I like to think of this as “living room” style theater, laid back and maybe just a small step up from the productions we use to put on in the entry way of our house as kids. Students will learn theater basics such as vocal warms ups, improvisation, simple set and costume design, line memorization, and have the opportunity to perform with an ensemble cast. We will use Playing with Plays (Shakespeare for Kids & Classics for Kids) by Brendan Kelso, a fellow homeschooler, for our scripts, with the goal of two different play performances for family and friends, one at the end of each semester. All Playing with Plays adaptations include scripts for small, medium, and large sized groups, so no matter the class size we will be able to put on a play!
I always loved theater as kid and participated in One Act plays in high school, so our first year homeschooling we did Playing with Plays version of Hamlet with my kids, niece, and nephew, so that I could give them a taste of what it takes to put on a play. My middle son, who is on the autism spectrum and generally isn’t a fan of group activities, was reluctant to participate, however, he came out of his shell like I’ve never seen! The kid could act, who knew?! I share that to encourage any student who thinks that theater might not be for them, to give it a shot anyway, because you just never know. “There are no small parts, only small actors” -Konstantin Stanislavski
