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Catalog of Critical Creativity

Creating with Words: Blackout Poetry

This form of poetry would be exciting to implement into a unit about script analysis. After performing a thorough reading and analysis of a play, the students choose a page of the script to do blackout poetry that illustrates a main theme of the play

Creating with Images: Emoji Story

An emoji story could be used to assess if students understand the plot to a play we read in class. Additionally, it can be used when rehearsing monologues to show which tactics or actions the student will use with each sentence.

Creating with Sounds: Song Catching

During a unit on devising, the students research songs by asking their peers outside of class what songs they think of when given a specific theme or emotion. For example, if the devised piece is about over-use of technology, they could ask their friends what songs they think about when they hear the word "FOMO" "anxiety" "techno" or "overwhelming." And then they could incorporate those songs into the performance.

Creating with the Body: Sensory Map

While exploring set design, the students could begin by practicing a sensory map of the room they are in. Then, they create a sensory map of the play they have been studying. What is the location? What do your senses tell you about that location? How does this inform your set design? This could also be used to inform sound and set design.

Creating with Stuff: Book Stack Summary

This activity could also be a way to assess students on their knowledge of a play (summary, themes, motifs). Additionally, it could be used to create text for a performance that is based off of an established piece.

Creating with Social Media: Character Gallery

While creating this gallery, students will be practicing character analysis. Additionally, this assignment can help the students understand the similarities or difference between them and the character.

Comments

  1. Katelyn TullisFebruary 27, 2020 at 8:21 PM

    Michael,

    Great ideas, I definitely want to steal some of them! Question: Most of these seem like activities that could lend themselves to something bigger rather than being the meat of the project themselves. How do you view these activities? Do you see them as leading to something else, or as end projects?

    Great work!
    Kate

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cami MorataFebruary 28, 2020 at 7:25 AM

    These are awesome ideas! I really like the sensory map idea; I don't know what it's like to be in a theater class, but I always assumed that it focused more on reading the script and interpreting it. I thought that sets had more to do with theater tech (which was a separate class at my high school and I don't know if that's the norm). I think having students analyze a set in terms of their senses helps them understand the play in another dimension. Really cool!

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