Puppetry and Performances!

We are getting in to a very busy time of year for OWS drama! Most of the grade level performances happen in the spring which means much of our drama class time is spent rehearsing. The second grade show, Every Day is Earth Day is taking place on Earth Day, April 22. For the drama portion of the performance, each class is performing a short play with environmentally friendly themes. The first grade performance will take place on May 6th, and the theme is Weather. The fourth grade play, Lewis and Clark's Excellent Adventure, will be on May 27th and the fifth grade will perform The American Revolution on June 11th. These grade level performances provide all of the students with the opportunity to be part of a play from beginning to end and perform in front of an audience.

In other drama news, kindergarten and first grade students have been learning all about puppetry and creating their own puppets! We began by making simple finger and stick puppets and now the kindergartners are making hand puppets and the first graders, marionettes. They will use these puppets to perform original puppet shows for their classmates.

Happy Hoops in the New Year!

Happy New Year to all! We are starting off the new year with a movement unit called "Happy Hoops." Hoops aren't just for hula hooping anymore. Children can learn about the movement concepts of over, under, around and through with hoops, they can help in developing hand-eye and general coordination by spinning and rolling them and the hoops can also be used as targets to develop more accuracy when throwing or kicking. They are also a lot of fun and provide enjoyable and creative opportunities for healthy movement!

Dramatic Elements

One of the major themes of drama class throughout the years are the dramatic elements of plot, character and setting. Students in kindergarten and first grade learn what plot is by breaking stories down into the beginning, middle and end and then acting them out. Character and setting are studied in a similar manner, using familiar stories to demonstrate the different concepts.

When the students are in second and third grade we look at how the 5 W's (who, what, when, where and why) are related to the dramatic elements. The students participate in a variety of activities in which they must create and communicate different characters, setting, activities, times and motivations.

In the fourth and fifth grade students put all of this knowledge together when we work on Improv. They need to come up with characters, settings, plots and motivations for actions on the spot in order to be successful at improvisational acting. The student at OWS are so creative, which makes watching their improv scenes great fun!

Having a deep understanding of these dramatic elements not only improves the students acting, but also their understanding of what it takes to create a good story or play.

Third Grade Performance

Third grade students will perform Folktales From Around the World tomorrow at 1:30pm. Each class has chosen a folktale from a different country; The Thirsty Frog from Australia, The Blind Children and the Elephant from India and The Grateful Statues from Japan. The students have spent the past several weeks learning the music in music class and rehearsing the acting parts in drama class. We brought both pieces together to create three charming plays.

Bean Bag Boogie!

We have been doing the bean bag boogie in movement class for the past several weeks! The students have practiced balancing bean bags on different parts of their bodies, tossing and catching the bean bags themselves and with partners, throwing the bean bags for distance and accuracy, working with partners to try and carry bean bags while holding them with different body parts and even playing tag games with the bean bags.

These games and activities are helping the students to develop their fine and gross motor skills, hand/eye coordination, agility, balance and creative movement skills. The kids have really enjoyed tyring out different tricks with the bean bags and showing their classmates. Tricks have included throwing the bean bag in the air, clapping several times and then catching the bean bag, throwing the bean bag in the air spinning around and then catching the bean bag and even throwing the bean bag in the air and catching it with a different part of the body!

Peter Pan was a smashing success!

Last night the OWS Players put on a fantastic production of Peter Pan! The show was well attended and the audience really enjoyed the performance. The kids have worked very hard since September and all of their efforts paid off in a big way. Thanks so much to all of the parent volunteers who helped with refreshments, set up and clean up so we could all celebrate the great work done by the kids.

Look for the OWS Players Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock coming in March and starring students in first and second grade!

OWS Players News!

The OWS Players' fall production, Peter Pan, is rapidly approaching! Our show is on Wednesday, November 18th at 7:00 pm in the Roper Gym. Come cheer on OWS students in grades 3-8 as they entertain you with this classic tale!

Our winter show, Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock, is just for students in kindergarten through second grade. Rehearsals will begin on Friday, December 4th and the show will be on Thursday, March 11th at 6:00 pm. I look forward to beginning work on this fun and fast paced musical!