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Hold Fast to Dreams: Bringing Poetry to Life and the Stage! (PK - 5)

Last changed: 07/13/2022 8:47pm
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PK , K , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5
Theater English
Grade Level Program Alignment
1 120 min
We work with the students for one hour prior to the show, followed by their participation in a 50 minute to one hour dramatic production. Note: Pre-performance workshops with individual or combined classrooms in one or more grade level, culminating in same-day performance. NOTE: If allowed, we encourage more than one grade level participating in both the pre-performance workshop and performance!
Combo In-School Performance & In-School Workshop One hour Pre-Performance Workshop followed by 50-60 minute Performance
All year In-School, Virtual
$10 40
yes Email , Phone
We provide simple study guide with writing prompts, scenery, props and some percussion instruments for the children to use during the performance.
Two tables on cleared stage, space (a different cleared classroom or larger space to work in), a table in lobby area for our freestanding display, stairs/risers/gym mats on floor, centered, in front of stage for optional access to stage, stage lights in working order (brief meeting with someone who knows how to work them), and cart to carry heavy props and speakers.
I can name several famous poets .I can act out and recite some of "Hold Fast to Dreams!" by the great Langston Hughes. I can use my voice in different ways to change the feeling of a poem when I recite it.I can create a group poem with my classmates.
Hold Fast To Dreams: Bringing Poetry to Life and the Stage! This program consists of two parts. One: Grumbling Gryphons director Leslie Elias and winner of 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero Award can work solo or with actors/ teachers with individual classes in a pre-performance poetry and drama workshop. Leslie and actor (s) will work with classroom students to generate ideas and come up with a short performance piece to share in the performance with Grumbling Gryphons. Well-known poetry that span the ages by famous poets (may include Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot. Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, E.E. Cummings, Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Ogden Nash and more) as well as modern day poetry (such as rap and new genres) in the performance, depending on time and age level . If time allows, we will incorporate original work of the students into the performance. During the pre-performance, each group under our guidance and direction will enact a group poem. These students will perform this in our presentation using movement, drama and vocal expressions. Note: We offer an additional special option to teachers to send us their students poetry in advance, based on several writing prompts, which we will provide in advance of our visit. We will choose one to five of the student"s poems that our company will dramatize and perform in our production! At the end of the performance of our play, we will lead a follow up discussion with the students to ensure and assess their understanding.
A brief minute phone meeting is required . This initial phone contact is KEY to understanding our participatory process and custom design the days schedule TOGETHER. In this conversation we will learn about your schools' specific needs and jointly work out the schedule for both pre-performance workshops and the same day performance.We will follow through with a detailed email outlining simple steps in our participatory process. ( KEY: Filling out our list we provide for you with columns of names of teachers, how many students in each class and grade level) and any lunch, recess or specials that we need to program around. Once we have this school information sheet filled out, we then come up with a tentative workshop/ performance schedule which we send to you for your approval. Once approved, we send by snail mail or email (whichever you prefer!)
Parent Engagement Opportunities: We encourage teachers, administrative staff and parents to participate and join in on this fun, educational program, both during workshops and the performance. The children enjoy seeing their teachers up on stage with them. Teachers and parents are a great help if they play along in the scene with the students. No prior theatrical experience needed! Adults can help by either being in the scenes, or by handing out masks/props at the beginning of workshops/performance. There is no limit to caregivers' participation, the more the merrier!

Grade PK

PK : Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details #1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
PK: Speaking and Listening Standards: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas #6: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
PK: Theater: Responding: Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.a. With prompting
and support, actively engage in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Grade K

Grade K : Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details #1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Grade K: Speaking and Listening Standards: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas #6: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Grade K: Theater: Responding: Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.a. With prompting
and support, actively engage with others in dramatic
play or a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Grade 1

Grade 1: Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details #1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Grade 1: Reading Standards for Literature: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity #10: With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
Grade 1: Theater: Performing: Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
a. With prompting and support, use movement and gestures to communicate emotions in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Grade 2

Grade 2: Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details #4: Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
Grade 2: Reading Standards for Literature: Craft and Structure #6: Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue.
Grade 2: Theater: Performing:Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
b. Alter voice and body to expand and articulate nuances of a character in a guided drama experience
(e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Grade 3

Grade 3: Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details # 1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Grade 3: Reading Standards for Literature: Craft and Structure #5: Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier scenes.
Grade 3: Theater: Performing:Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
b. Alter voice and body to expand and articulate nuances of a character in a guided drama experience
(e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama)

Grade 4

Grade 4: Reading Standards for Literature: Key Ideas and Details #2: Determine a theme of a story, drama or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
Grade 4: Reading Standards for Literature: Craft and Structure #5: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
Grade 4: Theater: Performing: Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
b. Make physical choices to develop a character in a drama/theatre work.

Grade 5

Grade 5: Reading Standards for Literature: Craft and Structure #4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
Grade 5: Theater: Performing: Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
b. Use physical choices to create meaning in a drama/theatre work.