Friday, October 31, 2008

The "You" Warm-up

Here's a quick and easy warm-up you can use with your students at almost any point in the year.  
It enhances communication skills, group focus and trust.  Here's how to play:

"YOU"
Students stand in a circle.  One person starts by gesturing towards someone else in the circle and saying "You."  That student then gestures and says "You" passing it another person in the circle.   There is no order or sequence for the "You," but as it is passed, the energy of gesture and volume of the "You" increases.  This continues until one student achieves such energy and volume that the person whom he/she is passing the "You" to realizes they cannot top it.   That's when the energy and volume begins to decrease, from person to person, until the gesture disappears and the "You" is not heard, only mouthed.  From there, the mouthing stops and the the "You" is passed only with movement of the eyes.  It may get lost soon after this point, and that's OK, because it will make the students feel they have a psychic connection with each other.

Note: This is game is especially good when preparing for a performance, but can be used at any point to enhance the group dynamic.  The more secure students feel with each other, the more risks they will be able to take in rehearsal, and the more confident they will feel on stage with each other.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Artistic Skills

We've all completed our curriculum by now and are well-versed in the difference between artistic, academic and citizenship skills.  Since it's the beginning of the residency for most of us, I thought it would be useful to focus on the Artistic Skill Set, which we should all by implementing at this point.   After looking at everyone's curriculum and some of my past ones as well, I've combined all our artistic skills to create a Top 10 list.   Use it a reference point in your starting units/lessons, and by all means modify it or give us your thoughts using the comments section. 

Here are your Top 10 Artistic Skills:
- Students will learn to project their voices
- Students will learn to speak clearly and powerfully
- Students will learn the importance of movement: moving with purpose, filling the stage
- Students will learn the importance of body language: posture, gestures and eye contact
- Students will learn the elements of what makes a scene dramatic
- Students will understand how energy affects performance
- Students will understand how a character is developed
- Students will understand the importance of pace and rhythm in performance
- Students will learn the basics of improvisation/brainstorming: using ideas to create dialogue
- Students will learn to communicate in a clear, concise and effective manner, on and off-stage

Testing...

Hello Teaching Artists!  This is a test post so I can see how this site will look.  Stay tuned for updates.