After last week’s speed bump, Lydia and I decided to break them up into two groups again. Once again, I took the Fairies and Lydia took the Athenians. My group had great success! I was focusing a lot on blocking and acting rather than just reading through. Oberon and Puck responded very well to this and, because they are friends, acting together with excitement. They were certainly distracted but when I encouraged them to read their lines, they did. Puck had clearly picked up the Shakespearean English after reading through it multiple times and was helping the others with their words. It’s very rewarding to see the kids step up and read/act their lines.

Lydia’s group did not have as much success…Iyonna (Hermia) was in a terrible mood that distracted everyone from achieving their goals. The brothers who play Demetrius and Lysander seemed excited to work on their parts, but were held back by Iyonna. I’m sure she’ll be ready to go next week because she is our best actress and reader. It’s interesting to see how she has developed into a leader of the kids based on her acting/reading abilities. We’ll see how next goes…