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In this Social Studies Theater Workshop, an artist works with teachers to devise a three-day residency designed to give students a deeper connection to historical characters and/or current events rel... Read more

In this Social Studies Theater Workshop, an artist works with teachers to devise a three-day residency designed to give students a deeper connection to historical characters and/or current events related to a current study unit. Students learn how to develop a detailed historical or current day character by creating a personal biography as well as physical and vocal characterization. Students are prepared to present a specific viewpoint that takes into consideration their character"s motivations, feelings, and aspirations using historically-available resources. HartBeat's teaching artist works closely with the classroom teacher to identify primary sources for students to investigate their respective characters as well as other resource material such as History Alive or Junior Scholastic. Students are taught theater skills such as improvisation, script writing and character development. Final presentations may include developing theatrical scenes or alternative creative formats such as a television talk show. Our workshops are highly customizable. Topics that have been studied in the past are: events leading up to the US Revolutionary War; the UN"s Convention on the Rights of the Child and debate over "taxing the rich."