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A New York Times Newspaper in Education Curriculum Guide

Learning About Theater With The New York Times

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

NEW YORK TIMES SERVICES FOR TEACHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

“THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

HELPING STUDENTS TO READ A REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

WORKSHEET FOR LESSONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

LESSON 1 Introduction to the Unit and The New York Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

LESSON 2 What Makes a Play a Play? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

LESSON 3 Other Playwriting Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

LESSON 4 Musical Theater, or, Where Did the Playwright Go? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

LESSON 5 How to Write a Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

LESSON 6 An Introduction to the Biz in “Showbiz” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

APPENDIX Correlation to National Content Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Written by Barbara Pollard. This educator’s guide was developed by The New York Times Newspaper in Education program. It did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The New York Times.

©2010 The New York Times

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T he purpose of this series of lessons is to introduce students to the theater, to develop their critical understanding of stage performance, and, most importantly, to help them enjoy the magic of live theater.

To aid in their exploration of the theater, students should receive a copy of the New York Times every day. The Times has long been known for its daily, premier coverage of the arts — and especially theater. Each lesson will use not only the Arts section but the news and sports pages as well, as sources of dramatic material and as examples of describing events — as opposed to enacting them. In his lyrics for the famous song “That’s Entertainment” from the backstage musical “The Band Wagon,” Howard Dietz wrote:

“A show that is really a show/ Sends you out with a kind of a glow.”

True, because one can be so deeply affected by what is happening on stage, one can laugh and cry, and when the lights come up and one has dried one’s tears, one turns to a friend and says, “That was wonderful.” Students will be encouraged to explore that experience and the experience that is unique to theater.

■ GRADE LEVELS FOR LESSONSAlthough these lesson plans were written with secondary school students in mind, they can be adapted for the younger student by simplifying the language and the tasks. A 10-year-old can demonstrate the difference between telling a story and acting it out; he or she can see how music and dance forward the plot of a story or help set the mood, as in Lessons #2-4. It is only Lesson #5 with its discussion of critical criteria and value judgments that may be a bit too sophisticated for the younger student. On the other hand, even the youngest member of the iPod generation is fascinated by the number of people and variety of skills necessary to produce a show, which is the concern of the final lesson on the “biz in showbiz.”

■ TIME FRAME FOR LESSONS Ideally, this unit will include attendance at one or more live performances. For this reason, you may want to change the order of the lesson plans; i.e. if you are about to take your class to a musical you may want to go directly to the lesson that is concerned with how songs are used to evoke mood and further plot. The order in which you present the lessons is flexible.

INTRODUCTION

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■ USING THE STUDENT WORKSHEET Please note: There is one worksheet, to be used every day, either in class or as a home-work assignment. Students are going to be asked to read one review in The Times for every class, and then, on the worksheet, to answer questions about the review.

OBJECTIVES At the conclusion of this unit students will be able to do the following:

● Identify, locate and use the Arts, News and Sports sections of The New York Times● Identify and define vocabulary used in The Times● Differentiate between narration (or description) and action (or enactment).● Identify and describe the differences between performing arts and literary or visual arts.● Identify techniques a playwright may use as alternative to narration.● Describe how songs and dance in musical theater may be used to set the mood and/or forward the action● Identify how a critic assesses the quality of a play or musical, reflecting the criteria the critic uses to judge a play or musical● Write a review of a play or musical they have seen.

INTRODUCTION

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NEW YORK TIMES SERVICES FOR TEACHERS

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WEB SITEnytimes.com/nieVisit our Web site to download order forms for the print edition or Electronic Edition for classroom use. You may also download a host of other free curriculum guides and activities to use with The Times.

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Contact us with questions about ordering a classroom subscription or about your existing school account.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES LEARNING NETWORK learning.blogs.nytimes.comThe New York Times Learning Network offers interactive classroom activities based on the Monday – Friday editions of The Times. The wealth of features on the site includes lesson plans linked to specific Times articles, a lesson plan archive and search, an interactive daily news quiz, “Word of the Day,” “On This Day in History” feature that links to historical Times articles, “6 Q’s About the News” activity linked to a Times article, “Times Fill-Ins” sentence completion feature, Student Crossword and Student Opinion (for students age 13 and older).

TIMES TOPICSnytimes.com/topicsTimes topics is an excellent starting point for research, providing quality information on thousands of topics. Each topic page contains featured Times articles, graphics, audio and video files, with additional links to other good sources.

THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVE ONLINEnytimes.com/archiveYou can use the “Search” function on nytimes.com for access to the complete backfile of The New York Times from 1851 to the present.

THE NEW YORK TIMES IN COLLEGE nytimes.com/eduOur Web site for college faculty offers services for higher education, including course-specific instructional strategies using The New York Times.

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“ THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT”

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“That’s Entertainment”

Everything that happens in lifeCan happen in a showYou can make ‘em laughYou can make ‘em cryAnything, anything can go …

A show that is really a showSends you out with a kind of a glowAnd you say as you go on your wayThat’s Entertainment!

A song that is winging alongOr a dance with a touch of romanceIs the art that appeals to the heartThat’s Entertainment! …

No death like you get in MacbethNo ordeal like the end of CamilleThis goodbye brings a tear to the eyeThe world is a stageThe stage is a world of entertainment!

Lyrics by Howard Dietz for the song “That’s Entertainment” from the movie musical “The Band Wagon,” music by Arthur Schwartz. ©Arthur Publishing, Inc. reprinted by permission.

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HELPING STUDENTS TO READ A REVIEW

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Before students are sent home to read a review and to answer the questions on the Worksheet, walk them through a current review or, if you prefer, use the sample below.

In reading a review, students may have difficulty with the following: ● What is implicit (in terms of appreciating theater) in the critic’s comments?

● What words or references do they have to know in order to understand the review? (e.g. in the review excerpt below, it is not necessary to know who Henry James was because critic Ben Brantley is simply using James’s comment to underscore the problem of characterization in Wilde’s plays. James was one of America’s most admired novel-ists; he also happened to be much less successful in his own attempts at playwriting.)

■ SAMPLE WALK-THROUGH FOR READING A REVIEW:

Read aloud the paragraphs below from a review of a production of “Lady Windermere’s Fan.” The review was written by critic Ben Brantley. It appeared in The New York Times on July 11, 2005.

When “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” the melo-comedy of manners that made Oscar Wilde’s name as a playwright, opened in London in 1892, at least one eminent critic was not amused. “There of course is absolutely no characterization,” Henry James wrote to a friend, “and all of the people talk equally strained Oscar.” That’s pretty rich coming from an author of novels in which everyone speaks in intricate and perfectly shaped metaphors. But James did put his lordly finger on a problem any director of Wilde’s plays must address. What room is there for individual characterization in a world where even butlers are fluent in the language of Oscar – that is, in glittering, competitive and generally interchangeable epigrams? It’s a problem that has obviously been on the mind of the director Moises Kaufman …And Mr. Kaufman’s cast goes a promising distance in helping him solve this quandary in his handsome and spirited production of “Lady Windermere’s Fan”…

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HELPING STUDENTS TO READ A REVIEW

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■ ASK YOUR CLASS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

● According to Ben Brantley, who wrote this review, what is the problem for both director and actors in performing this play?● By implication, according to Brantley, what is one ingredient of an effective play?● What words or references would you have to know in order to fully understand what the critic is saying? Obviously, the word epigram is key here. Wilde, an Irish playwright and novelist, was famous for the witty, colorful remarks (or epigrams) in his plays, some of which took on a life of their own. One from “Lady Windemere’s Fan,” for example:” “In this world there are only two tragedies: one is not getting what one wants, the other is getting it.” On the other hand, your students would be hard put to find melo-comedy in the dictionary. What they can find is the word melodrama, and they can then infer what Brantley had in mind with his creative use of language. In short, students should be encouraged to read a review the way an adult does. If a word is key to understanding and they don’t know the word, they must look it up. If the implication or thrust of a word or reference is pretty clear, they simply go on reading.

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WORKSHEET

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STUDENT NAME_________________________________________________ DATE_____________________

■ Read a review of a play in today’s New York Times. (If there isn’t one, your teacher may permit you to choose a review of a film.) Read the review carefully so that you are absolutely sure you understand what the critic is saying. If the critic uses a word that you don’t know, look it up, and make a note of it in the vocabulary section of this worksheet.

1. Name of show being reviewed__________________________________________________________________

2. What, if anything, did the critic like about the show?_______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What, if anything, did the critic dislike?___________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Based on both positive and negative comments, what does the critic seem to believe are the characteristics of a

good show?________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Vocabulary________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR LESSONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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● The New York Times, one copy for each student● Copy of Dietz lyrics (“That’s Entertainment”)● Worksheet – which should be distributed toward the end of the lesson

INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT AND THE NEW YORK TIMES

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(Please note: the following questions are open-ended; i.e. there really is no right or single answer, nor is there a need to reach a conclusion or consensus at this point.)

1. How would you define entertainment? Is reading Shakespeare entertainment? Is studying for a vocabulary test entertaining?

2. Hand out Dietz’s lyrics. Read aloud. How does Dietz ‘define’ entertainment?

3. Does “the glow” come from a happy ending? Can “Romeo and Juliet” or “West Side Story” (a musical inspired by “Romeo and Juliet”) send you out with a glow? Why, or how, can crying in a theater be a wonderful experience?

Perhaps, The New York Times can help us answer the question. Hand out The Times.

THE LESSON

■ How can I locate the entertainment section in the newspaper? (Direct students to the index on page 1 and the summaries on page 2.) It is also called the Arts or Culture section.

■ When students have located the Arts section give them time to read it. Then, ask them to list in their notebooks all the arts and related subjects covered in this section. Have several students read their lists aloud. Given what is included in this Arts section, how does The Times define entertainment? (brief discussion)

■ At this point, bring students back to the unit. Remind them that this is a unit on the performing arts. How do the performing arts differ from the visual arts? From the literary arts? What should we include in the performing arts? List these on board as students answer the question.

■ Explain to students that on any given day one critic or another in The Times is passing judgment on one or another performance. The critic’s judgment is to some extent based on what he or she assumes a good play or musical is supposed to be. We may not always agree with the critic but his or her ideas suggest criteria or a way of looking at a show that may be new to us. For that reason we are going to read one review every class.

MATERIALS

LESSON 1

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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

■ Hand out worksheets. On the first day of the unit, you might want to walk students through the reading of a particular review and answer the questions on the sheet. (See sample, “How To Help Students Read a Review,” on pages 7-8) Remind students that they should clip the review they read and bring it to class with the worksheet. Ask students to take the Arts section home and to read at least one other review.

■ Remind students that they should clip the review they read and bring it to class with the worksheet. Ask students to take the Arts section home and to read at least one other review as homework.

LESSON 1

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● The New York Times, one copy for each student● Worksheet, one copy for each student

WHAT MAKES A PLAY A PLAY? (This question should be written on the board.)

HOMEWORK REVIEW

■ Ask students to take out the review that they read and their worksheets. Did the critic like what he saw? Why, or why not? Did the critic find the show entertaining? (Allow at least three to five students to answer and comment.)

THE LESSON

■ Hand out The New York Times. Ask students to look over the front page of the News or Sports section. Have one or two choose an article and read aloud the first paragraph.

■ Point out that these items tell us about an event; they are narratives. What would we have to do to turn them into a play? (Students may mention the need for characters, for action or showing as opposed to telling, for conflict, etc. If they are hesitant, you might refer them to such TV shows as “Law and Order”, “CSI”, etc.)

GROUP ACTIVITY

■ At this point, divide students into groups of four or five. Ask them to choose one article from the front page and then, plan a play based on that article. ■ How many characters will they need? Who will they be? What will be the problem or conflict that eventually propels the action? Allow 20 to 25 minutes for this process. Then, ask each group to choose one person to report back to the class on what the group decided, any difficulties they had, etc. Students should begin to see some of the problems in playwriting, not the least of which, is the lack of a narrator. (The next lesson will deal with devices the playwright can use to solve some of these problems.)

■ What the students wish to communicate can’t simply be told; it has to be dramatized. While a reporter must inform his readers about an event or issue that has already unfolded, a playwright must make his audience feel they are seeing the situation take place as they are watching.

MATERIALS

LESSON 2

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WHAT MAKES A PLAY A PLAY?

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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

■ Hand out Worksheets. Same assignment as last time. Read a review. Clip it. Answer questions on worksheet. Also, ask students to reconsider, think about the work they did in groups.

LESSON 2

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WHAT MAKES A PLAY A PLAY?

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● The New York Times, one copy for each student● Worksheet, one copy for each student● Notes and plans for a play from the previous day

OTHER PLAYWRITING DEVICES

What means can the playwright use, other than dialogue, to tell us about the characters or the action?

(This should appear on the board.)

HOMEWORK REVIEW

■ Give students five to eight minutes to comment on the review they read as homework. If any of the critical observations they read offer at least some answers to the question on the board, spend a little more time on it.

THE LESSON

Ask your students the following:

● When you read a novel, or a news article, how do you find out what the setting looks like?● How do you know what characters are thinking if they don’t talk about it or if it differs from what they are actually saying?● Even more important, how do you learn the background of the characters, which may explain why they react the way they do?

In a play, what devices can the playwright use to convey the setting and the characters’ thoughts and background? In short, what can he or she use as a substitute for the narrative voice?

Consider these examples:

■ A couple is arguing. The husband wants their son to attend a city university because it’s cheaper. The wife wants their son to attend an expensive, Ivy League school. What I, the playwright, want the audience to know is that there is something false here; that the couple has more than enough money for any school. How can I communicate this to the audience without one of the characters saying so directly?

■ We see a comfortable living room. The phone is ringing. A woman, dressed in a black dress with white apron, white collar and cuffs, comes running on stage, picks up the phone, and says, “Yes, the Rolands are flying home and going directly to the

MATERIALS

LESSON 3

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hospital. No, no, their son was driving his own car. No, he’s never had an accident before. Yes, I’ll tell them you called.” What do we, the audience, now know about the Rolands, and how do we know it?

NEWSPAPER ACTIVITY

■ For further illustration, the teacher should direct the student’s attention to an article on the front page — reporting an act of violence, the troubles of a highly placed executive, or any other subject — and ask what non-verbal devices the students would use in the opening scene of a play based on this event.

GROUP ACTIVITY

■ Have students in yesterday’s groups work together on the non-verbal devices (in other words, the stage directions) for this news-based scene. Allow no more than 10 minutes and then ask them to report back to the class as a whole.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

■ Hand out worksheets. Ask students to find a review of a musical. If there is none in the paper on that day, you might ask them to go The Times on the Web (nytimes.com) and find a review of a musical that has opened within the past six months. They should then answer the questions on the worksheet in the same way they have done previously.

LESSON 3

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● The New York Times, one copy for each student● Tapes, CD’s, or videos of at least two musicals*● Tape deck, CD player or VCR● Worksheet, one copy for each student

(* Although the lesson cites specific songs and shows, dozens of others would work as effectively. If CD players or tape decks are not available, there are videos of many film musicals that would work just as well.)

MUSICAL THEATER, OR WHERE DID THE PLAYWRIGHT GO?

■ A drama is usually written by a single playwright but a musical is often written by three people — the composer, the lyricist, and the person who wrote “the book,” also known as the libretto. The book consists of the spoken words of the musical, the basic plot, the glue that keeps the songs together. Nevertheless, the book takes third place. Why does this happen? Where did the playwright go? To begin to answer this question we have to look at the way music and dance function in a musical.

THE LESSON

Hand out The Times. Ask students to find a lighter news article in The Times; it should be interesting, possibly dramatic, but not grim.

● Call on students to read the first paragraph of the article aloud.● Ask the class to speculate about the type of musical sound they can imagine as background to the event reported in the article.● If students were creating a musical of this event, to which person in the story would they give the first song?● What would that character sing about?

After two or three discussions of this kind your class should be able to answer the question of how songs function in a musical. But leave the question unanswered at this point.

Instead, ask students to listen.

■ Play the overture to “West Side Story.” The 1957 show has music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents. In the overture, which passages suggest that this is a play about conflict, troubles; which passages convey romance?

■ Play the opening number, or “Prologue,” and then the first song, “Jet Song.” In the “Prologue,” the dramatic dance movements of the rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, tells us a lot about the characters and their world. (The show was conceived by a famous musical and ballet choreographer, Jerome Robbins, who re-imagined “Romeo and Juliet” as it might be set in a slum area of New York city in the 1950’s.) In the words of “Jet Song,” as well as its dance movements, we learn more about the story and gangs as substitute families. Discuss.

MATERIALS

LESSON 4

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■ Play the first song of “Chicago,” called “All That Jazz.” The 1975 show, set in the late 20’s, has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse (who directed and choreographed the show), based on the play “Chicago” by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It is a good-time song, in which chorus girl Velma Kelly (and company), in song and dance, invites listeners to join her in her fast-paced life. But this is also a show about murder and a celebrity culture not unlike our own. Discuss how song and dance are used in this opening number.

■ Students should now be ready to answer the question: What role or roles do music and dance play in these shows?

■ Students will begin to realize that music and dance can set the scene, reveal character, forward the action. In short, it can do things that the narrator or the narrative voice does in a novel.

HOMEWORK REVIEW

■ How did the review you read last night differ from the previous ones you’ve read? What issues were discussed that are unique to musical theater? Why does the person who wrote “the book” take third place?

LESSON 4

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● The Arts section of The New York Times, one copy for each student

HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW OF A PLAY OR MUSICAL

THE LESSON

Ask your students the following:

1. If someone you hardly knew told you that he had just looked at a really beautiful painting, what problem might you have in understanding or, for that matter, picturing it? What questions might you ask him?

2. If you are writing a review for a newspaper, for thousands of people whom you have never met, you cannot talk to them as you do to a friend. To a friend one might simply say —“Boring” or “Yuch” or “Cool.” Why can’t you do this when writing for newspaper readers?

3. In short, to evaluate a play or musical for a large audience, what must a critic do? (He or she must set up some sort of criteria for judging a show, in order to explain in some detail what makes the work effective.)

4. Can we decide on criteria for an effective play? Are the characters believable? Are the actors believable in their roles? Does the play convey its message, or mood, effectively? Do some of these aspects apply to musicals? Do the songs and dances tell us about the characters or advance the story? (List student suggestions on the board.)

There are purely visual issues as well. For example: If a scene is supposed to take place in the dead of night and the stage is well lit, it strains credibility. Since a play is a live performance, we have to “believe” what we see or are being told, and so we come to the issue of production values (set, costumes, lighting, etc.) that a critic must also consider.

5. What was the playwright or production trying to do? Did he or she do it? If we were meant to laugh, did we laugh; or, if we were to cry, did we cry? If we didn’t, why did the work fail? If we did, how or why did it succeed? And finally, the value judgment that all critics must make, was the work worth doing in the first place?

DEVELOPING CRITERIA: How to help students think critically about theater.

Initial response: All criticism begins with a subjective, and often very personal reaction. “I loved it.” “I hated it.” “It was exciting.” “It was so boring.” Students should feel free to react this way to a performance they see.

MATERIALS

LESSON 5

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However, a critical evaluation of a performance begins when they take this initial reaction and begin to ask why. If it was “boring,” why was it boring? Was there too much talk? Too little action? If they loved it, was it because they loved the characters? If they hated it, was it because the characters were obnoxious? Or, was the plot silly or unbelievable or, was it in fact, so believable, so close to their experience that they couldn’t look away?

Some background: Since the fourth century B.C., when Aristotle delivered his lectures known as The Poetics, critics have been trying to identify characteristics of effective drama. In regard to the serious dramas of his day (what we now think of as classic tragedies), Aristotle emphasized the importance of such factors as:

● An individual’s character should be revealed by the action of the play.

● Plot and expressive use of words are among the key elements conveying a work’s meaning.

● Unity of plot, with a clear central action driving the play, is vital.

● Since action springs from character, the ending must have a compelling logic to it; it must seem inevitable or probable.

While standards have evolved since then, many of Aristotle’s basic ideas still guide critics and playwrights today. In fact, when American playwright Arthur Miller referred to his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1949 play “Death of a Salesman, as a “tragedy,” some critics objected that it wasn’t really a tragedy in the Aristotelian sense since its central character was brought down by forces outside of himself as much as by frailties of his own character.

Comedy: Like tragedy, comedy should in its own way reflect reality; it often represents an action that has gone awry. (e.g., I walk down the street looking like the soul of dignity in my business suit and tie, and then I slip on a banana peel.) The result of an action in comedy is often, humorously, the reverse of what was expected or intended. Or, comedy may simply mean a piece of theater in a lighter vein.

Musical Theater: Musical theater can be tragic (“West Side Story”) or comic (“Chicago”) but there are elements to be considered that are peculiar to this form. Do the music, lyrics and dance capture or give voice to the mood or problem of the plot? Do the musical moments flow naturally from what is happening on stage?

Bottom Line: The “I loved it” or “I hated it” reaction reflects what the performance or the play itself did or did not do. Allowing for students’ immediate emotional reactions, you should encourage them to answer these questions:

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LESSON 5

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● What were the playwright, songwriters and choreographer or composer trying to do?● Did they succeed ? If not, why not? If so, why? ● Was the work worth performing in the first place? What is the role of the director in pulling their individual efforts, as well as those of the actors, together?

GROUP ACTIVITY

■ Divide students into groups and ask them to read a review in The Times and see if they can pick out answers the critic gave to some of the questions discussed, or, what criteria did the critic use to evaluate the play?

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

■ We will be going to see a show. Afterward, write a review of it, applying what you have learned in class. When we go to the theater, make sure you keep the program because you will need to consult it when you write your review.

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● The New York Times, one copy per student● CD album covers

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE “BIZ” IN SHOWBIZ

Few people realize that the entertainment industry is one of the largest in New York. On any given day, there are thousands of people working in theaters as well as many more working in non-performance jobs directly related to entertainment.

THE LESSON

Hand out The Times. Have students turn to the Theater Directory (also known as the ABC list) in the Arts section. Ask them to do the following: ● Count the number of musicals on and off Broadway at the moment.● Count the number of dramas.● Multiply the number of musicals by 125 (as there are at least that number involved in any given production).● Multiply the number of dramas by 25-30.● Total all the figures and you have an approximation of the numbers involved in performance.

GROUP ACTIVITY

■ Divide class into groups of three or four. Have students examine the rest of the Arts section and ask each group to list five to 10 entertainment-related jobs, including reporters, critics, photographers, etc. After several minutes, ask each group to report back to the class and list on the board.

■ Inform the students that in any production there are more people working backstage than onstage, and let them speculate on what those people are doing. You may wish to remind them of the following:

● Building a set requires not only stage and lighting designers but carpenters and electricians as well.

● A costume designer may draw sketches of the costumes he or she wants but it requires seamstresses and pattern cutters to turn those sketches into a reality.

● To mount a show on Broadway or off Broadway requires investors. Since producing a show can run into millions of dollars, any production requires many investors.

● Once the investors have written their checks, the show has been cast, the theater

MATERIALS

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selected and an opening date set, the process of selling the show to the public begins. It is the marketing director who must consider which are the best markets for this show. Will it appeal to the young, the old, the tourist trade, the city folk, the suburban crowd? Decisions on markets will affect where the advertisements for the show are placed, how the advertising specialists design and word the ads. All shows need an audience, and it is the marketing and advertising experts who help attract that audience.

● In the music business, composers or rock stars need a recording studio, sound engineers, disc jockeys, etc. to bring their music to life.

● At this point, you might want your students to examine some album covers and to speculate on the different people required to produce these.

■ In addition, lawyers who specialize in entertainment issues work on contracts and copyrights. Performers need agents to help them get the jobs or concerts they want. Dancers need physical therapists and orthopedic doctors.

■ The number and variety of entertainment-related jobs offer students career options to consider. A list of individuals who work on a production is found in the Playbill or program of the show, and this might be a means to discuss career opportunities.

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CORRELATION

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CORRELATION OF LESSONS TO NATIONAL CONTENT STANDARDS

The lessons in this curriculum guide are correlated with relevant national standards from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). These standards represent a compilation of most state standards.

Each McREL standard has subcategories, or benchmarks, for different levels of instruction. For details, see www.mcrel.org/standards.

SOURCE: “Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education,” by John S. Kendall and Robert J. Marzano (2000, 3rd ed.); Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Denver, Colo. www.mcrel.org/standards/

Used by permission of McREL, 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500, Denver, Colo. 80237-2596; (303) 337-0990.

LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process

Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing

Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions

Gathers and uses information for research purposes

Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process

Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts

Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts

Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

Understands the characteristics and components of the media

LESSONSWRITING

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LESSONS

LESSONS

LESSONS

LESSONS

MEDIA

VIEWING

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

READING

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CORRELATION

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CORRELATION OF LESSONS TO NATIONAL CONTENT STANDARDS

Understands how informal and formal theatre, film, television and electronic media productions create and communicate meaning

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

THEATRE STANDARDS

Knows and applies appropriate criteria to music and music performances

Understands the relationship between music and history and culture

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

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MUSIC STANDARDS

Contributes to the overall effort of a group

Displays effective interpersonal communicating skills

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

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WORKING WITH OTHERS STANDARDS

Understands dance as a way to create and communicate meaning

Understands dance in various cultures and historical periods

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

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DANCE STANDARDS

Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument

Understand and applies basic principles of logic and reasoning

Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences

Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques

Applies decision-making techniques

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

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THINKING AND REASONING STANDARDS

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CORRELATION

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Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and different ways that groups function

Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6

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BEHAVIORAL STUDEIES

Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

ART CONNECTIONS

Studies or pursues specific job interests

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

LIFE WORK

Understands the nature and uses of different forms of technology.

LESSONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 ● ● ● ● ● ●

TECHNOLOGY

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