To the Fun, Education Theater Majors: Any tips on teaching Greek tragedy?
Hi, Educational Theater Majors:
I am getting ready to teach a unit using Antigone. My Grade 9 English class is heterogeneous (mixed abilities), generally uncomfortable with getting up in front of their peers to perform, and will likely get bored with the subject matter quickly. I would really like to try to get them out of their shells and engage with the text as dramatic performance.
Can anyone offer ideas/ways to:
1) make Greek tragedy engaging and appealing
2) warm up to drama (e.g., are there drama activities out there that would work especially well for Greek tragedy?)
3) recommend some good books for educational drama activities (someone recommended Games for Actors and Non-actors)
Many thanks,
Liane Hill
posted by LianeGeneva @ 7:14 PM
1 Comments:
1) Set it in a modern time and place, could make it much easier to understand.
2) Make or buy masks, students often feel much safer wearing them, and can "get into character" better.
3) Use mask making as an exercise. I bought cheap "lone ranger" style masks at a party supply store, and had them paint them and glue stuff on them like yarn for beards and such.
4) Leave the classroom. The greeks performed outside, so take the class out to the football field to do scenes. Make them think about what that means (can't perform at night, need to speak more loudly, etc...)
5) Break a large class down into smaller groups to perform scenes. Break the play up into 4 or 5 sections, then assign different groups (with correct number of students for each character) to perform each section, so no one has to do the whole thing, and everyone gets to watch and perform.
6) Perhaps perform each scene in a different time period. Scene 1 in Greek syle, 2 in modern times, 3 in the 50's, 4 in the 70's, etc... and have them dress and make masks to match. Nothing's funnier than a 70's pimp Kreon. Or perhaps different places, like the deep south, or California, or China. Also shows that these stories aren't just history, but universal themes, relevent to all times and places.
I liked this one: 101 Theatre Games for Drama Teachers, Classroom Teachers & Directors by Mila Johansen
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