Day #12: The Final Performance!

Thursday 2/25: Hello, and welcome to the final blog for my time as the theatre Arts Bridge specialist at South Jordan Elementary. Today we had out final performances. This blog will mostly be pictures since I have spent my last few blogs discussing what the students would be presenting for this event.

Something really unique about their performances today was that they were recorded and the teachers and me (and even some of the students) were interviewed for the new promotional video for the Arts Bridge program. I'm super excited that their hard work and the subject of theatre will be featured in a commercial for the program!

Before the students began, I taught them 2 final theatre vocabulary words that were pertinent to today:

1) Dress Rehearsal: the final run-through of a performance, where every element needed for the scene  (costumes, make-up, props, setting, scripts) is present. Nothing is missing, so the run-through goes exactly like the upcoming performance.

2) Curtain Call: the final moment of the actual performance, where the audience claps and the actors take hands, raise their arms, and bow together. This normally happens after the curtain closes, then re-opens for the bow. OR the curtain closes immediately after the bow and the actors wave to the audience as it closes. The actors are normally not in character anymore during the curtain call. 

Mrs. Bailey's 4th Grade Class presented their FOSSIL SCAVENGER HUNTS:

 

Here the class is anxiously rehearsing their projects. They performed in front of one class on 4th grade students. The teacher of this class is the one who teaches the students about fossils, the counties, and the vocabulary found in their scenes. She had given me their worksheet packet full of the information we used in the scenes, which made them very enjoyable for her to watch, I imagine.

This picture gives you a great perspective of the size of the audience and the setting, made up of the narrator's chair to the
left (from our perspective), the 3 desks marked "1, 2. 3" for the 3 locations and for the props to be laid on, and the 3 chairs at the very end (to the right) where the actors would find their prize! I actually did not set up those 3 chairs. They thought to do that on their own!

Here, you can see the narrator sat stage right (which looks like left to the audience)
and the actors began their journey to find the three clues, standing right next to him.
They have their orange bucket, and are ready to begin the hunt!

The students examine the 3 rocks (blocks) found at location 2.
(Also, they were dressed like Utah pioneers because of their dress rehearsal
right after theatre class, where they practiced their Utah history performance.)

This same group examines the 3 different sticks (pipe cleaners) at location 3.

I love how closely they examine the fossil (pentomino) at location 1.
These kids were such great little actors!

This little group of rocks was in the shape of a tiny piano,
which they pretending to play!

This group ponders on what the prizes at the end of the scavenger hunt might be.
I wrote the script in the way that all students in the scene could wish for it
to be something different. This was fun because often times the students got
what they had wished for, or they got a combination of the 4 things.

This green fossil (pentomino) was a water gun, held by a penguin that started
spraying the other kids!

I love how they made a little animal out of the 3 rocks/blocks. I tried to make
sure I gave the students different shaped blocks to give them more options.

This group was under pressure at the beginning of rehearsal because they were missing an actor.
He just happened to be absent that day. But luckily Jacob, an eager student (right) was willing
to step in and play Donovan's role. Here they are, examining their sticks. He did a wonderful job!

I loved this group because they went above and beyond and included books
at the beginning of their scene to demonstrate that they started off their hunt in a
library. I thought that was super clever. Including the beginning, 3 clue locations,
and ending--where they find the prize--this little scene has 5 locations. It helps
to find ways to show the audience that you have entered different ones as you go.  

I loves this use of the pipe cleaners. They tied them together and put them in the
shape of Utah! How perfect, since the entire unit was on Utah geography and fossils!
I love how this clue led the characters to travel to the Museum of Ancient Life. Many
students kept the three sticks separate but I liked seeing this group think outside
of the box and to blend them together.

Class picture! They did such a wonderful job! I was so proud of them. The teacher and students also presented me with thank you cards (one per student that they had made from scratch) and a little potted plant! So thoughtful! I will keep those cards forever.

Mrs. Ormsby's 5th Grade Class presented their FRACTURED FAIRYTALES:

The 5th graders had a bit more pressure on them since they performed in front of an audience of about 75 people! The actors all stood over stage left (in the back of this picture) and two 5th grade classes filled in the floor space to make the house, where the audience sits facing the stage. Then the parents and grandparents and other family members sat in chairs in the back. I was so impressed with the turn-out. But what was even MORE impressive what the work the students had put into their performances, namely writing out their entire script.


Below are 2 sheets of different scripts, demonstrating just how much work these students put into their scripts after filling out the character cooking show template with the major events and characters. I love how they color-coded and highlighted their lines, and even put stage directions in parenthesis. I didn't even teach them about that! Then many of the students memorized their lines. I told them to carry their sheets on stage if needed. Memorizing is a lot of work, and it is perfectly acceptable for this stage of the process and for this age, for them to hold their scripts as long as it is not too distracting. Look how detailed and long some of their writing is! The groups use GOOGLE DOCS to write the scene together using their individual Chrome Books. That is such a clever and ingenious use of technology! So professional. One student mentioned in his video interview that writing these scenes made him a better writer, which was a major goal of mixing English/writing core curriculum with theatre! Hooray!

During art class, the students made backdrops for their scenes and we hung them up on the whiteboard so they served as the background for the scene. It was very legit! I was blown away. Here are the backdrops. Some people had decorated the back and front, due to the multiple locations in their scene.

The students had a prop table, set station, and a fabric bin off stage
(in the left wing), and were very helpful in handing each other
the needed objects, setting up, taking down (striking the set), and sharing
the materials. I was so impressed with students who immediately
volunteered to be in charge of the prop table.

Here are some pictures of their performances.

Mean Kira and the 2 Space Whales and her faithful dog!
Kira eat's the whales' fruit off their tree without permission and needs to be confronted.

Space Whales!

Odell's Big Adventure, trying to find the bathroom but ending up going to Light Saber
training classes and joining the Dark Side.

Three Sheep (can't you tell by the white fabric?) and the big bad fox!
She's blowing down their houses (red stools)!

Big Bad Fox gets the moral of the story:
you can only play with others if you are nice.

Belle and Her Beast. Here, she and her friend confront the Beast at the ball.
I love how Dominic used the cape and mask for his Beast costume.

Alicorn (alien + unicorn) falls from the sky and captures two girls and
brings them back to his spaceship.

Little Red Riding Hood and the 2 Squirrels.
I particularly love the outfits in this one. Great raccoon hat!

Thank you so much for following this blog! I hope you found it helpful and that it gave you some ideas if you ever get the chance to incorporate theatre terms, warm-ups or activities in your future lessons. Look forward to the promotional video featuring my students and the teachers and myself from this day of exciting theatre productions! I will post it on this blog. Thanks!