Last night's performance (really an open dress rehearsal) for the Snow Queen went ok. There is plenty of work to be done still. They had about 300 people in the audience, which was really great. This show will still need lots of tweaking before it's ready for the festival. I got home an had to finish planning today's lessons and got about 5 hours of sleep
Today was my first "Student Teacher Observation". Miss W. came as a representative from Emerson College. Things went really well. First I took attendance and they listened to the morning announcements. I collected more class contracts and homework assignments.
Next, we all sat on the floor to discuss their opinions on last night's show. They were very honest about what they did and didn't like. Overall, we got some positive feedback.
We then played the "Yes Game" once again, and I gave them prompts to walk in different ways across the circle like, "twirl like you are a Deadhead at a concert", "move like a ghost" and "walk like an elderly person".
After this, I had them count off as A,B,A,B....and had them pair up. We then did the classic Viola Spolin "Mirror Game". They enjoyed this. I had them alternate from being the initiator to the reflector and back and forth. I also used other prompts like "use your whole body", "are you a reflection or an imitation?" during the excercise.
The next game was the "Human Knot Game'. At first they gave up because I hadn't been clear enough on the rules and some were holding hands with one person only. Miss W pointed out that I'd missed that rule. We broke the big group into two groups and with the clarified rules, they were much more into the game. One group finished quite early, but the other group was getting close and didn't want to quit. So I let them continue.
I set the first group up to start on a playmaking exercises. I broke that group into two groups, gave them big paper, magic markers and magazines and told them to create a character. The only rule was that the character is a high school student. I asked them to describe their family situation, quirks they may have, interests, physical characteristics, etc.
The other group continued with their knot and finished just a few minutes before the bell rang. I handed out a homework assignment, a write up on "how to be a better improviser".
Two young ladies asked if I could attend their "Destination Imagination" session next weekend, but I had to refuse because I am taking my MTELs on that day.
When the class was finished, I had a short meeting with Miss W. and Mrs. C. Miss W. had lots of positive comments on my teaching style, classroom management skills, lesson flow and the general rapport in this class. She really didn't have anything negative to say, both she and Mrs. C. were very complimentary saying I had a natural way of teaching and being sure of myself in that environment. I mentioned that one personal challenge is in trying to build a relationship with the students while maintaining a clear role as a teacher at the same time. I was very happy with the way my review went.
I am extremely exhausted.
I've got to be back at the HS around 2pm for many more hours of rehearsal today....even if I get home at an earlier time tonight, I will fall asleep during LOST. My house is a mess, I've been neglecting my dog, eating poorly, not studying, etc.. however, I love having so much purpose!