Welcome to Beginning Drama and Advanced Theatre Arts Mrs. Chenard Dorothy McElhinney Middle School Room B119 Mrs. Chenard Dorothy McElhinney Middle School Room B119

Classroom Behavior/Expectations Be prompt Be prepared Be a participant Be productive Be polite Be positive Be brave! “ To be, or not to be? That is the question!” ~William Shakespeare

Consequences Positive Praise Positive notes or phone calls home A feeling of satisfaction and pride Positive Consequences… Negative Consequences… Verbal warning to stop misbehavior Write a Student Action Plan to review/reflect on class rules Phone call home or parent conference Incident report signed by parent and returned the next day Office referral and/or Rapid Exit (meaning a visit with the assistant principal or dean of discipline)

Beginning Drama – What to Expect… Journals – Three days a week, there will be a journal entry and stage vocabulary. On the tenth meeting of our class, there will be a test on the vocabulary. Setting the Stage – theatre games that create an atmosphere of safety Ensemble Experiences – working in small groups to attain theatrical objectives and goals Improvisation – creating on the spot answers to given scenes and objectives Mime and Movement – understanding body language and communicating through movement Stage Fright – getting over stage fright Short Scenes – working in pairs Puppetry and story telling Monologues – working independently Shakespeare – introduction to the greatest poet of all times, “The Bard” January – MVUSD Middle School Monologue Competition at Warm Springs Middle School Extra Credit offered for attending outside theatrical productions

Advanced Theatre – What to Expect… Journals – Three days a week - journal entry and stage vocabulary. On the tenth meeting of class, there will be a test on the vocabulary. Fall production - Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”– scheduled for November 18 th (Per. 1) and 19 th (Per. 3) at 6 p.m. (Two casts – one for each period. Each cast will also have one daytime performance. Both daytime performances will be on Nov. 18 th, with Per. 1 at 9:30 a.m. and Per. 3 at 11:30 a.m.) ◦ Auditions – Wednesday, August 26 th and Friday, August 28th during class; A copy of the script is available for home printing on our class webpage. ◦ Students were to prepare a monologue (or series of dialogue) from the script for their audition; They were also to turn in an interest list of their top three preferred roles, and/or tech/stage crew interest ◦ Students wishing to be considered for a singing part should also prepare a one minute song audition – to be performed next week in class. ◦ Please keep an eye out for parent volunteer sign-up sheet coming home in the next week and check our class webpage regularly for important info and updates Disneyland Workshop – 9/24 (an informational letter will be sent home tentatively next week) 1/29/16 MVUSD Monologue Competition (hosted this year at Warm Springs Middle School) 4/28/16 DMMS Annual Shakespeare Night 6-8 pm MPR 4/29/16 Shakespeare Festival

Homework Given only on occasion to reinforce or demonstrate the theatre skills being learned in class Theatre-based projects will be assigned periodically – advance notice will be given; due dates and requirements will be clear in advance and posted on the class webpage (students and/or parents are always encouraged to me when in need of clarification) It is the students’ responsibility to record homework/projects and due dates in their student agendas and to check the class webpage regularly Absences – Check the webpage; make up any missed work!!! For work that cannot be made up, an alternative assignment will be given. An absence may be excused, the learning opportunity is not!!!

In this classroom I hope my students… Care Offer positive input Live, love, learn…and laugh (when appropriate!) Turn challenges into opportunities! Support each other in their theatrical pursuits And remember… COLTS LEAD!!!