Adventures in Teaching

Today I co-taught the Drama Intensive performance class. Drama Intensive is the big spring project here in the Education Department. Basically, we take two high school classes and transform them into a small theatre company. One class is all about acting and performance and each student is cast in an original show (written by Andrea Allen the Director of Education), and the other class is all about design and tech production and each students works on building either the set or the costumes. The project culminates in a performance on The Rep's Leo K stage in late May. As the Education Intern, I participate in this project in a variety of ways. I assistant teach both of the classes, and serve as the Assistant Director for the production.

Anyway, back to today. Unlike the beginning of the semester, when I sometimes felt like our classroom was a wild jungle, today's class went really well. Part of this was perhaps due to the fact that half of the students were out-of-town on a model UN trip, so the class was really small and intimate. (Or it could be that Scott and I are just ridiculously brilliant teachers who have brought enlightenment and wisdom to the masses.)

Anyhow, we used most of the class to have a group discussion all about embarrassing moments, gossip and rumors. Andrea is planning on using the material that we generate with these discussions in the script that she is writing for the class. The plot is loosely based on Sheridan's The School for Scandal but she is filling it with anachronistic tidbits (everything from the latest Britney headlines to our students' experiences in middle school.)

This afternoon I am spending my time processing internship applications, and getting some work done on my theoretical Romeo and Juliet costume design. "What, what?" you say. "Isn't this the Education Intern? What is she doing designing things?" Well, here's the deal. In the Drama Intensive design class, the midterm for the students will be working in a group to develop a design "pitch" for The School for Scandal set and costumes. These pitches will be integrated into the design for the show by the magical wizardry of our designers, and the students will spend the rest of the semester building the set and costumes for the Drama Intensive production in May. Jess Smith, Seattle Rep Teaching Artist and former Education Intern, (the lead teacher for this class) and I are working on developing a "model" presentation so the students can see what we're looking for. Hence, I am developing the costume design of a theoretical production of Romeo and Juliet which integrates the ruffles and jewels of the 16th century Elizabethan court with contemporary fashion. Denim pantaloons, perhaps?

Anyway that's the news from the Education Department.

Happy Spring!

Emily
Education Intern