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Theater Resources for Classrooms MARYAMATOisanaward-winningauthor,poet,playwright,andsongwriterwhoincorporatesdifferentformsofwritinginherwork,thelatestofwhichincludethe“novelasmusical”GetHappyandthecollaborativejournalOurTeacherisaVampireandOther(Not)TrueStories.Hercharactersoftenbreakintosongandreaderscanfindlyricsandmp3sforthesongsinherbooksonherwebsites.Sheteachespopularfiction and songwriting workshops live and via Skype. More atwww.maryamato.comandwww.thrumsociety.com.JUDYFREEMAN isawell-knownwriterandspeakeronallaspectsofchildren'sliterature.Judy’slatestbooksareTheHandbookforStorytellersandTheHandbookforStorytimePrograms,withCarolineFellerBauer(ALAEditions,2015)andThe2016Winners!Handbook:ACloserLookattheTop-RatedChildren’sBooksof2015(available only from Bound to Stay Bound Books, www.btsb.com).www.JudyReadsBooks.com.TOMMYGREENWALDistheauthoroftheCHARLIEJOEJACKSONseries,aboutthemostreluctantreadereverborn,andtheCRIMEBITERS!series,aboutaboyandhissuperhero crime-fighting vampire dog. Tommy is also the Co-Founder of SpotcoAdvertising,atheatricaladvertisingagencyinNewYorkCity,andthelyricistandco-bookwriter(withAndrewLippa)ofJOHN&JEN,a1995musicalwhichwasrevivedoff-Broadwayin2015.www.tommygreenwald.com.

ERICA S. PERL is the author of crowd-pleasing books including Chicken Butt!,Goatilocks,Dotty,andFerociousFluffity.Hermiddlegradenovel,WhenLifeGivesYouO.J.,earnedaSydneyTaylorNotableAward,wasanAmazonbestbookofthemonth,andhasbeenonmultiplestatebookawardlists.Erica’snextmiddlegradenovel,TheCapybaraConspiracy,isanovelinplayformat.Ericaenjoysworkingwithreluctantreaders and writers as much as she enjoys working with enthusiastic ones.www.ericaperl.com

Theater Techniques & Games For Your Classroom INTERVIEWTHECHARACTERS:Conductinterviewswithstudentsposingascharactersinastory

theyarewriting.Holdingarealmicrophone(andtapingtheproceedingsifyoulike),askeachcharactera varietyof questions,giving students theopportunity to range fromyesornoanswerstoonesthatrequiresynthesisandanalysisofacharacter'smotivesandpersonality.

MONOLOGUESandSOLILOQUIES:Askstudentstobrainstormacharacter,defininghis/hertraits

andbackground.Writeamonologuefromthecharacter’sPOVinthecharacter’svoiceandperformthemonologueincharacter.Agreatquestiontouseasthebasisofthepieceis:Whatisasecretdesireyou’venevertoldanyoneabout?

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ACTBEFOREYOUWRITE:Askstudentstocomeupwithasimpleplot foronesceneorastory.

Beforewritingonpaper,allowthestudenttoexplaintheideaandchoosevolunteerstoactitout.Seeingthestorycometolifecanmotivatereluctantwritersandgivethemaroadmapofwhattowritewhentheyactuallypickupthepen.

HOLLYWOODCLACKER:Kidsacceptandevenembracetheideaofrevisionwhentheyconnectitto

whathappensonthe“set”inmoviemaking.Arevisionislikea“take2.”Getaclacker!Whenyouareworkingonrevisions,grabtheclackerandask“Whatdoyouwanttodoforyour‘taketwo?’”Alsousetheclackertostartgames,improvs,andwritingexercises.ThebestbuyonalargeHollywoodClacker:www.theatrehouse.com.Search“clacker.”

COLLABORATIVEWARMUP/TABLEAUX:Getthekidstowalkaroundinthespace(“milling”),and

thenannouncethatwhenyoucounttothreetheywillneedtoformashapetogetherasagroup(a“tableau”).Thefirstshapeshouldbeasimpleone,likeacircle.Thenhavethemmillaboutagainandannounceaslightlymorecomplicatedshape,likeatriangle.Keepgoingandtryslightlymorecomplicatedshapes,liketheletterHorA.Seeifstudentscansuggestashapeforthegrouptotry.Thisgetsthemworkingtogether,communicating,andcollaboratingasagroup.

CONSEQUENCES:Onegoodscene-writingstartergameis“Consequences”.Haveeachkidstartwith

apencilandan8.5”x11”pieceofpaper.Advisethemofthegroundrulesintermsofcontentattheoutsetsoyoudon’tendupwithhighlyinappropriateresults.Firstpromptis“(malecelebrity)”–eachkidwritesthenameofamalecelebrityattheverytopofthepage,thenfoldaboutaninchofpaperdown,coveringthenameheorshejustwrote.Everyonepassestheirpapersclockwise.Secondprompt is “met(femalecelebrity).”Again,aftereveryonewrites“met”plusthenameofafemalecelebrityatthetopoftheexposedpage(justundertheedgeofthefoldeddownpart)andfoldagain,tocoverwhatwasjustwritten.Again,thepapersarepassedandthenextpromptisgiven:“at(place)”.Thegamecontinueswith“hesaid(writewhathesaid)”then“shesaid(writewhatshesaid)”andculminateswith“sothey(writewhattheydid)”and“andtheconsequencewas(writewhatitwas).”Thestudentsthenpassonelast time and read their creations, which are often hilarious. You can then use theseintroductory“scenes”asthebasisformoredetailedscene-writing.

IMPROVGAME:ADVERBS:Onekidis“it”–sendhimorheroutoftheroomandhavetherestofthe

groupdecideonanadverbwhileheorsheisgone.Forexample:gracefully,angrily,jealously,loudly,etc.Bringthekidwhois“it”backandgivehimorhertheopportunitytoaskmembersofthegrouptodothingsinpairsorsmallgroups.Forexample,heorshemightsay,“GretchenandTim,youguysarewaitingtogetyourhaircutandTony is thebarber.Go.”The threeselectedkidswouldthenimprovisethespecifiedscenebutwouldembodytheadverbintheirwordsanddeedswhilethekidwhois“it”triestoguesstheadverb.Thekidwhois“it”caninstructothergroupmemberstoactoutotherscenesifheorshecan’tguesstheadverb.Iftheadverbisextra-challenging,thefirstlettercanberevealedasahint.

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GETTHEMTALKING(TOEACHOTHER):Kidslovedialoguebecause(most)kidslovetotalk.Soif

youaskthemto“do”dialoguewithoutwriting,youareplayingtotheirstrengths.Onewaytodothisistohavethemroleplayasimplescene:PersonArunsahatshopandPersonBisacustomerwhowantstobuyahat.WhenPersonBenters,PersonAtriesthreedifferenttacticstosellPersonBahatheorshedoesnotwant.PersonB’sjobistotrytoresistallthreetacticsandthenleavetheshop.Recordthescene(videooraudio)andreplayittothekids,focusingon what was said, how it was said, and what non-verbal ways the two characterscommunicated(makingfaces,bodylanguage,etc.).Usetheseobservationstofueltheactivityofhavingthestudentsrecreate,thenrewrite,thesceneindependentlyoringroups,changingthetacticsorresponsesifthey’dlike.

OPPOSITESDIALOGUEIMPROV:Askstudentstocomeupwithtwocharacterswhoareasopposite

aspossible(example:anold,seriousmanwholovesstayinginsideandayoungfun-lovinggirlwholovesplayinginthedirt).Choosevolunteerstobecomethosecharacters.Askthestudentstoimproviseadialogueshowingthosecharactertraits.

WHAT’SMYLINE:Havethekidspairupandgivethemallthesameonesentencelineofdialog.For

example,“I’mMr.Mendoza,”or“That’snotmyduck.”Givethemfiveminutestoprepareandthenpresentaskitthatincorporatestheline.Seehowmanydifferentwaysthelinecanbeusedorsaidtomeandifferentthingsdependingoncontext.

NOTALKING:Breakthekidsupintosmallgroupsandhandashortpoemtoeachgroup.Haveeach

groupofkidsdramatizetheirpoemwordlessly.Thenreadallthepoemsaloudandhavethekidsguesswhichgrouphadwhichpoem.Talkabouthowtheyrecognizedthepoemthroughtheactionstheysaw,andwhichmovementswerethemosteffectiveatconveyingthewordsormoodofthepoem.

SPYKIDS:Observation is thekey toaccuratedialogue.Byencouragingstudents topayattention

(eavesdrop,even) tohowpeople talk,youhelp themstrengthentheirresearchandnote-taking skills… aswell as the quality of theirwriting. Send them out into theworldwithjournalsandencouragethemtowritedown(phonetically,astheyhearit)fiveinterestingwordsorphrasestheyhearoroverhearperday.

PERSONIFICATIONIMPROV:Sometimeskidsfeelmorefreetoimproviseiftheyaren’ttryingtobe

aperson.Askyourstudentstochooseaninanimateobject:apencil,apairofreadingglasses,asoccerball,etc.Makesurestudentskeeptheirchoiceasecret!Eachstudentthenstandsandimprovisesamonologue fromthepointofviewof thatobject.Everyoneelsehas toguesswhatobjectthestudenthasbecome.Thisisagreatwayofgettingat“show,nottell.”

CHESSBOARD: Suggest that students writing scenes using inanimate objects in the place of

characters(label themwithcharacternames…youcanusechesspieces ifyoudon’thaveotherobjectsthatwillworkforthispurpose).Thatway,theycanuseadesktopasastageandbetterseewhatisworkingandnotworkingintermsofusingthespaceandhowcharactersinteract.

WRITINGREADER’STHEATERMINI-SCRIPTS:Studentscanselectbriefone-ortwo-pagedialogue-

richscenes frombooks they loveandwriteReader'sTheaterscripts for them.Have themselect a cast to read and act out the scripts. Each playwright can introduce his or herproductionwithabriefintroductiontothebook.

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PAGETOSTAGE:Givegroupsofkidsashortchapterorpartofachapterfromabookandinvitethemtoturnitintoascript.Chooseonewithaction,notjustdialog,anddiscusswaystobringactiontolifeonstage(throughstagedirectionsornarration,forexample).Havethegroupsgetupandperformtheirscenes–withscripts– foreachother.Encouragegroups tohaveeverymemberparticipate.Somecanact,somecandirect,somecanwrite(servingasscribeforthecollaborativewritingofthegroup)andsomecanevenserveassceneryifappropriate(forexample,twopeoplecouldactasthewardrobeinTheLion,TheWitchandtheWardrobe).

POINTOFVIEW:Takeachapterofastoryandhavestudentsretellwhathappensinitfromoneof

theothercharacter’spointofview.MOCKTRIAL:Stageamocktrialbasedonabook,whereeachbookcharactergetstotestifyin“court.”

Afteradiscussionofhowyourcourtwilloperate,appointbothaprosecutorandcounselforthedefenseandpermiteachsidetodiscussthecaseanddevelopquestions.Lawyersmaycallmainandminorcharactersaswitnesses.Questionsshouldrequirearangeofresponsesfromsimpleone-wordanswerstothosethatentailthoughtandingenuity.

BANANAGRAMSORSCRABBLESTORIES:Thisgamewasinventedbyaschoollibrarianwhenher

fourteen-year-oldsonandhisthreepalsplayedBananagramsoneday.Aftertheyfinishedthegame,theymadeupastoryincorporatingalloftheirownwordsonthetable.Theytookturns,eachaddingasentencewithoneormoreofthewords.Shesaidtheirstorywasamazinglycreative, inventive,andfunny.YourkidscantryitwithBananagramsorScrabble.It’swaymorefunthanwritingasentenceforeachoftheweek’svocabularywords...

THENEWSPAPERGAME:Eachplayerisgivenanewspaper,scissors,gluestick,andblankpaper.

Eachplayercutswordsfromanewspaperandpastesthemtogethertomakeastory.PutatimelimitonthisgamesothatnooneattemptstowritethegreatAmericannovel.

AUDIORECORDINGSONSMARTPHONE:Practicegettingintocharacterandreadingwithvoiceby

recordingshortmonologuesandscenesusingyoursmartphone’svoicerecorder.

More Resources READER’STHEATERSCRIPTS:

EricaPerl’sReader’sTheaterScript:http://bit.ly/29ebdpTMaryAmato’sReader’sTheaterscriptsandmoreresources:http://www.maryamato.com/resources/

VIDEOS:

MaryAmato’sVideoonGettingintoCharactertoWrite:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKSPVcFP6U8.MaryAmato’sVideoonActingoutaStoryBeforeWriting:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnj8G-9hMrc