|
Links to plays : Olympian Myths Odysseus and the Cyclops Theseus and the Minotaur Perseus and Medusa I will send you the play by post if you book the workshop. If you need to print it from the website, paste it into Word, use 2 columns, and narrow the margins, and it will fit onto 2 sides. Useful Links: list of temple tasks cast lists acting tips pronouncing Greek names photos of costumes & props Preparing for the Greek Workshop There are a number of things it would be very helpful for you to do before my visit. I apologise for the length of this list but with your help the class will have an excellent day. There is a checklist at the end of the page you can use to help you make sure everything gets arranged. For the morning: 1. Leave a space at the side of the room for the model of the temple, and on the wall behind for a display on the Parthenon, and perhaps some photos of the children making the temple. 2. Please arrange a classroom assistant to help with the temple making (especially for younger classes). Also an assistant is essential for the afternoon to supervise scenery-making. 3. Please ensure the following are present in the classroom, and let me know in advance if you cannot supply any of them:
During the morning break I will set out the materials for making the temple, so we will need to make sure the tables are reasonably free of objects. 4. Divide the children into 2 groups of the same overall ability. These will be named Athens and Sparta and will compete with each other in games. The prize will be a statue which the children can paint. The two groups should sit on different sides of the carpet for the first part of the day (so I can pick on different teams to answer questions). 5. Please allocate children to the following groups for the temple-making activity, and on the day give me the list you have made. (click here for a list to print). The tasks are ordered by difficulty, rated 4 (most difficult) to 1 (fairly easy). The number of children in each group is in brackets. If necessary you can reduce or increase these numbers slightly.
making a display is only for classes of more than 32 children. The information for making the displays is provided by me on the day. You may want children to print pictures from this website - see the sections on the Parthenon and Athena. For the Afternoon: 6. For the plays we will have some children making scenery (while the actors are rehearsing). Please try to find a sheet (perhaps ask parents to send one in) which can be drawn on to show a temple, cave or labyrinth. Alternatively provide paper which can be used to make columns, pediment etc. to show a Greek building, or perhaps a statue. Felt tip pens etc. will be needed to make the scenery. Also please arrange an extra helper to supervise the scenery making as I will need your help with the actors. 7. Pick one of the plays for your class to perform. (You may have already told me this in which case I will be sending you the play by post). For year 3 and 4 I recommend the Olympian Myths. This is a series of short myths about the 12 main gods. For each child acting as a god there will be another reading out the myth, so 24 children will be involved in all (we can increase this number to 28 maximum). For smaller classes children can double roles. There are also three plays with a single story you can choose from, which are more challenging. They are suitable only for year 5 or 6 or high ability year 4. You can read and print these four plays here: Olympian myths Odysseus and the Cyclops Theseus and the Minotaur Perseus and Medusa Please let me know which play you have chosen. I need to know so I can bring the right props and costumes. Email me at tnorth67@hotmail.com or telephone me on 0161 438 6634. 8. Now decide which of the children is going to be in the play. The number depends on the cast list for the play. After the teaching part of the afternoon the acting children will rehearse and the rest will make scenery (backdrop and columns). One child may act as a stagehand. Please therefore make a list which I can refer to of who will be playing what role. Click here for lists of the characters you can print. Only narrators speak lines (except in the authentic versions of the plays). Also it is quite all right to give children a character of the other sex. Please give the lead role (Perseus, Odysseus, or Theseus) to a bright child who will remember all the complicated movements required to perform the part.< 9. It will be helpful if you can read through the play with the class a day or so before the workshop. I will send you the play formatted to fit on two pages. If you copy from the web site, paste it into Word, change it to two columns, and narrow each margin to 1.5cm, and it will fit onto two sides. Make one copy per narrator. Get the narrators to practise reading in front of the class. They do not have to memorise it but their reading will be much better if they have practised. This is to prepare children to rehearse the play with me. We will have a fairly short time to rehearse on the day, so it will help if the children have some idea of what actions they will be performing at what time. Only the narrators will speak, and so the actors, wearing costumes and holding props, will be miming all the actions. As part of this lesson, you can discuss what good acting is. Click here for some discussion points. You could also talk about the play itself, why the characters act as they do, what feelings they have, and so on. For example, the Cyclops acts as he does partly because he is savage by nature, but also because he has been invaded by strangers and thinks they trying to steal from him. 11. Invite another class to watch the final performance of the play, which will take place 25 minutes before the end of the school day. This will encourage the children to take the whole thing seriously and do their best. 12. Make sure the hall is reserved for the afternoon, from 30 minutes after the afternoon session starts (i.e. after the end of dinner) to the end of the day. Before the rehearsal begins some children will arrange seats into a semicircle, in the style of a Greek theatre. Also please have a cheque made out to Time Trips for the appropriate amount (£169 per day) ready at the end of my visit. I can provide an invoice if needed.Thank you! PREPARATION CHECKLIST
|