O'Connor,+Erin,+Education-Based+Theatre

I chose the topic of **Education-Based Theatre**. When I was in high school, my theatre teacher wanted to have a day where our advanced theatre class was going to travel to different middle schools to perform a short play about bullying. We weren't able to do it, but I want to keep that idea going by doing that with my students. I also want to perform at elementary schools to get the community more involved. At the middle schools, our performances would address issues such as bullying, eating disorders, depression, and drug use. The performances at the elementary schools could be like those from "The Imagination Machine," a group that performs stories for elementary schools written by the students. I want to make high school theatre something that the community can all be a part of.

=Top Five Things I Learned:=


 * 1. There are community theaters that are specifically issue-based. They perform plays that deal with social issues such as //Bawdy Body//, F//loating on a Don't Care Cloud//, and other plays.**
 * 2. You can incorporate social issues into a theatre classroom's everyday curriculum by making performances and exercises around them.**
 * 3. Theatre games can keep students focused on their goals and can keep their lives in performances and their outside lives separate to ensure mental health.**
 * 4. Social issue based plays are not only popular in high school, but are also seen in college and even on broadway such as //Next to Normal//.**
 * 5. Getting the community involved in theatre is important because you can address issues, such as drunk driving, that are not only seen in a school setting. It is also important to use theatre to reach out to all ages because it can be educational as well as entertaining.**
 * If you were only going to check out one item on this wiki**, you should choose the **Theatrefolk website** because it is full of information about issue-based theatre and has many plays that are effective in elementary, middle, and high school settings. It's a wonderful website that is full of great resources. Lindsay Price is a very intelligent and effective playwright and all of her plays are available on Theatrefolk. I gave it a 5/5 for helpfulness.

**1. The Imagination Machine: The Pizza Place**
This is a video taken by a parent at an elementary school assembly. This is "The Imagination Machine" doing a story called "The Pizza Place." This is what I had when I was in elementary school and I want to bring the same sort of performance to elementary schools. I rank it a 5/5 for creativity and fun, but a 4/5 for video quality.media type="youtube" key="Q9VOhsao5I8?fs=1" height="385" width="640"

**2. //Floating on a Don't Care Cloud// by: Lindsay Price**
This is a video from Theatrefolk with Lindsay Price, the author of //Floating on a Don't Care Cloud//. This is after a performance of her show at Spread the Love, a theatre that does issue-based plays. I absolutely love and adore Lindsay Price and have met and worked with her before. She is an incredible playwright. The following video is actually a little long, but very informational about this wonderful play and the issues it addresses. I give this a 4/5 because the video is too noisy, but the play and the information is very important. This show would be something my students could perform at middle schools. media type="youtube" key="wvN3ZTWGaNY?fs=1" height="385" width="640"

**3. Theatrefolk**
This is the Theatrefolk website. It includes a variety of elementary school, middle school, and high school plays. It was started by Craig Mason and Lindsay Price who believe that theatre plays a huge role in creating a well-balanced education. They write issue-based plays that are easy for students to understand and are very effective. I give this website a 5/5 for helpfulness, especially for theatre teachers for all ages.

http://www.theatrefolk.com

**4. Theatre Games**
In high school theatre it is very important to make sure that all your students know each other and are comfortable around each other. This is especially true when students are putting on plays that include heavy material, such as bullying or drugs. As a teacher and director, it is important to make sure your students are not becoming too invested in their roles, but are living their lives outside of the play. It is also important to keep their energy high, even in a heavy play. I give this presentation a 5/5 for effective games that can be fun and help to focus students.

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**5. Social Issues Theatre**
This is a community theatre in Illinois that does much of what I would like to do with my theatre students. It's called Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre. They put on performances that deal with social issues and then afterwards the actors and everyone involved come onstage for a question and answer interview session about the production and the social issue addressed. I give this site a 4/5 because it is not complete or very informational. However, I give the Theatre Company 5/5 for their amazing idea of basing their productions off of social issues.

http://www.innervoices.illinois.edu

**6. Every 15 Minutes**
Every 15 Minutes is a program that goes to high schools to simulate what a drunk driving incident is like. Many situations use the prom as an example because it hits hard with high school students. Usually, students are chosen to act in the simulation; many are from the drama departments at the school. This is a program that can affect students' lives in a positive way. It's intense and I think that this can be done at least once every four years at every high school. It is an important message and I want to make sure all high schoolers get to experience it. I rank this website 5/5 for information. Be sure to check out the winning videos that were sent in. I got through about five minutes of Benicia High's video and couldn't watch the rest. It's very emotional.

http://www.every15minutes.com/

**7. Vancouver Youth Theatre**
This video is very inspirational and interesting. The actors in this company wrote their own play based off of the issues they are facing in their world: racism, woman's rights, gangs, and school issues. I give it a 5/5 for inspiration and interest. What these kids are doing is what I hope I will get to do with my students. When I was a senior in high school, my teacher had us add on to the play //Bury the Dead// in order to make a full play and add what issues we thought were important to address about war. This is something I both enjoyed and thought was very educational.

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**8. //Next to Normal// - Broadway Musical**
This video and website show an issue-based production that was on Broadway and won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama. I was fortunate enough to see it performed with the original cast and it is truly a touching and wonderful production. It shows an extremely dysfunctional family and addresses the issue of mental illness, drug use, as well as the difficulties of diagnosing mental illnesses. It makes you laugh, cry, and get very angry. I give this show a 10/5. It is incredible. The video depicts its beauty and you can search the website for more information.

http://www.nexttonormal.com/

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**9. A-Z Social Issues**
This website gives a list of social issues that affect everyone in modern times. One activity that I can use in a classroom setting is to give slips to groups of students that each have a social issue that appertains to the student's world. Some issues could be censorship, divorce, drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, global warming, hate crimes, and so many more. I can think of a lot of plays that include one or more of these issues. These slips of paper would then be turned into short scenes of two to four people that would then be performed for classmates, and possibly for parents and teachers. It could be a research project as well as a community service project. I give this website a 4/5 because some of these social issues would not be appropriate for high school students.

http://socialissues.wiseto.com/AZIndex/

**10. Beloit College Theatre for Social Action - Body Image Scene**
This is a video of a scene that was done at a college and it is about body image. This is a very important issue for students, especially female students. Scenes like this are things that would help students learn about common social issues while watching a performance. Even though this is a college theatre, they are still doing social issue projects, because they are still important and relevant to people of all ages. I give this a 3/5 because of the ending. It just ends, it doesn't have a positive ending that is inspirational and happy. If the scene went on to include that the person tells of the reflection and leaves proud of herself, it would be much better. A great example of this kind of theatre would be the play Bawdy Body by Lindsay Price. I got the chance to play Madeline in Bawdy Body and it was an amazing experience. media type="youtube" key="l6eXJnLmmDc?fs=1" height="385" width="640"