Ups, Downs, Pivots, and Awards

We had quite a time in the classroom this past week. 1/3 of the musical cast is now in quarantine due to positive Covid contact. They won't return until two days before our first dress rehearsal. We will now shift our plans to a fully filmed performance, which may actually take some pressure off of the cast.

In brighter news, two students in the Playwriting class received Honorable Mentions for their original, one-act plays. It is awesome recognition of their creativity and the hard work they put in to the piece. The students all loved the class so much; it was great to get their feedback about it at the end of the class. This is some fun icing on that cake!

Back to it all tomorrow!

Woah, We're Half Way There...

Friday marked the half way point in the school year as we began the 3rd marking period. It was a bittersweet time to say "goodbye" to the inaugural group of Playwriting students at the high school and hello to a new group of middle school Theatre students & the first Acting 2 Honors class in many years.

I struggled to put together a lesson plan map for the Acting 2 Honors class that I liked. The curriculum guide left by the previous teacher had some great idea for performance projects with a devised piece and a performance for children. But, the structure felt too disjointed for me. It wasn't until I peeked at the student surveys from the Playwriting class that it finally clicked. What the writing students enjoyed so much was the ability to learn from lectures, lessons, and exercises while having the freedom and time to let their creativity flow at their own pace. The one-on-one instruction was also helpful. That was it. If that was what creative students wanted, now I needed to find a way to apply it to the honors level acting class.

Friday afternoon, I presented my ideas to the Honors class at our first meeting. The class would have an acting studio-type structure and engage them in a series of individual and group performance projects. They liked the ideas of the devised and children's theatre pieces, but also the opportunity to do some self-reflection and to develop their own individual goals and projects. We will see how that all works out, but I'm excited by their excitement. I cannot wait to see how giving them the room to run supports whatever their imaginations can conceive.

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To Be a Philosopher...

Recently, I have been devouring all things Thoreau. My current read is the biography by Laura Dassow Walls titled Thoreau: A Life. I fill up spare time in lines, or enduring insomnia, with articles about his work and his environments. The philosophy of seeking to know life and then living in accordance with that "different drummer" speaks to me much as it did as a teenager first encountering Thoreau and Emerson. Yet, it feels more visceral, particularly that part about living. About doing.

The quote in the image is what speaks to me most these days. I also think it clearly presents the piece that is often missed by those who read philosophy... we must use our thinking to "solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically."

Practically.

It isn't enough to think the thought, or hold the belief, we must take action. And this does not necessarily mean whipping up a fervor around the beliefs, rather, we must take action personally. Live the life we've imagined, to paraphrase another of Thoreau's oft quoted phrases.

We must walk the walk in our own lives in a way that speaks to our own beliefs and understandings - to our own souls, if you will. This must be done regardless of what those on the outside might want or espouse. Taking action on philosophy is not a group effort, it is an individual one. The more of us who act on our personal philosophies within our own lives, the more a movement can build.

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