Wednesday, June 30

Program Orientation

Straight off in the morning, Dr. Taylor facilitated the program orientation. He referenced the 36 years of NYU's Study Abroad Program in Drama Education, as well as a variety of the leaders in the field who have worked on the program in the past (Brian Way, Peter Slade, Dorothy Heathcote, etc.) and those they would have the opportunity to encounter this summer (Gavin Bolton, Cecily O'Neill, Helen Nicholson, etc.). Dr. Taylor expressed excitement to have the students on board and indicated that many had expressed similar excitement in the opening statements for their journals.

The welcome being through, Dr. Taylor turned his attention to the academic requirements and expectations for the journal and participation. He reminded students that the program was indeed compact, but reassured everyone that the staff is here to support their academic development.

Community Building

Straight after the delineation of requirements, Jonathan Harden (Course Tutor) led the group in a series of Community Building activities, which were co-facilitated by the other tutors in order to introduce the style of each tutor to the group right at the start. Jonathan first had us participate in simple physical warm ups - rolling our heads, stretching, etc. followed by going around in a circle noting when the leader reversed direction so that we might all do it together, moving eventually to getting anyone who wants to reverse direction doing so, and us all following suit.

Martin Heaney first had us send an imaginary ball around the circle such that we named the person we were sending it to, in order to introduce everyone's name. The pattern was then to be remembered so we could go around a few times hearing the names and connecting them to faces.

Martin then led the group in an East-Enders Inspired game of zip-zap-bop. In this re-imagined version, zips were sent with an "Oi" of sorts - loud and argumentative at best - passed around the circle from one participant to the next (with the sound and a physical passing of the sound). Bops which traditionally block the zip and reverse the direction were replaced with "Easy!" - with inflection of "Take it easy!" and two hands up to block the motion. Zaps can usually pass the sound to someone across the circle, and here was replaced with "Take It!" which was pointedly given to someone across the space. What some know as "groovalicious" which allows the person to buy some time with a call and response was here replaced with "I am not your mother!" which everyone else in the group responded to with "Oh yes you are!" The final bit, sometimes known as "avalanche!" where everyone must scramble to a new position in the circle and the caller resumes from their new place was here replaces with "Jackie, I'm moving out!"

I led the group in a traditional name game whereby we stood in a circle and each person used their name, an adjective that started with the same first letter as that of their name, and a physical motion to join their name and adjective. After each person took their turn, the group repeated the name/adjective/motion combination, and all that came before in the order they were introduced.

Jonathan Harden then led the group in the drama game "When the big wing blows…" whereby the facilitator completes the phrase with something members of the group might have in common. For example, "When the big wind blows, it blows people who are in Europe for the first time." The group is in a circle, and if the phrase is something that is true for you, then you must change places with the others in the group with whom you share that commonality. In this case, the facilitator called the phrase each time, but a variation is to do it with the participants in chairs and one person is "it" in the middle. The person who is "it" calls the phrase and in a monkey-in-the-middle/musical-chairs type fashion, tries to get into a chair before the others have an opportunity to do so. Whoever is the odd man out, calls the next phrase.

Rebecca Patterson then broke the group up into five groups, each of whom had five minutes within which to make a short list of expectations for the program which would serve as a contract between the tutors and the students. These will later be typed and posted for reference. Among the common themes were being respectful, having fun, full group participation, and allotting time for reflection.

The last activity for our opening session was led by Jonathan Harden, whereby he stood in the center of the room as if to say that he were London, and indicated north, south, east, and west as distinct areas of the room. The students were then to position themselves in the room to represent where they were born, relative to the central location of London. Thereafter we saw where some people had moved when they began elementary school, and finally where everyone attended college.

Process Drama

1. In the first hour of her Process Drama, Rebecca Patterson began with a series of postcards laid out on the floor--each with an image of a person (mostly from artworks).

The students were to walk around the space, looking at the images, trying to find ones they identified with. After a bit of time, Rebecca indicated that they should isolate the image that most strongly resonated with them, pick it up, and take a seat in a circle around the space. The students then worked in pairs discussing what about their image resonated with them, looking for commonalities between their selection and that of their partner. After a short time, the group was asked to share what some of their commonalities were.

2. In the next activity, each group member was given a sheet of paper which was divided into four sections.

1 - an image of a symbol to represent yourself

2 - an image of yourself as something in nature (a tree, a lion, etc)

3 - an image or words telling about something you inherited in your family (physical attribute, talent, etc)

4 - an image or words telling about something you wish you inherited

Again, the group was broken into five groups where they can share what they put on their papers, looking for commonalities and differences.

The next step would be to have the groups create a physical image (tableau) of what they found in common within their group, but time did not permit.

Each paper was hung on a clothesline as a collection point and display of student work.

3. Status Game - playing cards are randomly distributed. Without seeing the face value of the card, the students hold the card in front of their foreheads. They are to silently interact with each other in such a way as to respond to people based on the social status they have as indicated by the value of their card (Queens and Kings as high status, and 1, 2 as lowest, and all others in between in order). By natural association, people of like status will gravitate towards each other. Just shy of time, the teacher asked the students to do thought-tracking - whereby individuals speak aloud their thoughts about how they feel in that moment ("I'm not who I thought I was," etc.) After the group has sorted itself, everyone can check to see what their card actually was. This status is the basis of character building for the role drama to follow. As such, the cards were displayed in the clothesline as well.

4. Role Drama - a map of the American continents at the turn of the last century is shared - serving as a pretext for the role drama. Rebecca referred to what B.J. Wagner identifies as "the brotherhoods" seen in Dorothy Heathcote's work, whereby the teacher needs to assess what the group has in common in order to know where to begin the drama. As these students all have been displaced (as we are on study abroad), this is the brotherhood from which this drama is to be built.

The group worked in pairs or families based on like-status to create their characters. The drama is to take place on a ship traveling from Europe to the America's. The students must maintain the status from the card game, yet it was agreed that no one could be younger than ten years of age and the cargo on the ship was more valuable than any individual person as all were traveling in steerage. To create the characters, the pairs or families of like-status worked with individual role-on-the-wall forms or other discussion. Everyone was given a card and had to draw an object on it which would be of personal value to that individual (the precious item). If the students used role-on-the-wall or other note taking, they were displayed on the clothesline as well.

The families and pairs created quick tableaux of what they looked like before the journey. The teacher then went in role as the ticket-taker for the ship (a sectioned off part of the room). She was very stern (as steerage passengers were somewhat considered worthless) insisting on a straight line, each passenger had to state their name, and had to present their ticket (though they were in a similar group, the status roles were still maintained). One at a time, each was given permission to board the ship - the ticket taker responding directly and appropriately to the physical actions and intonations depicting the status of a given character.

Once all were on the ship, Rebecca stepped out of role in order to explain that this is how people were shepherded onto ships to the new world. She then directs the students to take so time getting to know the other characters. Who were they? Where were they going? Why? How were things going to be run aboard the ship?

Thereafter, she asked them to get back in their groups to examine their precious items and share about them. Where did the item come from? Why was it important? The students were asked to create a short improvisation within their group, whereby they could tell the story of their object.

The teacher told the students that the passengers would have used their time on the ship to tell the stories of their family histories. Each group/family is given an opportunity to share the story of their precious item with the teacher narrating about the passage of time in between each presentation.

The narration transitions to the next activity, as does a short passage from a text about arriving at port in Ellis Island, New York.

Rebecca resumed the role in order to organize the passengers for immigration interview (two other tutors filled these roles). They were each individually be interviewed and the interviewer had the right to allow them entry to New York. (Rebecca suggested a hard time be given to some, but everyone on one line should be granted entry and the other should all get turned away).

After everyone's was granted permission for entry, Rebecca gave final narration indicating that they were the lucky ones, as many did not get entry (the indigent, the diseased, those without financial support).

Rebecca went round and did a final thought tracking to hear the voices of those who had just gained entry and those who were turned away. Final narration completed the story of the immigrant experience.

Precious Items are added to the clothesline and the group gathered round for a final debrief.

Overview of London Schools/Policy Documents

Rebecca Patterson gave an overview of the English school system.

The national curriculum, should address the cultural, intellectual, moral, physical and spiritual needs of children. It has been in pace since the late 1980's but is presently in flux as the system is being revamped.

Meeting with the Academic Tutors

The students met in small groups with their academic tutors to receive clarification about the assessment of their journals and participation over the course of the program. They had the opportunity to ask questions and get immediate feedback. The opening statements were also returned, with comments from both the course instructor and the academic tutor.

WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN (Royal National Theatre)

I hadn’t given much thought to the title of the Thomas Middleton piece. Had I, it would have come as no surprise that the women in this play were not to be trusted. The level to which these women would deceive one another was on a level that I was not accustomed to and as such made me interrogate the level of misogyny that must have been culturally acceptable in order for such a piece to exist without controversy. When first performed in the Jacobean age, a play scathing women as such and presented by an all-male cast would indeed have amused the minds of folk who felt that women were not to be trusted in the public sphere. The overarching message of the piece was that one should do well by others and follow the teachings of the church, or the most severe revenge from God will befall you, speaking to the coming revival of religious certitude in the English culture.

In this particular production, they set the piece at the turn of the twentieth century (as can best be assessed from the style of dress), though they elected to use a hybrid of jazz/blues/operatic music which was disjointing at best and tremendously distracting at worst. The music should have enhanced the piece, but only succeeded during the final scene which seemed deeply influenced by the television series "Twin Peaks"--particularly the Dance of the Dream Man sequences. The revolving stage spun round and round, continually revealing the murder of yet another character (and set to the otherwise inappropriate music) with ongoing dancing black angels. I saw the dating of the piece as the Duke rapes Bianca and then makes her fall in love with him--an act which goes by without much consequence (she's concerned about committing adultery rather than suffering from the cruel attack).

Tuesday, June 29 - Welcome

The students attended an orientation with the residence staff at Byron Court where they got information on policies and procedures for the residence and had the opportunity to ask questions and resolve any issues with the living arrangements. Thereafter, the residence assistants led the students on a short walking tour of the neighborhood, showing them the local sights (shopping, tube station, etc.), and delivering them to The Lamb, the local pub where we were to have our opening reception.

At the reception, the students were introduced to traditional England pub fare: fish & chips, battered scampi & mushy peas, steak & ale pie, or bangers & mash. In the equally traditional atmosphere, the students spent time catching up with friends, getting to know students they were just introduced to, and sharing about their traveling experiences. This was the first opportunity that the group was all together with time to talk and relax and the event served as an introduction to our learning activity.

Dr. Taylor formally welcomed everyone to the program and invited each of the course tutors to take a moment to introduce her or himself, and each student had an opportunity to do the same thereafter. Following the meal, some settled in for social time at the pub, others went for ice cream, and some took time to connect to their families back in the states.

Required Reading with Links to Amazon

Ackroyd, Judith & Boulton, Jo. (2001) Drama Lessons for 5-11 Year-Olds. UK: David Fulton Publishers.

Neelands, J. & Goode, T. (2000). Structuring Drama Work. UK: Cambridge UP.

Nicholson, Helen. (2009). Theatre and Education. UK: Palgrave.

O’Neill, C. (1995). Drama Worlds. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part One.

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part Two.

Shakespeare, William. King Lear.

Taylor, P. (2000). The Drama Classroom: Action, Reflection, Transformation. London, UK: Routledge Falmer.

Wagner, B. J. (1999) Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a Learning Medium. Rev. Ed. Portland, ME: Calandar Islands Publishers.

London Assurance – Friday, June 25, 2010

The first of many theatre outings found me at the National Theatre Complex for a performance of Dion Boucicoult’s “London Assurance.” The play was riotously funny in ways that can sparsely be explained (imagine the physical comedy bits of “Absolutely Fabulous” and you can begin to imagine what it was like). I’m including a review and some footage from the premier with audience reaction.

If you are not familiar with the work, understand that it plays upon the mistaken identity traps in Shakespeare's comedies, except here we find a young man trying to win the affections of a young lady who is being pursued by his father. In order to not embarrass his father, he assumes another identity--even to his own befuddled father. Between their insanity back and forth, and the other guests that arrive at the estate (Lady Gay Spanker - can you beat that name!), the play was incredible and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to have seen it before it closed.

Further, I went on a walk this morning to get some materials for the students, so here are a few photos of some sites about town:

Shakespeare's Globe (As seen from the Millennium Bridge)

St. Paul's Cathedral (who can pass by without humming "Feed the Birds"?)

Just for my colleague Diana Sweeney, Good Humor on the back of

an ice cream truck outside the gates of Shakespeare's Globe

The London Eye

Big Ben

War Protesters outside the Houses of Parliament

Opening Statement - London 2010

As this is my third time participating in the study abroad program in London, I am very familiar with what is in store for us in the coming weeks. However, this is the first time that I am attending the trip when I am about to embark on a new journey: supervising student teachers. As such, I am hoping to observe and participate in workshops through the lens of how pre-service teachers are trained, acknowledging that their prior experiences heavily influence their approach in the classroom; and looking to see what aspects of their training are interpolated into their teaching practice. As this is a severely truncated program, this experience will be ideal as there will be a limited number of experiences feeding into the student teaching experience, and I will be present every step along the way.

Pulling from the expertise of Dorothy Heathcote, Cecily O’Neill, and Philip Taylor, I expect the students to internalize three key elements: letting the school children guide their planning; using reflection in the activities they plan for the school children as well as in their lesson planning; and creating transformative encounters. As the students are to have done their reading before they arrive in London, they should arrive in London with some understanding of these tenets. Nonetheless, I am curious to see whether the practical work directly informs what the student teachers do in the classroom with the school children, and if it does, to what degree.

For my own personal benefit, I do look forward to Cecily O’Neill’s Henry IV workshops, as I’m hoping they may inform my work in the Creative Drama class in the fall and certainly my teaching of Shakespeare in the years to come. I am keen to see what elements from the plays that she chooses to focus on as well as how the material is received by the students. As I have worked on King Lear at great lengths at the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger two summers ago, I am also excited to hear Jonathan Heron’s introduction to the play and having discussions with students during and after the Stratford excursion about how the introduction and day in Stratford influences their view of the play.

The last thing I am hoping to get from the London program is some time to reflect on what my place in the world of Educational Theatre will be, and how I can most effectively work with others to expand knowledge in the field. Over the course of my first year of doctoral study, my interest has broadened from the narrow focus of Shakespeare education to the wider field of Drama across the curriculum, with particular interest in the English Language Arts classroom—a location where my professional career has been situated both as an educator and as a member of the professional community. I look forward to hearing about the diverse experiences of the students on the program and how they envision using the skills they attain in London as they move ahead in their professional careers. I expect that this will help me as I continue to navigate my professional preparation and coursework in the coming academic year.

Welcome to London 2010

As my previous blog for Puerto Rico was so successful, I am excited as I embark on my second study abroad program for the year, and my second blog. I will try to update the blog daily to keep you informed of what we are up to and how the students are progressing.