will be Playwriting. We'll be learning the key characteristics of plays, and to help demonstrate we will be reading Our Town by Thorton Wilder. By the unit's end, you will be writing an original 10-minute play.

HW: If you have not already done so, please hand in your summer reading notes by Monday, September 10. You will receive less credit on the assignment if it is handed in after Monday.

WELCOME BACK!

Hello 8th graders! Welcome back to Siena for your final year before you make that special leap to high school! And welcome to the class blog! Over the course of the school year, I will be posting each day's agenda, important reminders, and links to helpful resources on this blog.

***Please be aware that while you may have access to this blog at school, any videos I post cannot be viewed on the school's computers because the Diocese blocks YouTube. That being said, your home computer should allow you to view everything. If you are without a home computer or internet access, do not worry! Students will be able to view the blog each day in class, and the videos and other links I post are not mandatory. They are simply tools to aid learning.

Today's class will be fairly basic: we will get to know each other, establish class expectations for the year, and go over the class syllabus.

Please note that your summer reading assignment is due Friday, September 7.  Click here for details on that assignment. In any event, let's get off on the right foot, and make sure it's in on time.