Maselli @ Maple

Things to celebrate... We kicked off a new unit in senior drama last week, in which students will work in smaller teams and ensembles to begin generating material that can be used in our class's collective one-act by developing mini-collectives. This unit is designed to help them review the creative process and the collective creation technique while giving more students an opportunity to share their voices, ideas, and perspectives than would be possible if we were working on a whole-class level at this stage of development. After several hours considering a variety of student data (portfolio entries, preference surveys, conversations and observations in class, etc) two ensembles and four teams were created to help support students in revising / developing material for our mini-collectives, with each student being given a specific production role (director/dramaturg, designer/producer, stage manager/producer, and performer). We used a few different techniques to select a starti...

Things to celebrate:  Our grade nines and tens have now had lots  of practice not only exploring the different actor's tools we learned about throughout our second unit (stage image, physicalization, and vocalization), but also gathering feedback as they learn to layer different elements and techniques into their performance work. As they began to work through the early stages of the creative process this week in preparation for their final performance (and assessment of  learning task) for this unit, they have demonstrated increasing proficiency and skill not only in each of their actors' tools but also in the process of developing work from a source. Meanwhile, our grade elevens and twelves have showcased a variety of production skills via their differentiated assessment of  learning performances this week. Their scene studies explored perspectives on themes related to our earlier activities, such as identity, family, and independence. Performances continue int...

A Personal Note What a busy couple of weeks! Between interim reports last week and our upcoming parents' night, students and teachers alike have probably been busy juggling a number of responsibilities and assignments all at once. This Thanksgiving weekend, I was grateful for some much-needed time with family, but also to have a job that keeps me engaged, even if it does mean I have trouble keeping up with everything at some points. These past two weeks have been exceptionally busy, not just with the marking and planning that go into regular assessment and teaching, but also an influx of department-, school-, and board-level responsibilities that came down the pipes these past couple weeks--everything from planning for upcoming school events and performances with our Drama Council to collaborating with colleagues about upcoming leadership meetings and arts programming across the board! As I write this at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day after six hours of working, I am grateful to be busy...

Things to celebrate:  The grade nines and tens further explored the "feedback and reflection" and "revise and refine" stages of the creative process this week as they looked at their videos from last week's performances, identified areas for improvement through peer- and teacher-feedback and self-assessment, and put together an action plan for how to improve upon last week's work, no matter how great their original performances were. Being able to give, receive, accept, and use feedback is an important skill in school and in life, and one that students will continue to apply for success in Drama class. The grade nines also had a workshop in performing others' identities, and used this new information along with their performance videos and feedback from the teacher to redo their performances from last week for a second chance to be assessed on their work, with significant improvements. Due to the extra time and adjustments to our schedule for the perio...

Things to celebrate:  The grade nines and tens worked through the creative process and the steps we modelled together as a class, this time in new groups, with new sources selected by them, and more independently. Students took inspiration from their chosen sources to tackle a wide variety of important and relevant social issues, from bullying related to body image and racism to community issues like newcomer settlement and government corruption. The grade elevens and twelves participated in their most comprehensive workshops yet as they were challenged to think like a producer, both pitching and responding to ideas for new one-act plays. We explored what a producer's role is and why it's important to consider this perspective when developing original work as an ensemble.  Students pitched a variety of original storylines for a prospective one-act production, as peers asked questions to help them assess what would make each show worth supporting and developing if they...

It's been another inspiring week in the Maple Drama studio this week as students in every class created original works of art with their peers! Things to celebrate:  The grade nines and tens worked together as a whole class and in small ensembles to explore the creative process through peer-led activities designed to help us create unique drama works based on a common source. Students showed great leadership, teamwork, and collaboration skills this week as they worked to both lead and follow, developing a hands-on understanding of the process they will use to create a new work based on a new source with a new group next week. The grade elevens and twelves continued to devise a variety of interesting and unique material based on two different sources in small ensembles. Students have been very brave and generous in sharing their work and their feedback with one another as we continue to develop our collective creation skills. We've also been documenting our work and our fe...

The second week of school can often be the time when our new goals, routines, and intentions for the school year are put to the test. Students are starting to get regular homework in class, and falling back into a school year routine can be both positive and negative, depending on whether or not you're trying to establish a new routine this year. After that first week push, where everything seems to revolve around back-to-school, parents and teachers may find that week two is when reality sets in as we go back to balancing all of our other responsibilities with making sure our children and students have what they need to succeed this year. Things to celebrate:  Maple Drama students have now had the opportunity to create drama work with their new peers, share it with their classmates, and even give and receive feedback in some cases. This can be a huge step for students who are new to drama or those who are just getting back into the habit of creating, sharing, and discussing wi...