KRISTA D. PRICE

DAY 1:  (Ms. Price was absent today; the only activity you need to do if ABSENT is #4)

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1.) Finished script (Lost in Yonkers)

• Act II, Scene 2, pgs 96-103 (Crisis) 

• Act II, Scene 3, pgs 104-112 (Build After Crisis)

• Act II, Scene 3-4, pgs 112-120 (Climax & Denouement)

• Act II, Scene 3-4, pgs 112-120 (finished Climax & Denouement)

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2.) Chose a character to "work with" for a future monologue assignment/performance. 

• Each student/actor must choose one of the following characters from Lost in Yonkers:  Bella, Grandma, Eddie, Louie, Jay 

• You must choose your OWN gender (or your own gender identity) for this assignment, although girls are allowed to choose Jay if desired.

• If absent, be sure to choose which character you'd like to work with, and Ms. Price will provide you with a monologue for that character next class (online).

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4.) Completed a Google Form:  Monologue PRE-TEST Questions (if absent, complete this on your own; link to Google Form in Google Classroom)

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5.) Prepared a monologue for your chosen character.  

• Ms. Price passed out monologues based on students' chosen characters.

• Ms. Price gave class time to prepare your monologue

• Students recorded & uploaded 30 seconds of their prepared monologues (at the end of the hour).  

• This activity is your PRE-TEST for our next project:  Monologue Performance  (We will work on characterization this unit to help grow your actor choices and performance techniques.)

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6.)  Participated in an Observe/Infer activity (Google Classroom Reflection Journal - week 9) in which we observed the body positions and physical choices of various actors playing characters from Lost in Yonkers, then inferred what was being communicated to an audience about that character through the actors' choices.  (If absent, you do NOT need to complete this activity.)

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DAY 2:

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1.) Ms. Price reminded students to upload their monologue PRE-TEST video to Flip Grid (link to drive provided on Google Classroom).

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2.) Ms. Price reviewed our next acting project:  Perform a Character Monologue (IB Rubric:  Developing Skills)

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3.) Reviewed: How does an actor know how to "play" a character from a script? 

• There are 3 main ways we learn about our characters from a script:

  • What the playwright tells us about our character (Example:  ​"she's as warm and congenial as she is emotionally arrested")

  • What other characters say about our character (Example:  "She'd come out of that door with a limp and a cane and look like she was going to kill you.")

  • What a character says about him/herself (Example:  "Sometimes I get so confused I think I should carry an alarm clock")

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4.)  Participated in an Observe/Infer activity (Google Classroom REFLECTION Journal - week 9) in which we observed the body positions and physical choices of various actors playing characters from Lost in Yonkers, then inferred what was being communicated to an audience about that character through the actors' choices.  (If absent , you do NOT need to complete this activity.)

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5.) Reviewed chosen character for monologue assignment/performance. ​

• You must choose your OWN gender/gender identity for this assignment, although girls are allowed to choose Jay if desired.

• If absent , be sure to choose which character/monologue you'd like to work with from the list below:

  • Bella (2 options)

  • Grandma (2 options)

  • Jay (1 option)

  • Louie (2 options)

  • Eddie (3 options)

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6.)  Watched a video of playwright Neil Simon describing the characters of his play, Lost in Yonkers.  (watch to 1:45 if absent)  Discussed the playwright's interpretation of his characters.

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7.) Discussed:  How do actors/directors make choices about HOW to portray characters on stage?  (Answer:  They read and INTERPRET the script.)

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8.) Participated in a small group activity (Label Activity)

• students (in groups) were given every line/description from the script, Lost in Yonkers, in which a character was described by the playwright, by themselves, or by others. 

• Students analyzed each, and put each line (label) in the correct column (playwright/self/others) and for the correct character. 

• When done, actors will now have a complete list of every description from the script about the character they will be playing.  (If absent, this is an assignment you do NOT need to do/make up.)

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DAY 3:  

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1.) Completed a journal entry in Google Classroom PROCESS Journal (Title: Character Clue Words) in which students listed all the character "clue" words (from the label activity) that got to the heart of WHO their character is.  (Example:  Louie = danger, never careless, etc.)

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2.) Discussed as a class: 

• Which character talks about themselves the most?

• Which character is talked about the most?

• Etc.

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3.) Participated in teacher-led movement activities in order to explore and "try on" various types of movement.  (This helps in character development.)  The movement activities we explored are listed below.  If absent, find a place to be alone, and TRY altering your physical movement (while walking) as described below...

• "Leading Center" (the part of the body a character may "lead" with)

  • Lead with your chin...​ (What does this "feel" like?)

  • Lead with your hips...  (What does this "feel" like?)

  • Lead with the top of your head...  (What does this "feel" like?)

  • Lead with your nose...  (What does this "feel" like?)

  • Lead with your chest...  (What does this "feel" like?)

  • Lead with your hands...  (What does this "feel" like?)

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4.) Previewed tomorrow's movement activity:  Laban Movement

 

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DAY 4:

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1.) Reviewed "Leading Center" and made choices about what part of the body YOUR monologue character might "lead" with.  (Wrote down Leading Center choice for YOUR character at the top of your monologue.  If absent, be sure to do this on your own - see #4 under Day 2 if needed.)

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2.) Reviewed:  The physical choices an actor makes for a character are the most important for building a believable character.  (An audience can't see what you're thinking/feeling...only what you're DOING with what you're thinking/feeling.)

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3.) Participated in Laban Movement Activities, led by Ms Price:

• Laban Movement (the theory of human movement that analyzes the ​weight, direction, and speed of movement)  For visual handout click HERE.

  • Direct, Quick, Heavy movement ​ (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a PUNCH.

  • Indirect, Quick, Heavy movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a SLASH.

  • Direct, Quick, Light movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a DAB.

  • Indirect, Quick, Light movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a FLICK.

  • Direct, Sustained, Heavy movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a PRESS.

  • Indirect, Sustained, Heavy movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a WRING.

  • Direct, Sustained, Light movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a GLIDE.

  • Indirect, Sustained, Light movement (What does this "feel" like?)  This type of movement is called a FLOAT.

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3.)  Watched a video (KP's Theatre Class - Characterization) and took notes in Google Classroom CLASS NOTES.   If absent, complete this learning on your own by the end of the week.

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4.) Discussed/Chose:  What might your character's "Leading Center" be, and what type of movement (from the above Laban Movement choices) would probably be typical for your character?  What type of Laban Movement might your character exhibit during your monologue (present circumstance)?​ 

•  If absent:  Complete  My Monologue Choices in Google Classroom

Completing this assignment will help you think through your character choices, and also allows Ms. Price to grade your monologue performance according to YOUR actor choices.  (Your monologue can NOT be graded until you've done this analysis work.)

• If absent, ALSO write your choices at the top of your monologue sheet (where indicated).

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6.) Participated in teacher-led character development scene work for your chosen monologue character.

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