LOOKING FOR A SCHOOL PLAY FOR INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS?
GIVE READERS THEATER A TRY!
IMAGINE THIS SCENE
A group of Intermediate students have been looking for a school play to perform for an up-coming Parents' Night at their elementary school. Today they gather together to read aloud a Readers Theater script of an old folk tale, "The Hen and the Neighbor's Rooster". The group has spent some time rehearsing the script and is now ready to try out the reading in front of their class.
Some readers sit, some stand at the front of the classroom, facing their audience. A narrator stands behind a music stand, opens the colorful folder upon the stand, and begins to read. The reader taking the farmer's lines is wearing a straw hat and big boots. The Minister of Finance wears a suit and tie. The hen wears a feathery headpiece and a sign around the neck that says HEN! Other readers also wear simple costume pieces.
Narrator: Not too long ago, in the heart of farm country, there lived a farmer who owned an extremely intelligent hen.
The farmer smiles and waves to the audience. "Howdy folks," he says.
The story continues. The hen leaves the farm in search of riches and, being an extremely intelligent hen, flies to the federal Mint building and perches herself upon the desk of the Minister of Finance.
At one point, all readers join together to chant the hen's silly poem,
"Cluck cluck cluck! Cluck cluck cluck! The Minister is a lazy duck. And he knows how to pass the buckl"
As the reading progresses, the readers speak their narrations or character lines loudly and fluently. They read with enthusiasm from the scripts in front of them, and use gestures and facial expressions to help tell the tale. Once in a while readers stand and move a few steps from their reading positions to perform bits of stage business, but soon go back to their original spots.
The performers think their listeners are responding favorably. Audience members are smiling and paying close attention. In the end, it will be up to the rest of the class to decide whether this script is the school play they've been looking for.
Finally the story comes to an end with a moral:
All: Be yourselves, my sisters and brothers. Please don't try to imitate others. What's right for your neighbor May be wrong for you. And like the rooster, YOU'LL END IN A STEW!
The readers stand and bow. The audience applauds. Everyone is happy. It looks as though they have found the school play for Parent's Night after all.
SHOW TIME!
If you too are looking for a school play for performance in front of an audience and have decided to give readers theater a try, it's important to understand the difference between: A Readers Theater school play performance and a Traditional Theater school play performance.
A Readers Theater school play is different from a Traditional Theater school play in that it is a READING experience:
No memorization is necessary and, generally, very little stage movement is required. You won't have to concern yourself with special lights or sets. You may or may n?ot decide to use costume pieces or props to help identify the characters.
Watching a Readers Theater school play performance is somewhat like watching a group of readers read a radio play aloud. Only difference is, this group of readers knows it has a real audience watching (not just listening) so the performers don't use just their voices to communicate. They also call upon posture, gestures, small movements, and facial expressions to make the experience more enjoyable for the live audience.
READERS THEATER: DIRECTING THE SCHOOL PLAY
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR INTERMEDIATE READERS
Hold try-outs or assign reading parts, and post a rehearsal schedule. You will take on the director's job or assign a student to the task.
During rehearsals for the readers theater school play, encourage readers to explore their parts in depth. Emphasize eye contact, diction, character development, controlled movement or mime, energy. Aim for a well-paced, well-rehearsed performance.
When appropriate, help readers examine each character's feelings. How does a character feel at the beginning of the tale? How and why do those feelings change as the story progresses? In what ways might each reader communicate these feelings to the listeners? Encourage the use of vocal and volume changes, facial expressions, posture, and varying tempo patterns.
Encourage readers to use their imaginations by adding more elements to the reading performance, if desired. Special hats or costume pieces, masks, props or signs can often help readers tell the tale in a more imaginative fashion. Keep the additions simple, remembering that some readers will be required to hold the script folder in one hand while managing a prop in the other.
Remind readers to hold script folders down and away from their bodies. Readers may experiment to find comfortable and workable positions. Explain that facial expressions must be seen by the listeners, and spoken words must not be muffled by folders.
Stress oral interpretation. Rehearse until the piece runs smoothly, but don't ask readers to memorize lines. This is still a readers presentation. When ready, perform this school play for any special audience.
Encourage class members to research the tale in depth. Is it a folk or fairy tale? In what country was the story originally told? Has the story motif been identified in other countries too? If so, what special form did the story take? Are there similarities and/or differences?
Discuss story with readers by examining the individual characters, type of story, and story themes. Is the story worth rehearsing and sharing? Why? Why not? Encourage readers to speak their lines the way their character would say the lines. Experiment with theatrical voices.
Discuss with readers how each character feels as the story progresses. Suggest some different ways the readers can show the characters' inner feelings through their voices, facial expressions, and posture.
Suggest that readers underline their lines and write notes upon their own scripts. (Most Readers Theater scripts have been double spaced for this purpose.) Readers might underline important words to be stressed, mark pauses and inflections, or indicate good places for taking a needed breath. Other performance tips may be written in the margin.
Ask all readers to follow along in their own scripts when others are reading. In this way, they will be ready to read when it is their turn.
Encourage all readers and listeners to help "direct" the reading by commenting, critiquing, adding suggestions. Always stress oral clarity! Is the reader reading too fast, or too slowly? Does the reader need to concentrate on enunciation, articulation, or pronunciation of certain words? Can the reader be heard by all listeners?
Suggest the addition of costume pieces or props, but remember, Readers Theater doesn't require any theatrical effects. Scripts need only to be read aloud with expression, enthusiasm, and enjoyment! They have been written and designed to make oral reading fun.
By now I hope you've decided to use a Readers Theater script for your next school play performance. When you do, I know you'll be sold on Readers Theater!
CLASSROOM STRATEGIES
Not looking for a school play to perform outside the classroom?
Well, performing isn't the only way to make use of a Readers Theater script. Look below for two more ways to use Readers Theater scripts in the intermediate classroom.
INSTANT READING:
Duplicate scripts, as needed. Pass scripts to all class members, or ask students to share scripts in pairs. Ask students to read through the scripts silently. Assign parts to various members of the class. Ask them to take a few minutes to underline their assigned lines in the script. Ask readers to write their character name or reader number on the front of the script.
Now, assigned readers can read story aloud from their seats. Correct pronunciations, clarify meanings, and ask readers to make notes on their scripts, if needed. Try to keep the story moving, however!
Next, ask same readers to assemble in front of class for the second reading. When this reading is completed, discuss (story, reading, or both), reassign parts, swap scripts, and read again. Continue until interest lags. Collect scripts. You might want to have a classroom reading of this type on a regular basis, once or twice a week.
COOPERATIVE READING:
Assemble students of similar reading levels. Pass out appropriate scripts. Ask students to read through their scripts silently. Then assign practice spaces to each group. Groups may now break away and go to their practice spaces. Using cooperative learning techniques, each group assigns parts and rehearses its script. Suggestions for improvements, additions or changes must come from the group. Teacher may float from group to group encouraging the readers. Check to see that scripts have been underlined, as previously mentioned.
Allow readers to take scripts home so that some home rehearsal may be accomplished. Suggest reading script aloud with various family members.
Schedule the group presentations. You might feature one group presentation per day for a week, or hold a "Friday Festival" and present them all on the following Friday afternoon.
NOTE: You need not include all class members in a cooperative reading presentation. Depending upon the circumstances, selected groups may rehearse scripts for presentations at various times during the school year.
