Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz
The 14th and 15th of February will be days I remember for the rest of my life. A wonderful Valentine's Day and Birthday. This semester I am teaching an English course called English and Drama. Part of the class curriculum required the students to perform in a play (usually 15 minutes in length). The 3rd year English BA's have a reputation as a group of misfits that are hard to motivate and sort of like the group that couldn't shoot straight. After their performances their reputation on campus has improved immensely.
Note: The Thai's have very long first names and are given nicknames as birth which is what I use here. If the name translates into English is is included in Parenthesis.
The cast of the Wizard of Oz (OZ) I matched to the type of personality of the character. Ton was my scarecrow and did the falling down physical stuff of the original. Pookie who played Dorothy could easily pass for a 14 year old girl (even though she is 21 years old). Pung (Bee) who played the Wicked Witch has the most evil smile and cackle that would make the original WW jealous. Nookie play the lion and had that part nailed down pretty good. Poopie as Glinda, Bill as the Tin Man and Arm as the Wizard were all pretty good.
Alice in Wonderland (AW) was also done very well. The entire cast of eight women did a fantastic job. Gao (chicken) played Alice. She's a small women that could easily pass for a teenage girl. She has a great giggle. Miss Bill played the dormouse and is sort of mousy. She also took on the role as the group's leader. Tay (rabbit) was the White Rabbit and could speak rather quickly. Som (orange) played the duchess and could sing way off key. Da played the fish, Fon (rain) played the frog footman, Bo as the cook and Bee played the Cheshire Cat (she has a great smile).
After about six classes the entire class was devoted to the practice for the plays. They had difficult times memorizing their lines (AW was 30 minutes long and OZ was 60 minutes long). We rehearsed 3 days a week and they had to be off of the scripts by January 15th. This got pushed to the 22nd of January. AW was moving right along going quit well. Oz on the other hand was not. So on the 22nd I told the OZ group that I would give them four more days to learn their lines. If not I would cancel the play and the persons not knowing their lines would only get half of the points for the play. The play was worth 50 points towards their final grade so 25 points was quit a bit. The only two that had their parts memorized were Poopie (Glenda) and Pung (WW). Well I came to rehearsal the next day and they said that they wanted to rehearse without me and since I thought they wouldn't meet the challenge I said OK. Well that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they ran through the play four times a night. I would come around for a few minutes a day to show my support but didn't say a word. It was their grades on the line.
Well Friday morning came and we rehearsed. They weren't perfect but had vastly improved. I was really proud that these seven people had the motivation and willingness to work that hard. Nonetheless the play went on as scheduled and all 15 students got their 50 points.
This is one of the best things I have ever done. I am proud of this group and love them dearly. If they forget whatever English they have learned and even my name they will remember in 50 years time some of their lines from this play. I can hear a 70 year old Bee telling her grandchildren "Who killed my sister? Who killed my sister?"
DERMAN
P.S. I will post pictures of the plays when they become available.
Note: The Thai's have very long first names and are given nicknames as birth which is what I use here. If the name translates into English is is included in Parenthesis.
The cast of the Wizard of Oz (OZ) I matched to the type of personality of the character. Ton was my scarecrow and did the falling down physical stuff of the original. Pookie who played Dorothy could easily pass for a 14 year old girl (even though she is 21 years old). Pung (Bee) who played the Wicked Witch has the most evil smile and cackle that would make the original WW jealous. Nookie play the lion and had that part nailed down pretty good. Poopie as Glinda, Bill as the Tin Man and Arm as the Wizard were all pretty good.
Alice in Wonderland (AW) was also done very well. The entire cast of eight women did a fantastic job. Gao (chicken) played Alice. She's a small women that could easily pass for a teenage girl. She has a great giggle. Miss Bill played the dormouse and is sort of mousy. She also took on the role as the group's leader. Tay (rabbit) was the White Rabbit and could speak rather quickly. Som (orange) played the duchess and could sing way off key. Da played the fish, Fon (rain) played the frog footman, Bo as the cook and Bee played the Cheshire Cat (she has a great smile).
After about six classes the entire class was devoted to the practice for the plays. They had difficult times memorizing their lines (AW was 30 minutes long and OZ was 60 minutes long). We rehearsed 3 days a week and they had to be off of the scripts by January 15th. This got pushed to the 22nd of January. AW was moving right along going quit well. Oz on the other hand was not. So on the 22nd I told the OZ group that I would give them four more days to learn their lines. If not I would cancel the play and the persons not knowing their lines would only get half of the points for the play. The play was worth 50 points towards their final grade so 25 points was quit a bit. The only two that had their parts memorized were Poopie (Glenda) and Pung (WW). Well I came to rehearsal the next day and they said that they wanted to rehearse without me and since I thought they wouldn't meet the challenge I said OK. Well that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they ran through the play four times a night. I would come around for a few minutes a day to show my support but didn't say a word. It was their grades on the line.
Well Friday morning came and we rehearsed. They weren't perfect but had vastly improved. I was really proud that these seven people had the motivation and willingness to work that hard. Nonetheless the play went on as scheduled and all 15 students got their 50 points.
This is one of the best things I have ever done. I am proud of this group and love them dearly. If they forget whatever English they have learned and even my name they will remember in 50 years time some of their lines from this play. I can hear a 70 year old Bee telling her grandchildren "Who killed my sister? Who killed my sister?"
DERMAN
P.S. I will post pictures of the plays when they become available.
posted by DERMAN at 12:50 AM
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