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Acting:  Week 2
(August 28 - Aug 31, 2023; no school Friday)

Important terms are in RED.

Google Classroom assignments are in BLUE.

If ABSENT, you are REQUIRED to read / understand / do all activities posted for that day, even if it's not an "assignment".  

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DAY 1:  Art in Theatre 

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1.)  Participated in an opening activity with a partner:  Mirror Me

 

2.)  Reviewed composition (the building blocks of all art)

  • Definition:  the arrangement of parts to create a unified whole

  • Elements of strong composition on stage:  Levels, Depth, Focus point(s)

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3.)  Introduced today's topics:  Where art can be found in theatre / How color is used to convey meaning

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4.)  Journaled (in Google Classroom - "Acting PROCESS Journal"):  Title:  What constitutes art?  (In your opinion, what makes something art or "not art"?)  If absent, be sure to respond to this question with your own opinions in your Google Classroom PROCESS Journal under this week's dates.  Use (bold) title provided above, hit enter, and then respond.)

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5.) Introduced Julie Taymor (a director/designer) and some of her creative & artistic work on stage/in film

 

6.) Watched compilation clip from The Lion King on stage  (directed/designed by Taymor).  Discussed what was striking in the clip and where "art" was seen on the stage.  (If absent, be sure to watch one of your choice.)

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7.) Discussed how almost all art forms use COLOR to create meaning/mood.  As a class, we discussed the subconscious and cultural meanings of various colors (ex: Red, in our culture, often signifies anger/wrath, or conversely love/passion and sometimes caution/dager; Black often signifies evil or death; yellow often signifies happiness, green may signify envy or greed, etc.)  

 

(Note:  Next class, we will do an acting activity with the goal of using a specific color's meaning to create that mood in a scene.)

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DAY 2:  Creativity / Showing Meaning/Mood with Color

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1.)  Played a name game

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2.) Responded (in Google Classroom PROCESS journal) to the following prompt:  

Title:  Defining Creativity

How would YOU define creativity?  / What does it mean to "be creative"?

(If absent, be sure to respond in your GC PROCESS journal under this week's dates)

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3.) Reviewed composition & art in on stage.

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4.) Discussed how the director's goal is to create MEANING using ARTISTIC ELEMENTS, and how all design elements use COLOR to create subconscious meaning.  As a class, we discussed the subconscious and cultural meanings of various colors (read #7 from yesterday's lesson)  

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5.)  Participated in our first acting project:  Open-Ended Scene (a script was provided in class, but is also available in  Google Classroom - "Open Ended Scene")

  • Students partnered up and chose a color "to work with".

  • Pairs discussed the cultural/subconscious meaning of their chosen color.

  • Pairs were given an "open-ended" script and were asked to create a scene that conveyed the MOOD/MEANING of the color chosen, using the script provided.

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DAY 3:  Rehearsal & (Pre-Test) Performance 

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1.) Rehearsed Open-Ended scenes with a partner. 

2.) Performed Open-Ended Scenes for the class.  This performance serves as each student's "pre-test" for IB Criterion C:  Thinking Creatively (click for rubric)

3.)  Ms. Price performed the open-ended scene with a volunteer student to illustrate the use of SPECIFIC CHOICES, and class discussed the results.

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DAY 4:  Artistic Intention & Exploration of Ideas

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1.) Discussed: Is there a difference between CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION? (If so, what?)

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2.) Watched a short talk by Sir Ken Robinson in which he shares his definition of creativity.  (If absent, watch clip HERE from 3:02-3:55)

  • Creativity = the PROCESS of having ORIGINAL ideas that have VALUE. ​

  • Discussed the value of "thinking creatively" in your current culture, and future job(s). 

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3.)  Discussed that STRONGER choices...

  • are SPECIFIC choices

  • are NOT SAFE choices (ex: vague or easy choices such as "friends" or "at school", etc.)

  • are NOT STEREOTYPES (ex: one-dimension characters such as the "nerd" or "ditz", etc.)

  • explore the question:  WHY?  (ex: You're mad, but why?  You're at the park, but why?, etc.) 

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4.) Discussed with acting partner:  What did you and your pattern INTEND for your AUDIENCE to think/feel as the result of your performance?  = Artistic Intention 

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5.) Participated in Exploration of Ideas with teacher-led character & setting idea-generation activities and Journaled (in Google Classroom - "Acting PROCESS Journal"):

  • Journal Title: Exploration of Ideas (Setting)  With your partner, list 10 different SPECIFIC locations where your scene COULD take place.  Don't judge ideas YET.  Just get down 10 specific locations.  

  • Journal Title:  Exploration of Ideas (Characters)  With your partner, list 7-10 SPECIFIC relationships (characters) who COULD be in your scene.  (They can be totally separate from your location ideas.  Examples:  doctor/patient; hotel manager/maid; homeless woman and her estranged daughter; teacher/drop out-student; exes, etc.)  (If absent, do these journal entries on your own.)

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6.) Explored (with a partner) various ideas from journals by "putting ideas on their feet". (i.e. acting a few of the ideas out with partners)

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