All assignments lead to in-school performances where visiting classes come in to watch the show. School started not four weeks ago. The first show: silent theatre, has been running for more than a week now.
We made paper-plate masks in a super-janky version of the one-expression masks of Japanese Noh theatre, divided into groups, and created silent skits that rely heavily on physical presentation and humor. In every class (I have five sections) some groups got stuck and I created a plot; other groups went to town without my help. Once the skits were polished up in whole-class constructive criticism sessions, I introduced the idea that we'd always be making skits for performance purposes and now we had to create some kind of structure, context, and overall presentation for the skits to fit within.
In each class, I facilitated a group conversation that lead to the formulation of a plan. Since I'm interested in facilitation in general, I want to show you how this went. It's a useful structure for lots of group goal scenarios. Here's the script:
We start with the first question: How can we make this a theatrical experience as soon as the audience enters the room? Think for a minute. (Actual minute for thinking, timed with a stopwatch). Now we'll go around the table and I want each person share any old crazy idea. If you don't have one, say "pass," and we'll come back to you. If you don't have an idea for this, that's fine, just weigh in on what you like. Everyone should react actively to any suggestion you really love. If John says, "let's stand on the tables like statues until they are all seated and then go back stage" (John actually said this), and you think that is awesome, nod a lot and say YEAH THAT IS AWESOME. If you don't like it or aren't sure, just don't say anything, and we'll get a feel for what everyone likes and just not really focus on what everyone doesn't like. OKAY, now say every idea, even the stupid ones, cuz we can make the stupid ones into good ones, but we can't making nothing into something, got it? Okay, let's go.
Some ideas are collected: we should play some kind of music, we should have the lights out, it should be really quiet and then we should all bust out of the closet and yell at them and throw things (YEAH THAT IS AWESOME), we should hang stuff from the ceiling, we should all bust out from behind the curtain at the same time and yell really loud: THIS IS SILENT THEATRE (YEAH THAT IS AWESOME), we should all act like animals, etc. etc.
Okay, so what I am hearing is there should be some busting out and yelling and some kind of joke where we're loudly saying it's silent theatre, that's funny, I like it, okay. YEAH YEAH THAT'S AWESOME. I agree that we need to give the audience the idea that it's silent theatre in a creative way. Let's go with this. We're going to think for one minute about how this might work in a cool way and then we'll go around again. It's okay if not everyone has an idea, but let's all think first, 14 minds are better than one right.
Now everyone is eager to judge the idea we've all vaguely created, so they listen intently to the three or four who have an idea, and we hone in on something. I translate:
So one person goes in the closet, everyone else is hiding backstage. I tell the audience to sit down all boring teacher-like, then someone busts out of the closet loudly saying, HEY EVERYBODY WELCOME WELCOME GOOD TO HAVE YOU THIS IS A GREAT SHOW FOR YOU TODAY BUT GET THIS, IT'S SILENT THEATRE SO YOU HAVE TO...then everyone else busts out from the curtains, totally focused on this guy, fingers raised to lips going SHHHHHH in a stage whisper, SHHHH IT'S SILENT THEATRE!! And then he goes WHAT'D I DO? And everyone gets really mad but totally in a whisper goes SHHHHHH!!! And then he goes OH!! SORRY!! And then a few people go grab him and drag him backstage, hit him a few times while everyone says SHHHHHH again. Love it okay, let's practice it right now. You, go into the closet.
After we got that down, we repeated the process for in-between skit introductions and the ending. Worked like a charm every time, and every class came up with some wonderful wild nonsense.
So here's what I originally sat down to write:
Show after show went on, and I directed: too loud after skit #2, the pantomime in skit #3 needs work, everyone sit down except for them, let's fix it, the drums need more variety here, I can see Bryan poking his head out to watch during skit #1, April you came out too early, etc. etc.
The show kept getting better and the audience reactions proved it to my students. They got addicted to theatre in about 5 days.
One day, someone in second hour was absent. As soon as they got to class, I saw the audience coming down the hall. PLACES COSTUMES LIGHTS QUICKLY THEY'RE COMING. Three kids came out from "backstage" (behind the sheets I hung up across a line in my room) freaking out KYRA IS NOT HERE!!!! Don't worry, I'll play Kyra.
Well, went I stepped behind the curtains, I realized all of a sudden, with a shock of what was all-out Fear, I think, that I'd never ever gone backstage! I always edited from the outside. They could be making out back there for all I know!! What had I been thinking. I'd never even mini-lessoned about what goes on backstage, the crew, the whole deal, totally left out!
I stepped into a well-oiled machine comprised of fourteen 11-13 year olds serious about making theatre. Everyone was completely silent, excited, focused. Jacob watched the actors using a mirror and gave hand signals to Sean: there was one for GO DRUM and one for STOP DRUM. Emily and Norwood kept the curtain straight, Hunter handed skit #2 their props, I forgot to throw the monkey over at just the right moment because Kyra does that. They signaled each other to get ready and to open the curtains for incoming actors. They smiled the whole time. They even put the costumes back on the rack when they were done. It was stunning. Impeccable. Delicious. Divine.
After each show, we have a wrap-talk. Another whiparound where each person says one thing: first, what went right? Second, What could go better? Then I add anything else I saw. This day, I told them everything I'd thought: how I couldn't believe I'd never gone back stage or ever said anything about it and how impressed and in love with them I was for being so focused and on point. Y'all worked like professionals back there, and THAT IS AWESOME.
They agreed.
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