I hope you are all staying healthy!

In fifth grade students watched their performance of “Lewis and Clark”. It is important that the children watch themselves perform.  This is a way for them to critique their performance and to see how they did as an ensemble. We then had a class discussion about things the fifth graders did well and things they need to improve on. For the most part everyone agreed that they could have had more gestures and projected better. The fifth graders also said they should have studied their lines and cues more at home. I appreciated their honesty and I told  them I was proud of them.  I hope you are were too.  Next week I will be teaching the children some new ensemble games.

In sixth grade we performed in class a mime activity.  We also made a class machine! Everyone had to add something to the machine to make a finished product! Our warm up consisted on an improvisational dance circle! I loved all of the creative and unique dance moves kids came up with! It can be difficult sometimes to be spontaneous and the kids all participated with confidence!

In Seventh grade students have continued their script analysis.  We talked about punctuation and what type  a breath you should take depending on the verse and punctuation. Punctuation is compared to musical rests.  Shakespeare gives the actor a lot clues with punctuation and capitalization. Students also worked on memorization and characterization.  Please help your children memorize. They are supposed to be off book by next Thursday!  We also talked about the importance of music in “Twelfth Night” and how we are going to incorporate it in our performance. Finally we figured out the minimal set pieces and props that each class would be using.   Next week we will work on blocking (entrances, exits, positions on stage).

In eighth grade, students have been learning the chorus/ensemble songs (the songs that everyone is in) . We have also started our design work and brainstorming  in individual crews. This weekend students will finally get their scripts and we will do our first read through tomorrow at rehearsal.  Students should start memorizing their music and lines right away.  Please help your child with this! Thanks again for your support. I will be emailing you all in the next week a rehearsal schedule as well as an explanation of what tech week is!