The show at the Alliance Theatre we attended during the holidays was my first exposure to live improv theatre. What a wonderful performance! The references to Atlanta experiences and scenes made me feel like a native Atlantan, though I am not.
What I most took away from the show in terms of teaching practice, is the how powerful improv methods could be if applied in the classroom. What would be the best way to go about translating this to a classroom experience? How would you keep students on task and engaged in producing the sketch? Definitely an explorable topic!
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Fun! Kids LOVE theater games. I find that it helps everyone to loosen up and participate more openly. I need to start using these kinds of exercises in my college classes.
ReplyDeleteKids do love games, and so I am tempted to overuse them. I always have to stop and ask myself: what is the educational purpose of this game? Same question here: what is the educational purpose of theater games - or more specifically of having students produce an improv sketch? I do think it teaches students to think creatively, to think on their feet, and to accept failures. I'm pretty sure these are important "brain exercises." (Ok, I think I just answered my own question.) But is that enough justification for using it in the classroom? I need more. Now, Toby had a great idea when he mentioned adapting an improv exercise like that disaster thing to characters in a story. What a great alternative assessment! If I can link the exercise to our subject matter like that, then I know I'm justified in using it. I just love Toby's thinking, and I need to think outside the box like that more often.
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