Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: How to teach directing?

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Nyria
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Topic: How to teach directing?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 6:18pm

I teach high school drama. One of the ciriculum requirements of grade 12 is directing.

I have trouble 'teaching' this as I don't have many small assignments for the directors to do. I have worksheets and then they get marked on the directing process etc.

But I would like more assignments to give them actual 'marks' on.

Any ideas?

Thanks =)

NYRIA

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tristanrobin
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Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:14pm

We had to direct five-minute scenes in high school drama directing class.

Producing a production book for a play was also a requirement as I recall.

We also were sent to various productions of plays and had to write critical analysis of the plays from a directing point of view with a list of criterion to cover.

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belle
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Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:06am

There is a very good video tape on blocking by Michael Smith. It has lots of good ideas for beginning directors as well as practical information on dealing with actors.

I second the idea of having students prepare an production book. You might have them brainstorm what would go into a production book and then show them some of yours before they start on one of their own.

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belle
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Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:09am

Sorry. It's Michael Joyce. BLOCKING A SCENE: Basic Staging with Actors
with: Michael Joyce
It costs $148.

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chel
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Posted: 3/13/09 at 5:26pm

$148 !!??!!?? (please tell me that's a typo) What, is Michael Joyce using a golden pen and getting paid by the word?

Hopefully there are some internet resources because I can't imagine any highschool drama department affording that.

My high school teacher presented an evening of one-act plays, student directed.

chel

www.windhamtheaterguild.org

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belle
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Posted: 3/13/09 at 10:46pm

That price is right. It's 90 minutes long and has a study guide. It is made to be used in sections. If money is a problem, it can probably be borrowed through interlibrary loan or the school library might be able to come up with the money or look for a donor. It's worth the price.

Educational videos of all kinds are VERY expensive.

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SpenceKenzer
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Posted: 3/17/09 at 1:32pm

I'm not sure whether or not this suggestion will meet your idea of "small assignments" or not. Here goes:

I know of a couple of plays, full-length plays, that are composed of several smaller scenes. It would be quite easy to assign each smaller scene to 1 student director as their project. When you present them all together - voila! instant play.

"Office Hours" by Norm Foster (6 scenes, each in an exactly similar office)
"Bedtime Stories" by Norm Foster (6 scenes, each in an exactly similar bedroom)
"The Dining Room" by A.R. Gurney (many small scenes!)
"Plaza Suite" by Neil Simon (3 longer scenes); his other "... Suite" plays are similarly structured.

Another suggestion: search the web for 10-minute plays. There are A LOT of them, and many are quite good. No, sorry, I don't have a specific website to recommend for these.

I hope these suggestions are helpful!

--------------------<*>
Saludos, my dahlinks, and you know who you are ... !

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Directing
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Directing

Author	Message
Nyria Celebrity Joined: 1/20/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 157	Topic: How to teach directing? Posted: 1/16/09 at 6:18pm
	I teach high school drama. One of the ciriculum requirements of grade 12 is directing. I have trouble 'teaching' this as I don't have many small assignments for the directors to do. I have worksheets and then they get marked on the directing process etc. But I would like more assignments to give them actual 'marks' on. Any ideas? Thanks =)
	NYRIA

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tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:14pm
	We had to direct five-minute scenes in high school drama directing class. Producing a production book for a play was also a requirement as I recall. We also were sent to various productions of plays and had to write critical analysis of the plays from a directing point of view with a list of criterion to cover.
	IP Logged

belle Star Joined: 9/12/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:06am
	There is a very good video tape on blocking by Michael Smith. It has lots of good ideas for beginning directors as well as practical information on dealing with actors. I second the idea of having students prepare an production book. You might have them brainstorm what would go into a production book and then show them some of yours before they start on one of their own.
	IP Logged

belle Star Joined: 9/12/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:09am
	Sorry. It's Michael Joyce. BLOCKING A SCENE: Basic Staging with Actors with: Michael Joyce It costs $148.
	IP Logged

chel Celebrity Joined: 6/20/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 106	Posted: 3/13/09 at 5:26pm
	$148 !!??!!?? (please tell me that's a typo) What, is Michael Joyce using a golden pen and getting paid by the word? Hopefully there are some internet resources because I can't imagine any highschool drama department affording that. My high school teacher presented an evening of one-act plays, student directed.
	chel www.windhamtheaterguild.org
	IP Logged

belle Star Joined: 9/12/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 75	Posted: 3/13/09 at 10:46pm
	That price is right. It's 90 minutes long and has a study guide. It is made to be used in sections. If money is a problem, it can probably be borrowed through interlibrary loan or the school library might be able to come up with the money or look for a donor. It's worth the price. Educational videos of all kinds are VERY expensive.
	IP Logged

SpenceKenzer Star Joined: 1/23/09 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 71	Posted: 3/17/09 at 1:32pm
	I'm not sure whether or not this suggestion will meet your idea of "small assignments" or not. Here goes: I know of a couple of plays, full-length plays, that are composed of several smaller scenes. It would be quite easy to assign each smaller scene to 1 student director as their project. When you present them all together - voila! instant play. "Office Hours" by Norm Foster (6 scenes, each in an exactly similar office) "Bedtime Stories" by Norm Foster (6 scenes, each in an exactly similar bedroom) "The Dining Room" by A.R. Gurney (many small scenes!) "Plaza Suite" by Neil Simon (3 longer scenes); his other "... Suite" plays are similarly structured. Another suggestion: search the web for 10-minute plays. There are A LOT of them, and many are quite good. No, sorry, I don't have a specific website to recommend for these. I hope these suggestions are helpful!
	--------------------<*> Saludos, my dahlinks, and you know who you are ... !
	IP Logged

Topic: How to teach directing?( Topic Closed)