Student in the Teachers' Lounge

On Saturday, I journeyed uptown to see a friend. But it wasn't a regular visit - I was seeking her expert help as a monologue coach.

I've decided to try out for a play and I knew that my friend would be the best source for me. She's a grad student in the Columbia MFA directing program, so, you know, she's got the skills. It's been a long time since I've auditioned and I was nervous to show her my work so far. But, lucky for me, our session together went really well, and now I feel much more at ease about the audition. She gave me tons of pointers that I hadn't thought of. Hopefully my audition will go well. Who knows if I'll get cast - there are many factors - but at least I feel more prepared.

The last time I was on stage was in San Francisco in a show called Motel Cowboy that I was also directing. That show kind of doesn't count, thought, because I was barely on at all and I wasn't very good! The time before that must have been in college back in Arkansas. I was in a show called The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds. It was a weird show, but I had a wonderful time playing the youngest daughter in a very disturbed family.

For me, the acting bug took a detour in high school when I discovered directing. I directed my first play at age 16 and loved this aspect of theatre instantly. I went on to major in theatre directing in college. I think that is one of the reasons I chose to become a theatre teacher - I know that I'll be able to provide the same opportunities to my students that I received in high school. Can't wait!! And wish me luck on the audition!

Last night I participated in the NYU Fall Choral Concert. I am a secret member of the Choral Arts Society - secret, because it's my thing that I do to relieve stress and forget about teaching for an hour every week. Each Wednesday night this semester, I went to choir and remembered what it was like all those years through junior high, high school and college when I was in choir non-stop. It had been a long time, I'd forgotten how to sight-read, but everything came back to me over those Wednesdays.

The piece we did for the concert last night was written especially for this choir. It was called A Prayer for the Living, and it was written in response to September 11th. Basically, the piece is about the survivors of 9-11 and having to move own in the midst of tragedy. The music is very powerful and sometimes chaotic - just like it must have been in New York in the days following the event.

There was a minor snafu in the concert, though, and I'll share that here. We were singing with a recorded orchestra, basically as a backing tract to the choir. The conductor had to use a click track in his ear to keep us on time to the music. Unfortunately, we didn't hear the music really until last night and there were a couple of parts that were differently rhythmically than we were used to. The result was that we were a bit off rhythm on two or three occasions, one of which when I with only five other voices was singing! It was embarrassing, but my friends said they didn't even notice. Such are the problems with dealing with technology, I guess. Apart from this minor hitch, the concert went over really well and I enjoyed myself. I only wish I could have seen the other choirs perform, but it was sold out and there weren't any seats for us students.

I'm not sure if I'll continue with choir next semester. It depends on a couple of key factors that I'm waiting on. But either way, all you Steinhardt people should take advantage of concerts like this. There are a lot of talented people at our school, and even if you wouldn't normally go to this kind of show, take a chance and you might really enjoy it.

-G

Some of you know that, for the past few weeks, I've been teaching a unit on August Wilson's Fences. It's been a wonderful learning opportunity for me because I created the unit and have been able to implement all of it. I can't tell you how beneficial it's been to write lesson plans and follow through with them, seeing what works or doesn't work and reflecting on how I could make it better the next time. I feel that I created a solid unit that is based on ideals I've learned at NYU and that involves my students to the best of their abilities.

One thing I've been able to use, at long last, is dramatic techniques in my ELA class. Those of us in the educational theatre department have been trained in how to use dramatic activities to deepen learning in almost any subject. My particular emphasis is combining English and Drama, and using these techniques is especially helpful when studying a play.

So last week, I introduced my students to some brand new activities - ones that are very different from what we usually do. We started with Role on the Wall, which is a great tool for teaching characterization and assessing the understanding of a character. I was also able to use Teacher in Role and hot-seating to a successful degree. In fact - and what I really want to point out - my students loved the hot-seating with me in role as the main character. We theatre people know that drama can draw out the students who are usually not participating for whatever reason. We know this because we all discovered the power of theatre in our own lives. I witnessed these theatre techniques light a fire in students that usually sit in the back, have a bad attitude, don't pay attention, etc. It was amazing! Even the girl who is always hating on me was at first saying, "This is corny," then two seconds later, she was totally into it. I really loved it and they did as well. They were engaged, responding to each other and to me; they were doing what Gavin Bolton would call "meaning-making."

I just wanted to share this little story from my classroom. If you're an NYU student or a teacher, I hope this inspires you to keep believing in what you're doing. Happy finals week, everyone!

-G