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Costume pieces
Recorded music

Paper and pencils

Desks and tables cleared so that there is space to create.

I CAN improvise onstage, using my own words to communicate what is needed in a scene.

I CAN compare the environmental needs 100 years ago and today.

I CAN identify the economic decisions that influence the environment and the daily lives of people.

DAY ONE: Teaching artist will involve the students in a discussion about their meaningful experiences living on the Earth, specifically their experiences in the natural world. Students will be led in the writing of a poem that expresses one of the moments that stands out for them. The class will be involved in theatre exercises that will help students to dramatize poetry. Students will then break up into small groups and will select a poem to dramatize. Teacher and teaching artist will help groups select and practice the dramatizations. Students will share their poems to music for the class.


DAY TWO: Students will be involved in a discussion about the lives of people living in Connecticut 100 years ago, and the problems that have arisen since then with regards to the increased population, the warming of the planet, and the way an increased population is using water, plastic, electricity, and so on. Students will share their ideas regarding the ways in which we can help to save the Earth. Students will learn about improvisation and the elements of character, setting, plot, and conflict found in improvisation. The class will be led in simple improvisational exercises. Students will move into smaller groups and will choose to create a short scene of how people lived in Connecticut 100 years ago followed by a scene about how things are today with regards to how we live on the planet. Eg. Students shopping for groceries at the store then and now, showing all the plastic bottles and the packaging involved. Another scene might involve students studying by kerosene lamp and then a scene from today involving students playing music on their phones, leaving lights on all around the apartment, and wasting water, etc. Teacher and teaching artist will assist the groups in coming up with ideas for improvisations. Improvisations will end with students sharing just what we can do to help the Earth.

DAY THREE: Students will review what has taken place prior to Day Three and will be involved in sharing their improvisations. Teaching artist will introduce theatre terminology such as projection, staying in character, listening to each other onstage, and blocking, as well as terms such as upstage and downstage. Students will begin to develop an original show that will begin with dramatized poetry about what is beautiful about living on the Earth today, and then move into improvisations about how people lived in Connecticut 100 years ago and how things have changed in 2019-2020. The show will end with each group sharing ways in which we can help save the Earth.


DAY FOUR: Students will be guided through the show from the beginning to the end and will be led in a formal rehearsal process in which the terminology of theatre will be used and what has been learned about theatre will be applied by teaching artist in the work that is being dramatized.

DAY FIVE: Students will perform TEAM SAVE THE EARTH for classes that have been invited to the presentation. At the end of the performance, students will share with the audience the ways we can be part of the team that helps to save the Earth. Students will engage audience members by asking them if they have other ideas about how we can help.