D R A M A

PERFORMING ARTS TEACHER POSITION

PIE funds the K-12 Performing Arts position at the Vinalhaven School to enrich the students in a new arts forum since 2003.

Tara graduated from Bennington College in June with a focus in Dance and Drama. In her studies of drama, Tara gained extensive experience in both the technical and performance-based components of theater and has directed and choreographed productions in both educational and workshop settings. She has experience with children in a variety of settings that range from working as a counselor at an arts camp for Russian orphans to teaching at an environmentally focused school in Costa Rica. Her passion for education, her love of the creative process, and her interest in a community-oriented approach to education have all been engaged by the opportunity to teach drama in the Vinalhaven School. She is also excited about offering dance classes.

HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA


We hope to have another high school production take place this winter! Like Pippin last year, rehearsals for this production will take place after school as an extra-curricular program for high school students.  Stay tuned for more information.

MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA

This year, the middle school drama curriculum has been arranged into two semester long classes, with each class culminating in a final performance. As in past years, the students will be highly involved in creating and producing all aspects of the show. Taking part in set, light, and sound design projects will empower students to make creative choices about how their play is presented, while costume, hair, and makeup studies will further their work on character development. We started the semester off by getting to know each other with different kinds o f improvisation games. Students  took

 some time to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses and in class we discussed areas of particular interests and goals for each student. Now, we've begun reading several plays, all of which are being considered for performance. In our readings of these plays, we are talking about dramatic structure, plot, theme and  character. These discussions will enhance our understanding of the material and help guide our choice of a play. Once we've chosen our play, we will begin looking at dramaturgical approaches to the play and the basics of stage management. As the semester progresses we'll move into set design and other technical elements of the play. Students will undertake individual and group projects and in this way they will all contribute their own unique skills  to our final performance. Stay tuned to see what play we choose!

ELEMENTARY DRAMA

We've started the year off by exploring imagination and cooperative play through various improvisation games. Students are very excited about becoming better actors and exploring different ways of becoming animals and characters in imaginary worlds. In the first few classes we talked about all the things that are connected to the idea of drama, different emotions that we feel when we are in a theater, And important things to knowabout being on stage. We've also spent time exploring emotional and physical extremes and how we can express those with our bodies, faces, and voices. we will continue to look at the transitions between these extremes, encouraging students to discover what is between feeling really sad and really happy and guiding students to find multiple ways of expressing those emotions. Soon our improvisational work will extend beyond the body and we  will begin using objects and some costumes. Developing a sense of physical, vocal, and emotional awareness, both as an individual and as a group, are the primary goals for the first part of the year. Once we choose a play, we will begin to hone these skills with focused games and exercises that help us in moving towards a performance.

THEATER TIMELINE

School Year 2008-2009

Halloween Maze, (Middle School creation)

Holiday Show (Elementary)

Bugz (K-3)

Pippin (Highschool)

The Circus (4-8)

School Year 2007-2008

Remember Me, original pieces by Vinalhaven students (integrated arts)

Folk Tales from Here, There and Everywhere (Elementary)

Selections from Free to Be...You and Me (Grades 3, 4, and 5)

The Love Doctor by Moliere and Sure Thing by David Ives (High School)

Our Town (Vinalhaven Players Community production)

You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (Middle School)

School year 2006-2007

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (Community and MS tech. class)

A Case of Belonging by Jan Allred and Word, Words, Words by David Ives (High School)

A Taste of Impressionism and Through the Decades (Elementary integrated arts)

A Merry Regiment of Women by Rae Shirley (High School)

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (Community)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the Night they Missed the Forest for the Trees by Nancy Lineham Charles (Middle School)

School Year 2005-2006

Amy Goes Army & Happily Never After by Tim Kelly (High School)

101 Dalmations, Disney (K-5)

The Jungle Book, Disney (K-5)

Murder Well Rehearsed & If Sherlock Holmes Was A Woman by Jhn R. Carroll (High School)

Beauty and the Beast, Disney (Community)

MacBeth, Shakespeare (condensed) (Middle School)

School year 2004-2005

From the Halls of Vinalhaven High School

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson (Grades 4-12)

Southern Fried Murder by Billy St. John(High School)

The Wizard of Oz by Noel Langley(Community)

When Men Are Scarce by John Kirkpatrick(High School)

School year 2003-2004

Elementary Talent Show

Chicago Dance performance (Adults)

The Audition is Over by John Kirkpatrick (HS Drama)

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (MS Drama)

Annie Jr. by martin Charnin and Charles Strouse (Grades 3-High School)