ESS has (finally) ended, and today Drama Club began.  First, let me just say playing acting games with a group of 12 enthusiastic 6th and 7th graders until 4:00 makes those literacy classes until 5:00 seem comparable to gouging out my eyes with a plastic spoon.  Suffice it to say, ESS is a long haul.  Drama Club, however, is fun.

Today we just played theatre games as ice-breakers and diagnostics for me to see where we stand in acting ability.  We also worked on building a positive acting community, where no one will be criticized, laughed at, or put down.  I targeted a couple kids who need to share the stage, as well as a couple who need to crack out of their hard little egg shells.  Otherwise, I was quite pleased with the talent expressed on our first day.

Drama Club Agenda (Day 1):

1. Name Game (”My name is Ms. Yost, and I’m going on a trip, and I’m bringing a yo-yo”; etc.)
2. Name Game Variation (Act out each person’s special object.  Everything from a jack-hammer to a cat to a court-room.)
3. Snacks; discuss past theatre experience
4. Count to 25, randomly, without interrupting each other.
5. Zip-Zap-Boing (stand in a circle and react to your neighbor’s actions.)
6. Sculpting Characters (one person act as sculptor, one as sculpture, the audience shouts out characters to create.)
7. Random Role Play in Constant Motion (everything from members of a marching band to snowflakes to soldiers to clouds, silent, and without running into your neighbors)
8. Discuss the day; Plans for a future performance
9. Count to 25 again (or try to; we only made it to 15.  which is okay.)

So we’ll see how next week goes.  I’m looking for ideas on what to do with them for our big performance.  Any ideas/tips/suggestions welcome!  Aside from a brief two year jaunt with the theatre troupe Experimental Theatre in college at Colgate, I’m totally new to this.