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Drama Scrapbook

Edison IB Theater 1 students studied Playwriting with the Arena Stage's Student Playwright Project
2005-2006

The Year-Long Student Playwrights Project Teacher Partnership
through Arena Stage

Edison IB Theatre 1 students each wrote 10 minute plays (3 were selected for performance at our Night of One Acts)

The class also wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Disney (or did I?) and performed at Washington D.C's Arena Stage

Information about the program (also available HERE)

The Student Playwrights Project Partnership is a multi-leveled Professional Development program for classroom teachers and university students to encourage playwriting and performance instruction for middle and high school youth. The use of improvisation and creative dramatics broaden and enrich students’ writing experiences in the classrooms. Also, dramatic performance is explored as a way to publish student work, improve literacy skills, and build self-confidence and community. The Student Playwrights Project also aims to blend different educational communities: schools, universities and Arena Stage. The Student Playwrights Project has four main components:

Act I – Professional Development for Teachers
Based on an application process, a select number of teachers attend training workshops at Arena Stage throughout the school year. These workshops explore topics such as improvisation, playwriting, and performance, as well as methods to utilize drama techniques to teach other subjects. Students of selected teachers are expected to perform in the spring showcase, as well as enter the Student Ten-minute Play Competition.

Act II – University Teaching Artists in the Classroom
A key resource provided to partner teachers is a University Teaching Artist (UTA) who serves as an artist-in-residence for one school year. The UTAs, handpicked and trained by Arena Stage, help the teacher best use drama with their classes. At the same time, the UTAs -- who are Washington, DC area university juniors, seniors and graduate students -- receive professional training and experience in the classroom.

Our Teaching Artist was Paige Hernandez. See her website here!

Act III – The Showcase
The showcase portion of this program has all participating students writing – individually and collaborative – a play to be performed at their school and at Arena Stage. As a culmination of their work with the UTA, the students create a theatrical production with their classmates. Acts I, II, and III are a comprehensive program, a teacher must have been selected through the application process to receive the trainings, the in-class University Teaching Artists, and for their students to perform at Arena Stage in the spring Student Showcase.

Act IV – Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Competition
All students, grade 7-12, in the DC Metro (including VA and MD) area are eligible to enter an original ten-minute play into Arena Stage’s annual springtime playwriting competition. Any teacher may request a one-time interactive playwriting workshop to help students prepare to write a play prior to the competition. Winning plays are workshopped, rehearsed and performed at Arena Stage with professional staff working close with the student playwrights.

The 2005-2006 Partners
Bell Multicultural School, Washington, D.C.
Bertie Backus Middle School, Washington, D.C.
Fair Oaks Academy, Fairfax, VA
Garnet-Patterson Middle School, Washington, D.C.
Jefferson Junior High School, Washington, D.C.
The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C.
Rocky Run Middle School, Chantilly, VA
Stuart Hobson Middle School, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Edison High School, Alexandria, VA
Walt Whitman Middle School, Alexandria, VA

The IB Theatre I class rehearses their play,
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Disney (or did I?)

For Teachers and University Students--
How to apply:
Teacher applications are accepted at the beginning of each school year, for a nine month partnership with Arena Stage. DC Metro area teachers, teaching grades seven through twelve, are encouraged to apply. University Teaching Artists also are selected at the beginning of the school year. Junior, Senior and Graduate Students studying theater at a university in the Washington, DC area are encouraged to apply. For more information, please call (202) 234-5782 or email education@arenastage.org