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High School Network Spotlight
W i n te r 201 8
From the
Conference to
the Classroom
W R I T T EN BY JUSTIN F. CHARLES
W
e all have those moments
in our careers when we
try something new and
instantly regret not having
done it that way for years.
As a high school teacher, when you
attend a conference, you hope to find a
few things that you can take back and
use right away with your students. While
many of us are guilty of putting away
all those conference handouts into a
drawer upon returning home, sometimes
we are lucky enough to attend a session
that really delivers and changes the
way we teach. For me, Shawnda Moss’
workshop “Using Work Stations to Drive
Focused Rehearsal Time” at the 2017
American Alliance for Theater &
Education (AATE) Conference in New
Orleans is that session.
I had just finished teaching my first year
of high school theatre when I attended
the 2017 AATE Conference. Previously, I
taught middle school theatre and spent
several years teaching other subjects.
Heading into the conference, I was
definitely not impressed with the way my
students used class time to rehearse.
They would run through something once
or twice, and think they were done for
the day. They didn’t understand the
improvements and refinements that
the rehearsal process provides, no
matter how much I explained it. While
incorporating feedback was not an
issue, they were not using their time to
explore different choices or perspectives.
I was not happy, and was looking for
something new to try with my students.
Moss’ session was just what I needed. I
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was hoping for a sit-and-get
(I’d spent the previous evening
thoroughly ‘exploring’ the city), so
I sat down and thought oh-no-
she’s-making-us-pair-up-and-
do-pantomime. Looking back, I
honestly do not think I would have
understood it as well or decided
to use it in my own classroom if I
had not experienced the process
of work stations during the
session first-hand. I was looking
for moments when a reluctant
student may disengage from the
activity, but happily found myself
unable to do so.
Moss’ premise for using work
stations is to provide a variety of
activities for students to engage
with their piece, for example
character work, expression,
storytelling, and movement.
The students move from station
to station throughout their
rehearsal time. The activities
can be teacher-generated or
student-generated. During the
conference session, they stations
were generated by “the students.”
At one station, we had to really
consider sequencing: what came
before, the beginning, the middle,
the end, and what came after. At
another, we explored the scene
in slow motion, paying close
attention to our gestures.
Back in my own classroom, my
Drama 1 students were working
on silent scenes when I decided
to try using work stations. For
the first session, I came up with
stations, rather than asking the
students to generate ideas for
them. I created a total of twelve
stations, and students rotated
through them over the course of
two days. The stations alternated
between writing at a desk and
standing up and practicing. I set
a timer for five minutes, and when
it went off they moved on to the
next station.
W int e r 2 018
Here are the stations we used
during the first classroom session:
I was amazed by the outcome. I
was expecting the majority of
students to go along with it, but
not all. In the end, every single
student worked for a solid thirty
minutes each day and the results
of their work were evident in
their performances. Since then,
I have used work stations three
more times and have learned
that once students get the feel
of work stations, you can reduce
the amount of time they spend
at each station. If it took them
five minutes during first semester,
it’ll only taken them four minutes
during second semester to
complete the same kind of
activity. Once students are
familiar with the rubrics, they are
capable of generating the station
activities themselves. Now, I ask
them at the end of the previous
class what they think activities
should be for the next class,
and they are able to suggest
appropriate activities to help
themselves engage in the tasks
and improve their performances.
So, a huge thank you to
Shawnda Moss. My students
are performing at much higher
levels than last year, and it is all
because of you. And to everyone
else, attend the AATE Conference
in Minneapolis! It could just
change the way you teach.
JUSTIN F CHARLES teaches
theatre and French at Round
Lake High School in Illinois. He
also is one of the co-chairs for
AATE’s High School Network.
R Draw the location.
R Practice your movements in the
scene with no facial expression.
Focus on your body.
R What happened right before the
scene starts? How does the scene
begin? What happens during the
scene? How does the scene end?
What happens right after the
scene ends?
R Practice your scene.
R What is the relationship between
the characters? How long have
the characters known each other?
Do they usually get along? Why
or why not? How do you act with
those people in your life? How will
the audience see the relationship
between the characters?
R Practice your facial expressions in
actual time of your scene. Do not
use your body, just focus on your
face.
R What is the conflict in the story?
How have you dealt with this
conflict in your own lives? How
is the conflict resolved? What
do you do so that the audience
understands the conflict and
resolution clearly?
R Practice your scene.
R How do you use the theme in your
scene? How do you establish the
theme in the beginning of the
scene? How do you continue the
theme through the end? What is
the lasting message about the
theme that you want to leave the
audience with?
R Practice your scene in slow
motion, focusing on each specific
movement.
R Practice your scene over and over
and over for four minutes. In the
last minute: What feels strongest
in the scene? What still needs the
most work?
R Switch roles, play the other
person’s part in your scene.