The Theatre

Good morning!

Well, I'm finishing off my second week here at Centennial, and I have to say, I think I am made to teach theatre. I look back at all that I have been through already in the program and all the strife I went through with my English classes. While it wasn't all bad times (really enjoyed a number of lessons and the challenge of teaching English), I never felt as at home or as excited to be teaching as I do in the theatre classroom.



I have already pretty much taken the lead in all the classes (Acting A, B and Advanced Acting) and am somewhat unofficially directing the play "Rebel Without a Cause," and am loving every second of it! While I still feel that I have a lot to learn about the theatre (particularly pantomime and cross cultural forms of theatre), I feel that I have I have a natural knack for working with actors and just "playing" with the students. I literally get to come into work and play games and create things with my students every day. It's like a dream job! My lead teacher has already commented that she thinks I'm a natural theatre teacher, and while again, I think I have a lot to learn, it was a really great thing to hear.



Of course, I am not just coming in to have fun every day, the fun has to have a purpose, the games need to be tied to specific learning goals, and the kids need to be explicitly told why we are doing these games in order for them to see the games as training and opportunities for growth rather than just a way of wasting time. Admittedly, some of the games and some of the classes are easier to tie these games/lessons together than others, and I have to be sure that the kids keep their focus otherwise I need to change things up or do a different activity.



Having been through a couple theatre classes where I don't think the teacher really had specific intentions with the exercises or the teacher had what I would consider "fluffy"intentions (any time the word spirit or "energy" is thrown around my gag reflex kicks in), I am trying to make sure my theatre class stays in a corporeal realm, that the lessons are practical and comprehensible to any student, not just those of a new age sensibility.



One thing that I don't really like about Centennial however is the space we have to work with. We are in the old choir room and the room doesn't really have much a of a performance space per say. The lighting and the walls combine to create a rather sterile environment that I could tell the kids don't feel comfortable in. I back this statement up with the fact that when we give the students time to practice scenes, almost every single group chooses to go practice in the hall while the room sits all but empty every time. I have started to think of ways to improve this environment a little (Adding a circle of carpet that will be their acting space as well as getting some softer, performance lights in here), but we'll see what is practical considering my limited budget and control I have in the classroom...