Goals:

1. Students will understand the work involved in the creation of a play.
2. Students will become familiar with oral presentation techniques.
3. Students will develop a basic understanding of the technical aspects of theater.
4. Students will work together as a team to reach a common goal.

Resources:

1. Information on aspects of producing a play

   
   For example:

   Bellman, Willard F. [1985]. Scene Design, Stage Lighting, Sound, Costume, and Makeup. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.

   Clark, Brian. [1971]. Group Theatre. New York: Theatre Arts Book.

   Cohen, Robert & Harrop, John. [1974]. Creative Play Direction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

   Mather, Charles Chambers. [1935]. Behind the Floodlights; a Book on the Techniques of Dramatics. New York: Silver, Burdett, and Company.

   Smiley, Sam. [1987]. Theatre: The Human Art. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.

2. Student knowledge concerning life at sea that has been accumulated throughout the unit.
3. Information on oral presentation techniques/acting

   
   For example:

   Benedetti, Robert L. [1981]. The Actor at Work. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

   Bernhardt, Sarah. [1969]. The Art of the Theatre. New York: B. Blom.

   Brown, Richard P. & Schechner, Richard [1972]. Actor Training. New York: Drama Book Specialists.

   Bruder, Melissa, et. al. [1986]. A Practical handbook for the Actor. New York: Vintage Books.

   Skinner, Edith. [1990]. Speak With  Distinction. New York: Applause Theatre Book Publishers.

   Stanislavsky, Konstantin. [1963]. An Actor's Handbook. New York: Theatre Arts Books.

   Stanislavsky, Konstantin. [1949]. Building a Character. New York: Theatre Arts Books.

4. Set construction an lighting equipment (possibly from a nearby cooperating theater).  If this is not possible, classroom materials such as tables, chairs, construction paper, paints, cardboard, etc. could be used.

Time Required for Lesson:

Due to the nature of the lesson, the time required will vary widely depending on the length of the play.  An approximate range would be anywhere from 8-30 hours.  (Steps 1-2 [1 hour]; Step 3 [2 hours]; Step 4 [1/2 - 1 hour]; Step 6 [1/2 hour]; Step 9 [2-10 hours]; Step 11 [for a 5 minute play about 2 hours, for a one hour play about 10-15 hours])

Procedure:

1. The teacher conducts a brainstorming/webbing activity on the board to find out what the students already know about plays.
2. The teacher leads a discussion on different aspects of theater based on the results of the previous step.  Example topics include: famous playwrights and plays, plays the students have seen, etc.
3. As a class, the students should attend a live production of a play.  If this is not possible, watch a video of a live production. The local college, university, or library should have videos that can be used in the classroom.  Another possibility is to have the local high school perform a 'test run' of a show they are preparing for.
4. Discuss likes/dislikes concerning the production. Also analyze different technical aspects as seen in the production. For example, did the lighting detract from the performance, did the characters stumble over any lines, were there uncomfortable pauses where someone may have missed an entrance, did the curtains work properly, etc.
5. Divide students into teams of 3-5.
6. Each team brainstorms story ideas for a play dealing with life at sea.
7. Each group shares their ideas with the class. The class votes on what story line to use for the play they will write and perform.
8. Each student should select an aspect of the production he or she would like to work on. Example areas include: scenery, lighting/sound, play writing, stage management, directing, acting.  If the teacher experiences difficulties filling all of the roles, he or she may want to limit the number of participants for each category.
9. Each of these groups gets together and starts working on their part of the production.  The writers start writing the play. The actors research  aspects of public presentation.  Directors and stage managers look at the direction note in other plays and research directing techniques.  Students working on light and sound begin familiarizing themselves with the equipment  and start experimenting.  If one group finishes before the others, they should start developing their aspect of the play using what the writers have finished so far.  At this point, students should start writing in journals on a daily  basis concerning their roles in the construction/production of the play.
10. After writing is completed, everyone reads the play and participates in class editing.  Each student receives a copy of the production and studies it, looking for grammatical and/or syntactical mistakes.  The editing should also include subjective opinions on the content.  Does the student feel that the play should be changed in some way?  At the end of the editing process, the teacher should look over the results and present the suggestions to the class (write them on the chalkboard).  The students decide whether or not to implement the suggested changes (note: grammatical changes could be completed by the script writers after the larger changes take place.)
11. Everyone works on developing their aspect of the play.  The actors start learning their lines. The directors and stage managers work on stage direction.  The lighting and sound people work on the lighting  and sound involved in the play.  The writers polish up the play and consult with the directors to make sure their ideas are being represented correctly.  At the conclusion of these activities, several rehearsals are conducted.
12. The play is performed for/by the class and possibly other members of the school or community.

Assessment:

1. Each student has a role in the production of the play and completes a journal on the work he or she accomplishes as a result of the role.  (Criteria for success:  The journal contains an entry for each day.  The entry details the work completed by the student and his or her thoughts on the process.)
2. The teacher observes each student's contribution to his or her group and to the production of the play as a whole.  (Criteria for success:  The student should complete the appropriate proportions of the work for his or her group.  For instance, if the group consists of three members, all three contributed a like amount of work.  This requires significant supervision by the instructor, and it may be useful to bring in other teaching resources such as the industrial arts teacher.  The teacher should also fill out the attached rubric for each student based on these observations and the student's journal.)
3. Each student's contribution to the group is evaluated by the other members of the group using the attached collaboration rubric.  (Criteria for success:  The majority of the evaluations should show that the student made a contribution to the team.  For example, the student should receive an average score of three on the rubrics.)

Subjects and Major Concepts Covered:

1. Language Arts

   
   - play production (writing, public speaking, etc.)
   - journal writing

2. Social Studies

   
   - aspects of life at sea

Possible Extensions:

1. Each student will write a story about a sea adventure/life at sea.
2. Students create an area of the classroom/school that represents what they have learned throughout the unit, about life at sea. This could be a collection of items or learning materials or a collage of pictures. Upon completion, the area could become a learning center for other student or for the students who created it to continue to explore the subject.
3. The class puts together a sailing magazine with articles dealing with different aspects of life at sea.

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