Our first visit to Youth Life went well. On the ride to our site we brainstormed how to approach our first session. We agreed that we would play some theater games and introduce the plot and characters of the play to our students. Upon arrival we met our five student-actors who varied in their excitement to be a part of our troupe. There was Adrian, a sixth grade boy who was eager to show us his inner thespian. The two girls in our group were shyer at first, but by then end of our hour everyone was excited about acting. The first game we played was zip-zap-zop. This game helped the students follow acting directions and get comfortable with one another. After this we played an improvisational game where AJ, Dylan, and I gave directions to the students throughout the scene to regularize them to acting with varying emotional and setting cues. This second game allowed the students to use their imaginations and get out of their respective comfort zones.

After we finished the theater games, we went over the plot and character roles of Twelfth Night. The students decided that the setting for Act V will be contemporary Miami. Next week we will assign character roles and start to go over the script. We may also show a scene from She’s the Man to help the students visualize the overlapping plot lines. On the whole I think our group will have a lot of fun rehearsing. There may be some bumps along the way, but those will all be part of the greater learning experience.