The Reindeer Whisperer

Letters and permission slips for the after school auditions were sent home yesterday to select students who have demonstrated excellent behavior, work ethic, and performance ability during theatre class since the beginning of the school year. The permission slips are due back no later than Monday, September 19th. The auditions will take place on Thursday, September 22nd from 3 to 4:30pm. On Friday, the students will be notified of our final selections for the cast.

If your student wasn't chosen to audition, we'd still love for them to be in the show as a member of the chorus. The time commitment isn't as large but we would still expect them to come to exhibit night on Nov. 17th and to the full performance on Friday, Dec. 2nd. I will be sending more info. home about the chorus after auditions are completed next week. Please don't hesitate to e-mail me with any questions you have!

The Reindeer Whisperer - 2nd and 3rd grade

We are doing an "in class" audition for our holiday musical, The Reindeer Whisperer, this week. I will be sending home invitations for students who have demonstrated great work ethic, behavior, and a commitment to learning in my classroom, to come after school and go through a formal audition process. Those invitations will go home next Wednesday, Sept. 14th. 

The audition and all practices will take place on Thursdays only. The students will be performing a vignette on exhibit night (Nov. 17th) and performing the whole show on Dec. 1st (and possibly Dec. 2nd if we have enough interest). Once the show is over, 2nd and 3rd will be finished with after school rehearsals for the year, for my class. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at amanda.taylor2@knoxschools.org

September Thespian of the Month - Audra McDonald

Audra McDonald

Check out Audra's personal website here - http://www.audramcdonald.net

Writing a Review - Week 3

This week in theatre we're finishing watching "Annie, Jr." in grades 2 through 5 and the students are writing a review or critique of the performance. These reviews are important, as they allow me to showcase each student's growth over the year. This first one is a benchmark, to show where they were with their knowledge at the beginning of the year. We will learn more about them and work on them over the course of the year and complete more as the year goes on!

The first grade students watched a clip of "Step in Time" from Broadway's "Mary Poppins" and focused their performance reviews on the characters of "Mary" and "Burt." Please watch the video below! It's a great moment!!!

Our K classes talked about what it is to be a good audience, and then practiced those skills while watching the "Matilda, the musical" performance from the Tony awards. It can also be found on youtube! 

Theatre = Empathy

Was given a great article by a friend about how theatre helps students have empathy! Check it out!

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/08/22/how-performing-in-theater-can-build-empathy-in-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Week 3 - Being an Audience

Happy 3rd week of school!

2nd - 5th grades - This week we will be starting a two-part lesson. We will be watching our first performance - the musical "Annie," which has been adapted to a junior version for younger audiences. We will begin by talking about what it means to be an appropriate audience (standard 6.4) and will also be writing a review of the performance (standards 7.1 and 7.2).  If you've never seen the Tennessee elementary theatre standards, check them out on www.tn.gov.

K and 1st - Will be completing a one-part lesson, which will focus on being an appropriate audience. We will watch clips from various musicals, which will give the students a chance to show me what they've learned. We will also be working on movement while following directions.

It's going to be a great week. :)

Setting the Scene

Happy 2nd Week!

This week, all grade levels will be making a connection to reading class as we review/explore characters, setting, and plot. We will also be talking about problem/conflict and solution. We will review using the following books:

4th and 5th - Mustache by Mac Barnett
2nd and 3rd - Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst
1st - I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff

Please ask your student to tell you about the book when they come home! Telling and retelling stories are an important part of the theatre class!

I look forward to meeting you on August 30th at Open House!