Their costumes come from attics and thrift shops; the sound system is not completely reliable; the piano won't stay tuned; and in the glow of the school's 45-year-old lighting system, the stage gets pretty hot. But for the 200 youngsters putting on The Sound of Music at Elkins Park School in Cheltanham, Pa., this is a totally cool experience.
For most of these 10- and 11-year-olds, it is their first time on stage. Classmates not in acting roles are working behind the scenes: building and painting scenery, or serving as ushers. The show's director, Andrew Monath, observes, "When I see what kids can accomplish in school—musically and in theatre—I feel a new hope for the future of society."
Monath, vocal music teacher at Elkins Park, assumes main responsibility for the school's annual Broadway Show, supported by Irene Harnitchek, string orchestra director, and Cynthia Heffernan, band director. Together, these three teachers collaborate for what becomes a sell-out community event.
"It's the kids that make this good," Monath says, "and they are just ordinary kids. Lots of them lack organizational skills. So we work a lot on teaching responsibility. I let them know the commitment I need from them."
Before beginning their four-month rehearsal schedule, Monath requires each student—and the student's parents—to sign a 13-point contract. Besides agreeing to attend all scheduled rehearsals, these students agree to spend their own time and energy learning their parts, and to approach each rehearsal with enthusiasm, energy, and a positive attitude.
Refusing to settle for mediocrity, Monath lets his students know that what they are doing is superior to what many children their age, and even older, are doing. "For example," he says, "just this morning, we started all new music, some of it in 5/8 time. The students jumped right in, seeming not to know how hard this is. They believe that nothing's beyond them. Many adults lack this outlook."
When he considers the teamwork and social skills that kids learn through theatre, Monath knows why so many parents have told him what a life-changing experience the school musical was for their son or daughter. "One boy literally became the most popular kid in the school as a result of his involvement in Guys and Dolls last year," recalls Monath. He describes another child who was constantly a behavior problem for other teachers, but who came to every rehearsal and worked very hard. "The single most awful crime a teacher can commit," Monath believes, "is to waste talent."
Themes and Theatre
In Chula Vista, Calif., Bonnie Johnston is artistic director at The Kellogg Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, a K-6 magnet school. "At Kellogg," says Johnston, "we do school in themes." She explains that the curriculum is centered on history and humanities. Each year, the teachers select a different theme, enriching it through galleries, programs, concerts, and theatrical productions.
Last year, for example, the theme of Wagon Wheels West led to a stage production about whom you would meet and what you would see crossing the United States by wagon in the mid-1800s. The main character was Mark Twain–who, as a young journalist, actually did make such a journey. "In our play," says Johnston, "Twain meets an orphan boy who can't read. As they travel, Twain (played by a Kellogg alumnus) introduces the orphan to what was happening in the American West." The show was a real performance of what the children had learned about geography, literature, and history.
Other annual themes have been Ellis Island and Immigrants, Mayans and Aztecs, Ancient Egypt, Shakespeare, and Circus of the World. Each theme has stimulated exciting theatrical adventures related to cultural histories, "which is why we would not do Peter Pan," notes Johnston. At Kellogg, theatrical experiences are tied to curricular objectives.
Although the Kellogg theatre has a computerized sound and light system, and even a revolving stage, Johnston maintains that the school actually has very little money. "Services in kind is the funding that really keeps us going," explains Johnston, listing the center's partnerships with the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Man, the San Diego State University Department of Theatre, and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre.
With the support of these partners, Kellogg students perform with real costumes and props. Off stage, other students control the sound and light boards. Still others are stage managers. "It's real exciting to watch," Johnston says. "And when our kids leave here, they have a highly developed cultural awareness—an appreciation for other people, children, and situations. They become amazing risk-takers, and go forward with extremely high expectations."
Academically Valid
At Germantown High School in Tennessee, students know that theatre and media studies are more like internships than classes. The school's student-managed television studio runs 24 hours a day. In Germantown's on-campus theatre facility, the Poplar Pike Playhouse, students assume yearlong positions as company manager, box-office manager, costume coordinator, and sound and light coordinators.
"I approach it from a business standpoint," explains Frank Bluestein, chair of Germantown's fine arts department. Bluestein says that in a hands-on approach to media and theatre, students learn time management, responsibility, and leadership. "The experience contributes to management expertise in any career," affirms Bluestein.
Starting in the 9th grade, students at Germantown High may begin a sequential fine arts curriculum with an introduction to theatre or studio followed by initial courses in acting or technical theatre, leading to film, video, or theatrical production workshops in 11th and 12th grades. The workshop/studio production experience is a two-year loop; 12th graders mentor 11th graders for a year before they may take full responsibility for managerial positions. "They grow into the position," Bluestein explains.
With 16,000 subscribers, Germantown High's Cable Channel 7 provides students with as many opportunities for experience as they have time for. In addition to their morning news show, Wake Up Germantown, students produce at least 4 original programs a week. Many students have gone on to careers in film and television.
At the Poplar Pike Playhouse, students manage four productions a year. The fall play is usually a contemporary American drama or comedy, such as All in the Timing, an off-Broadway hit by David Ives. The early spring production is a big musical, like Annie by Charles Strouse (in 1994, Strouse came to Poplar Pike Playhouse to direct the premiere performance of his play, Can't Stop Dancin'). In addition to the spring production, students may join a touring children's theatre troupe to perform such favorites as Winnie the Pooh at each elementary school in the district. And at the end of the school year, students stage a night of one-act plays, some of them original works by students.
"Theatre is as academically valid and challenging as any other aspect of the curriculum," insists Bluestein. "People think theatre is about `doing a play,' but for us, it is serious study." He notes that everything about it demands research—studying the history of the period, the costumes, the design process, color, light, and human motivations. "It's an intellectual, emotional experience." Bluestein describes, for example, how students in introductory theatre classes approach a play: they view a filmed version of it; they read it as homework and together as a class; they critique it and act it out; they research the setting; and they attend a live performance of it. By the end of the course, students have encountered 30 different works.
"So many kids have never been to plays," laments Bluestein, knowing what theatre can do for young people. Bluestein recalls Andrew, captain of the football team, who had never in his life thought about being in a play. Last year, for some reason, Andrew auditioned for Pippin. "He turned out to have a magnificent voice, and some acting ability," relates Bluestein, "and he got the main part. One night the entire football team came together to see the play." Feeling a little anxious about how the team might behave during the performance, Bluestein was relieved to see that they were spellbound with admiration for their captain's debut.
To not provide children with good arts experiences is to deprive them, Bluestein believes. "And theatre experiences," he says, "are vital because theatre connects students to our world in ways that nothing else does."
Leadership Training
At University Liggett, an independent preK-12 school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., teacher Phillip Moss is integrating technology into the theatre program. "Kids jump right on this," states Moss. His students use Virtus WalkThrough, a computer-aided design software designed specifically for theatre, to create full-color 3-D models of stage sets.
Moss also requires his students to create electronic portfolios of their work. They use Mac AV to capture QuickTime movies that demonstrate skills from their own performance objectives. Technology is everywhere, but when it comes to scripts, Moss requires his students to type their own copies because "it helps with the memorization." This is important in his theatre program because students begin with Greek and Shakespearian plays, later moving on to 20th century scripts.
A dozen students from grades 9-12, the Players Board, manage the University Liggett Theatre. Their work is "as close to real business experience as you can get," Moss claims. "Kids who have come through our theatre program have impressive teamwork abilities and lifelong skills."
Ann Turner, the head of Players Board, takes complete responsibility for bookings, reservations, and forms. Jason Capon, a student interested in engineering, is the set builder and designer. Ariadne Lie, captain of the girl's soccer team, is lighting designer. Bradley Boring, a football player, is the student music director. Moss has seen Bradley play the piano and lead the orchestra all at once.
Moss mentions several more students with impressive academic and performance records. "We're very, very close," he says. "I get a read on kids that no other teacher does. I know their ability to follow through on tasks, and how beautifully they behave in high-pressure situations." Comparing theatre to athletics, Moss explains that both areas have a public performance assessment. In contrast to assessment in most content area classes, "on stage, everybody knows how well you're doing. It's a motivating factor," Moss observes, "but when you fail, everybody sees it. It is incredibly challenging." It is these aspects of performance and accountability that help students develop leadership skills, Moss says.
Holding Up the Mirror
"Theatre is not a game," states Mike Auer, visual and performing resource teacher for San Diego City Schools. According to Auer, "a good theatre program should teach honesty. It should teach students to ask, How do I own this part? How do I make it real?" Auer says he likes Shakespeare's standard: Hamlet proclaimed that actors should hold the mirror up to life.
For example, Auer recalls an experience with The White Rose, a play recently staged in his district at La Costa High School. Set in Nazi Germany, the drama unfolds when some idealistic college students run counter to Hitler's war efforts. Captured by the Gestapo, they are subjected to a trial and sentenced to be hanged.
"In our production," explains Auer, "a young Iranian student, Nazli, played the part of a Gestapo investigator who tries to save the life of a young girl, but is helpless to do so because the girl, in her idealism, decides to die with her comrades. Nazli played the part with wonderful honesty," Auer remembers, "showing the human side of the Gestapo agent, rather than a caricature. This was good theatre."
In a good theatre program, says Auer, students demonstrate such outcomes as creative thinking; teamwork; the ability to produce, direct, and act in a stage production, as well as to write dramatic scripts; a knowledge of the conventions of theatre–both on and off stage–along with the ability to recognize good theatre; and an understanding of the subtle tonalities of a character, with the ability to communicate this to an audience.
"Theatre is a marvelous tool for teaching and learning," asserts Auer, "and the embodiment of the work ethic. All the things that people say they want in the work community, students can learn in theatre."