On Thursday evening Page and I went to Henderson, the kids were once again on a sugar high. They were upset that we did not bring any treats for them but we explained that we also came from a full day of classes and did not have time to make something, which they seemed to understand better. We started with the “whats the word” game and each actor was able to state one word which was written on the board by a student and they formed a story sentence by sentence.The students got really invested in this game and enjoyed making silly sentences and including people in their group. We decided to give them the topic of acting for one round and they even incorporated Shakespeare into their story! Afterwards we wanted to get them acting or at least moving around on the stage. We began playing a game called Mr. Fox, to relate it to the play we made them ask Mr. Fox questions using different voices depending on the emotion/feeling we told them to convey. They even attempted british accents which was quite entertaining. They began to analyze the characters in the play and we asked them how each person would speak based on what we know about them. For example we would say, “Viola has just arrived on land for the first time in days, how do you think she feels in this moment? How would she sound?”. The kids responded well to this and even got engaged in the character analysis, they also loved the moving around part, so I definitely recommend using movement to run through lines with the kids to get them more involved. The rehearsal flew by and the kids were barely ready to go, Page and I both agreed we have never seen them smile and laugh this much and it made our day.

This week, Sarah and I decided to play games with the kids that would get the more excited about the play. We did not want spend another session reading through the script and wanted to give them a break from sitting and quietly listening, waiting for their chance to read. The first game we played with them was one that allowed them to use their improvisation skills. We all stood in a circle and each person had to say one word to create a story. While the stories never made sense at all, the kids really liked this game and had to focus on what was said before them so that they could supply a word that a least made marginal sense. We played this game a few more times before moving onto one called “Grandma.” For this game, one person stood at one side of the room while the rest stood on the other side. Grandma had her back to the group and while she was facing away from them they had to try to sneak up to her before she turned around and they had to freeze on the spot. If they were caught moving, they had to go back to where they started. The last game we played with them was by far my favorite. It is called “Mr. Fox” and is very similar to the “Grandma” game. The group of kids had to ask Mr. Fox what time it was and when  they were given a time they had to take that many steps closer to Mr. Fox. When Mr. Fox said midnight he turned around and chased them back to the start, if they got tagged they were out. The kids had to ask Mr. Fox “Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox what time is it?” so Sarah and I told them different emotions that they had to ask the sentence in. For example, we used sad, happy, angry, depressed, distressed, sleepy, etc. We also had them say it in ways they thought the characters in the play would.

Both Sarah and I really liked this game because it was a great break from reading the scripts while still paying attention to the play. I absolutely loved seeing the smiles on their faces while they played this game and am looking forward to what we do with them next week!

This week, the kids were a lot more obnoxious that they usually are. A few of the girls in our group like to be rough with one another while a few of the others just sit in chairs in the corner like this is the last thing they want to be doing. It is really difficult for me to see this because I want the kids to have fun with this play and not feel like it is just another chore on there list of things they have to do for the day. Our goal for the next session is to play more games with the kids and be more interactive instead of just sitting and reading through the script. Hopefully they will get a little more out of it this way!

We again had a very productive rehearsal this week at youth life. With only two more rehearsals before the show, there is definitely a sense of urgency among the students to do well in rehearsal so that they can impress everyone durring the show. I can honestly say that I was very surprised by this urgency because up to this point the students had shown little interest in how they performed come showtime. This week at our rehearsal we had three students, however, the three students that were in attendance were those with the largest single roles, thus it was good to have them practice together.

One great thing about this week was that we were able to run through the script through its entirety, and the students were finally able to implement their own stage notes into the scripts. I thought that both of these tasks that we accomplished this week were extremely monuments in moving forward and making progress ahead of the performance. Despite getting a lot done again this week, we had our usual setbacks of the students getting distracted from time to time. However, I have noticed that the students have been getting better and better each week about putting more focus into the performance. Despite only having two rehearsals left until the performance, I am extremely optimistic that our students will be prepared and confident on stage.

Just under one month until the show! It’s been a great experience so far, and it’s been great to see the growth of the students that always or frequently arrive, and the enthusiasm and ability of the students that have shown up maybe once or twice!

At rehearsal on 11/4, we had five students. Christina, Rufus, and Jacob all returned, and so did Dale. Finally, Jayvon showed up, which was crazy because we haven’t seen him in over a month! Since Christina, Rufus, and Jacob have been showing up so frequently, we felt confident enough that we could officially cast them. Christina is our Feste, Rufus is our Sebastian, and Jacob is our Sir Toby. It feels really good to know who is playing these big parts! For this rehearsal, Dale was Sir Andrew and Jayvon was Malvolio.

We broke into groups. While Maddie took Christina and Jayvon to work on lines, Natalie and I stayed with Rufus, Dale, and Jacob to work on the staging of Scene 1. We staged some very simple stage combat (get ready for their fake slaps, they’re so funny!) and walked through the first scene. Then we worked on the lines in the scene, and made the three of them say their lines as loud as they possibly could (since they all have trouble projecting). This was a super-productive work session for Natalie and I, and Maddie told us that she was making great progress with Christina.

At the very end of rehearsal, we had a brief conversation with Timone, who offered us some suggestions if the students are unmotivated. While I definitely appreciate his input, I am not worried too much about having to use this reinforcement, because the students are all doing great! It might not be bad to have something for that purpose, though, if necessary (like Hershey Kisses or some other candy)

We’re in a really good place!

On Thursday (11/10), we had a new mix of students again.  We had two returning students and two new students.  The new students participate in the Act IV group, and so they were familiar to the structure of rehearsals.  We have had one consistent student attend all of our rehearsals throughout the project.  It has been exciting to watch him throughout each stage of the production.  The spontaneity of attendance has also added an element of excitement to the project.

We are lucky to hold our rehearsals in the space where the performance will actually occur in December.  This week we began blocking our scenes and had the students practice on the Chapel stage.  We improvised parts, and all of the students were flexible and open to playing different roles.  We emphasized where the students will stand on the stage while performing, encouraged them to face the audience, and suggested that they try to project their voices. 

Some students are stronger readers than others, but they can all get through their lines.  We had to occasionally remind certain students to be patient while other students might be struggling to read their lines.  We emphasized that it was okay for them to feel as though the lines are difficult, but that they will become easier to read with practice.  While some students are self-sufficient on stage, others need a little coaching as to when to read their parts.  We might have to be on stage with them while they are performing to help them through the scenes, but we will continue to try to get them more comfortable reading and following along with the script independently.

My favorite part of rehearsal this week was when a new student, Dale, added some needed comedy into the scene.  Dale was reading Toby’s part, and before every line he would read Toby’s full name, “Sir Toby Belch,” followed by an “Excuse me.”

On Thursday (11/3), our St. Joe’s students had a conflict and we were unable to have rehearsal.  Next rehearsal we plan to continue reading through the scenes with the students and mixing up the roles.  We also plan to begin blocking the scenes on the stage.

We had two students for our seventh week, which was not ideal but ended up almost as a blessing in disguise. we kicked off our rehearsal by reading through part of the scene for the director of the Youth Life program. Hopefully that gave the students some confidence for when they are in front of a full audience. We then were able to break into two groups with our two students. TJ worked with Adrian and AJ and I worked with Khalil. I was very proud of how far Khalil has come since the beginning of this project. By working with just him, we were able to really help him read through his lines and help him fully understand it. AJ and I were also able to get to know him better and learn of his passion for basketball, and his dreams of going to college. I am glad that he felt comfortable enough to talk to us about things like school because it is so important at his age to be able to do that. Knowing that doing this Shakespeare project is bringing him some motivation to keep trying in school means the world. Hopefully we can keep his spirits high and form the kind of trust with the other students that we are building with Khalil. I think Act V will definitely benefit from more open communication between TJ, AJ, and myself and the students. We all want to get to know each other so I think from now on we could take a few minutes at our rehearsals to just talk to each other about things outside of Shakespeare to improve our relationships with one another. This also reminds the students that we are just like them, students, and are only there to help.

Week 6 provided a solid rehearsal for Act V. We were able to run through the script with all of our students and once again discuss who their characters were and how they would feel with different lines. We tried to keep the kids focused by playing the one word sentence game, but some were a little tougher than others. The girls grew a bit restless that the boys were not completely following the instructions, so there was a bit of tension there. We made an effort to get one good sentence before returning to our play rehearsal. The lines are starting to sound more like Shakespeare and I can only imagine will continue to improve in the weeks leading to the final production.

Most of our students had a homecoming flag football game scheduled during the same time as our session this week so unfortunately St.Joseph’s had to cancel again. Hopefully next week we will be back on and can get started on some actual stage direction with the students to start preparing them for the final performance which is quickly approaching.