Learning Out Loud

In seventh grade English, students typically read and write fiction, non-fiction and poetry. In the past few years Ardsley Middle School has added a groundbreaking new program which opens seventh grade minds to another genre. Students now learn theatre, in a unique hands-on program that reinforces core learning principles, helps develop 21st century skills, and allows students to discover and display their creative potential.

Ardsley Middle School's project-based approach, a collaboration between the English faculty and Jeff Baron, the school's Author-in-Residence, divides the entire seventh grade into small groups, each of which writes, produces and performs an original short play. They learn the basics of theatre - creating characters; constructing a plot; telling a story through action, dialog, sets and costumes; and finally, performing it live for an audience. It's an engaging process which also teaches valuable problem solving, collaboration, communication and public speaking skills.

The program began four years ago when Baron, a professional screenwriter and award-winning playwright (www.jeffbaron.net) came to Ardsley Middle School’s 7th grade classes to talk about the writing process and to try out his first novel, I Represent Sean Rosen, which has a seventh grade narrator. Over the next four years, Baron continued to work with school’s English faculty on learning programs and what has evolved is an immersive theatre program that takes place over the last six weeks of the school year with professional mentoring throughout the process. The 175 seventh graders are divided into teams of four to six students and each group writes an original short play, then produces and performs it. Although the groups collaborate on every aspect of the play, students within each group have specific leadership roles - Director, Head Writer, Costume Designer, Set Designer or Producer - selected based on their individual interests and strengths.

Six week program with wide spread benefits

In English class, the teachers introduce the students to the basic elements of theatre through mini-lessons and guided group work around character, setting, conflict, dialogue, sets, props, costumes and sound design. Teachers give the groups class time to brainstorm and come up with ideas for their five minute long play. During the process, students confer with one another, perform for one another and provide feedback -- it is a true workshop with each member actively involved.

During Baron's first visit, all 34 groups pitch one or two short play ideas and Baron explains what he likes about each idea, what questions he has about the story and characters, and how the idea might or might not work well as a play. He gives specific suggestions for using elements of theatre to tell the story. "You can use a sound effect to let us know the plane is going down." "Here are three different ways you can let us know a week has passed."

This feedback is given in front of the other groups, in the style of a master class. Hearing both Baron and their teachers reactions to other groups' ideas, students hear concepts and tools they might be able to use on their own idea. They also develop critical thinking, comparing their own observations with those of a theatre professional.

Next, under the direction and guidance of the English teachers and using technology (Google Docs, Kanban, Trello) to manage their workflow and collaboration, each group commits to an idea and writes a draft of their five minute play. At the same time, they begin assembling the sounds, set elements and costumes that will be part of their production. Many of the seventh grade plays incorporate video, to depict flashbacks and other scenes that are hard to put across on a 'stage' that is actually the front of a classroom.

Baron comes back to AMS to hear each group read their play out loud. He gives specific notes and suggestions about dialogue, pacing, and very often, about how to end the play. Everything is geared to keeping an audience interested, and telling a story clearly. Although the students pay careful attention to the input they receive, they are also encouraged to decide for themselves what they want their plays to be.

According to Cameron Brindise, ”By having Jeff, a playwright and mentor provide professional input, students realize more than ever that writing is a process. It's challenging, but important for students to take productive criticism into consideration, then figure out how to maintain the integrity of their work."

The next week in the classrooms is spent fine-tuning the scripts and producing and rehearsing the plays. Most of the seventh graders are actors in their plays, which in itself is something ground-breaking. According to School Librarian Jean Mancuso, part of the original team that developed the program, "That was part of our vision. We don't have a formal speech class, so one of our goals was to have kids be more comfortable in front of an audience."

Baron returns for one last session with each of the groups, where he watches a rehearsal of each play. "Just like in professional theatre, you don't know what you have until the play is 'on its feet', and you frequently make a lot of changes at the last minute, based on the realities of the performing situation. Other than reminding the students to face the audience and speak so everyone can hear, I focus on the overall story and how well they're telling it using all of the elements of their production. Sometimes I make specific suggestions - You've already made your point here. You can cut the next six lines, and the story will move better. - and sometimes I tell the groups what questions to ask their 'preview audiences' - their classmates and teachers, to make sure people know what's happening in the play.

Feedback and revisions lead to final performances

The big day finally comes, when all 34 plays receive their world premieres, their first performance for an audience of strangers. Fifth and sixth grade English classes are brought into the seventh grade classrooms, where they watch the plays and are asked to judge them based on five categories: Engagement, Dialogue, Props and Staging, Rhythm and Flow, and Overall Impression.

There's an incentive to score well with the audience. Plays with the highest scores get to perform for the entire seventh grade and Jeff Baron on the last day of school. That day, after the top six plays receive their final performances, the seventh grade teachers recognize students for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Costumes and Set Design.

According to Brindise, "This program asks students to come out from behind the computer, the book, the written page. It offers students the platform to explore the art of storytelling while collaborating with one another under the pressure of a deadline and live performance. The work we do all year around character development, setting and conflict comes together in this unit -- students are asked to tell an engaging story with a beginning, middle and end within the five minute confines of a play. I'm proud to say that every single one of them met this challenge and created something worth seeing."

Seventh grade student Juliet Stempler said, “I personally loved this project. It gave me a chance to act, and to interact with students I don’t usually hang out with. I am usually very shy, but after seeing everyone try, it made it easier to get in front of the room and speak.”

Lisa Licari, seventh grade English teacher and part of the original team that came up with the program, said, "I thought it went so well. The fifth and sixth graders who voted on the plays will soon be the seventh graders who get to experience the program, and I think they'll have an extra degree of excitement because they know what's coming down the road. And to have a successful playwright's perspective during each stage of the process adds a dimension that I, an ELA teacher for 25 years, can't possibly replicate."