Friday, October 30, 2015

AGENDA 10/30

Watch Act III of Pygmalion

Reader's Theatre - Act III of Pygmalion
Turn in Journals with topics 1, 2, 3 (#4 will be for your independent reading book, due next week)

HW: Complete take-home quiz over Acts II and III of Pygmalion due Monday.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

AGENDA 10/22

Present "Asides" skits - first without asides (just dialogue), then again from each character's perspective

Discuss:
  1. What do asides add?
  2. What will we look for as we read next plays?
  3. If I were writing an essay about asides in dramatic literature, what would I focus on?


HW: Remember to post in online discussion board on Turnitin.com regarding gossip in The School for Scandal. Complete journal entry for The School for Scandal (A1, A2, two options)

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

AGENDA 10/21

Lesson: Asides

Watch "Shakespearean Aside" and discuss: What is an aside? How is it used? What are the effects? How would it differ if the other character gave the aside? What might that character reveal differently?

Then, show “Aside” : how can we make our definition/ideas more formal? Why are asides prevalent in Restoration comedies? What are other reasons this drama teacher shares as to why playwrights use asides?

Next, discuss the use of asides in School for Scandal: Which characters use asides most frequently? Why might this be?

Finally, let's practice! Write a short skit for two characters given a conflict. Then, add asides for one character to make the audience sympathetic to that character, make the character more believable or well-developed, or increase dramatic tension. Then try adding asides for the other character. How do the asides change the meaning of the play or influence your understanding of characters?

HW: Continue to work on online discussion of gossip in The School for Scandal  and a journal entry on the text (A1, A2, two options).





Thursday, October 8, 2015

AGENDA 10/8

Discuss Act II, scene i with your sharing partners. What did you add to your tree maps as you read last night? What annotations did you make? What unfamiliar vocabulary did you discover? What clarifying questions do you have? What seemed important?

Read Act II, scene 2 silently and continue to make annotations as you read.

Break into groups of 8 people and modernize Act II, scene ii, lines 1-76 of The School for Scandal.

Characters are LADY TEAZLE, LADY SNEERWELL, MRS. CANDOUR, MARIA, SIR PETER TEAZLE, SIR BENJAMIN BACKBITE, CRABTREE, JOSEPH SURFACE.

In modernizing, the group will need a clear setting (e.g., we’re all college students gossiping at a Starbucks, or we’re football players gossiping about a rival team, or we’re a bunch of teachers gossiping in the teacher’s lounge, or we’re Harry Potter and friends at Hogwarts squaring off against Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins, or we’re attendees at a Comic-Con, or we’re the characters of Grey’s Anatomy, or we’re the Capulets gossiping about the Montagues, or whatever...) and the details/jargon of their insults should match that setting and the tone of the original play. This should be fun! The goal is to communicate the tone, attitudes of characters, and overall snarkiness of the scene. To get it done in time, students will need to choose out their characters and help each other--some characters have more lines than others, so work as a team. We’ll present these little mini-performances in class tomorrow. Students are encouraged to dress the part or bring props to enhance their skits!

HW: Finish writing/practicing skit and pull together the suggestion of a costume or props. I’ll have placards ready with the School for Scandal character names.