Notes

If available, approach a theatre company director or producer who is willing to mentor a student during a production.

In order to establish a successful working relationship with all of the partners involved in the workplace, it is important to define the expectations of each partner. For a list of roles and responsibilities of the teacher-monitor, school, parent, and student, see the Work Study Guidelines for the Practical and Applied Arts included in the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook.

Adaptations will have to be made for the business theatre company, personnel, manager, etc.

Brainstorm a list of factors, then verify through experience. The list may be based on previous work experience, volunteer work, teamwork activities, and extra-curricular participation within the school.

Discuss verbal and non-verbal communication. List some ways in which both positive and negative non-verbal communication may be displayed. Encourage students to role play effective techniques of verbal and non-verbal communication on the job when giving or receiving instructions and resolving conflict. Divide the students into groups and use case studies to role play the effective use of communication.

The student will develop a résumé using the correct format. The résumé may be used to introduce the student to the employer at a work place site prior to an interview.

The résumé: teachers are encouraged to work with other staff members to ensure that resumé preparation is taught. Résumé writing is suggested in English Language Arts 20 and A30, Information Processing 10, 20, 30, and the current Work Experience Education 20 guidelines.

Students should save the résumé on a computer disk and update it during the course as changes need to be made and references are added. Students should be encouraged to design/alter a résumé to correspond to the intended purpose for that résumé.

Through class or small group discussions, students may list guidelines for an interview. The instructor may add missing items to the list.

Outline and describe the three stages of an interview. Point out to the students at what stage of the interview each of the guidelines discussed previously will be used.

The greeting involves an introduction between the student and employer. Discuss or demonstrate how this should be done.

The exchange is the longest part of the interview where the employer asks a series of questions and engages in a dialogue with the student about information on the résumé and other matters relating to the job.

The parting provides closure to the interview and may be just as important as the greeting. Explain how this can be done.

Provide the students with a list of questions frequently asked by employers or ask students to make a list. Students may role play the stages of the interview.

Emphasize the following:

• collaborative nature of theatre
• communication
• training and practice
• adaptability/flexibility
• trouble-shooting
• pre- and post-production responsibilities.

Note: Other Learning Objectives may apply to students depending on the particular production job that each student undertakes.

Each student becomes a member of at least one stage, lighting, sound, set construction, set painting, properties, wardrobe, make-up, or box-office crew for a school or community production. Ask students to do a simulation activity for each of these tasks. A major portion of the Theatre Log should be devoted to this experience.

Teachers are encouraged to use community resource people as a means to develop an awareness of local expertise. Classroom presentations by such individuals, followed by field trips to their work environments, will make the learning experience more meaningful.

The Internet provides ample opportunity to examine provincial, national, and global theatre arts resources.

Using a variety of search engines, students may search the Internet for entrance level requirements for post-secondary Technical Theatre Academic programmes in universities and regional colleges. They may also contact, via the Internet, a number of North American professional and community theatre companies to determine job descriptions for technical theatre positions and their respective entry requirements.

Students provide feedback about work placement including: where they were placed, type of business, duties, most rewarding experience, most difficult situation and how you handled it. It is recommended that each student send a thank you note or card to the employer upon the completion of each work placement.