Option C: Play Study (continued)

Lessons Four to Fifteen: Responding Through Drama

• examine the relationships between their own ideas and those of other artists

Following are suggestions the teacher can consider for the remaining lessons:

• Have the students, working individually, in pairs, or in small groups, flash-forward and script a sequel to this play. The sequel should focus on the continuing story of one of the characters but may be written from the point of view of anyone they choose.

• Have the students create an edition of the Maisend Weekly Review. Ask them to leaf through the script and think beyond it to develop possible editorials, articles, interviews, advertisements, etc. that cover the stories suggested in the play.

• Have the students create the local evening television newscast for the day on which Jase is released from jail.

• Respond to the play through contextual dramas. (See the section on the process for planning contextual dramas in the Planning Guide.)

Responding with Contextual Drama

• continue to develop an understanding of how dramatic artists acquire and develop ideas

• contribute their own ideas to the topic choice, focus and progress of their drama work

Following are two ideas for contextual dramas that could be initiated in response to the play.

A. Initiate a drama in context which opens with a meeting of the Board of Directors of Cavalier Beer on the eve of Jase's thirtieth birthday. Students should be encouraged to propose further episodes for the drama. The following suggested episodes may be useful in stimulating their ideas:

• scenes from Jase's past suggested by the script
• informal encounters between Jase and Uncle Percy
• discussions between Jase and his psychoanalyst
• a series of letters representing a correspondence between Jase and Penny
• a popular tabloid television program that focuses on Jase's overcoming his alcoholism and establishing himself as a writer
• a popular tabloid television program that focuses on the plight of the homeless and features Jase's story
• monologues written in role as Jase, Penny, Uncle Percy, Cecily, Jase's parents, etc.

• recognize current social issues in their own life experiences and understand their role in addressing these issues (CEL: PSVS)

• demonstrate co-operative effort and a willingness to accept the ideas of others, recognizing that drama combines many individual ideas and contributions to form a whole artistic expression (CEL: PSVS)

B. Initiate a drama in context which opens with the launching of a national advertising campaign for Mandy-Lou Jewelery. The teacher or a willing student works in role as Penny, who is the national advertising campaign manager. Students should be encouraged to propose further episodes for the work. The following suggestions may be useful in stimulating their ideas:

• the actual development of a comprehensive promotional campaign that includes advertising appropriate for all media
• scenes from Penny's past, as indicated by the script
• scenes that describe pivotal events in Penny's successful climb to the top
• monologues written in role as Penny, her mother, George, the new teacher, Wayne, etc.

• increase awareness of various presentational styles and staging possibilities

• choose to respond in alternative ways (CEL: CCT)

• continue to demonstrate critical thinking and support opinions using appropriate language and vocabulary when responding to works of dramatic art (CEL: CCT, C)

• provide reasons for their answers, ideas, responses or choices (CEL: CCT)

• demonstrate co-operative effort and a willingness to accept the ideas of others, recognizing that drama combines many individual ideas and contributions to form a whole artistic expression (CEL: PSVS)

• respect, understand and empathize with the language, thoughts, artistic expressions and viewpoints of others (CEL: PSVS)

• transform their reflections into strategies for action (CEL: IL)

Have students write a journal entry in which they respond to something like the following: "As a class, you have indicated that you would like to develop a play for performance out of our work on Men and Angels. How do you think we can best approach this project? By producing one student's script? By producing a selection of the scenes written by class members? By developing a collective creation out of the contextual drama and other improvisational and written work we have done? Please offer reasons for your preference and state clearly how you would most like to contribute to such a production."

Discuss the choices expressed in the journal entries with the class. It may well be possible to form several production "companies", each of which has its particular project. Where some compromise is necessary, attempt to reach decisions through consensus. By the end of this discussion, the overall task of each production company should be clear and individual students should have committed themselves to a particular role within the company. These roles include set designers, directors, actors, costume designers, make-up artists, musicians, sound technicians, light technicians, stage managers, etc.

Before rehearsals begin, ask students to research the roles and responsibilities of the particular type of dramatic artist whose function they have agreed to undertake. In light of their research, ask them to prepare a realistic list of their specific tasks for this production project. Students should record their research and task lists in their journals.

The amount of time a class is able and willing to dedicate to such a project will determine how polished the final presentations will be. An audience of classmates and invited peers could see one of several kinds of productions, such as:

• a book-in-hand workshopping of Men and Angels
• Reader's Theatre interpretations of a couple of scenes scripted by students
• a series of improvisations from a collective creation in progress
• a number of polished scenes from any of the above.

Ask students to respond to each of the final presentations they view as audience. (See "Discussing Student Work" in the Planning Guide.)

Looking Beyond

• develop an understanding of various ways that human experience is reflected in their own work and that of their peers

Many of the ideas and issues raised in Men and Angels are reflections of contemporary society and are, therefore, familiar to the contemporary audience. Every day, newspapers offer readers "real-life" events that provide compelling ideas for contextual dramas, collective creations and scriptwriting. Ask students to read newspapers with this in mind and to keep, in their journals, a list of possible "human interest" stories on which to base their drama work, including scriptwriting.

• continue to demonstrate critical thinking and support opinions using appropriate language and vocabulary when responding to works of dramatic art

Ask the students to collect and create displays of play, television and movie reviews from newspapers and magazines, both local and national. Examine and compare the contents of the reviews and the styles of the individual critics. Discuss the functions of such reviews and the role and influence of theatre and movie critics.

• examine, analyse and interpret the work of dramatic artists within the work's cultural and historical context

Provide students with opportunities to view plays, live and recorded, and to write reviews of these plays. Initially, reviews could be based on a process such as "Responding to Arts Expressions". If students become familiar with the particular styles of some contemporary critics, it would be possible to model their reviews after the work of one of them.