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Theater From the Blank Page

—By Kathy Smith
Putting kids in a position of power is part of the curriculum for Middle School Theater Director Ozzie Jones. “Not being told specifically what to do all the time makes kids think differently,” he says. With power, however, comes responsibility, and sometimes that can be uncomfortable. “Part of the learning curve for them is actually having to come up with solutions for problems and feeling the pressure that if they don’t, the play might not actually happen. That kind of pressure is a good thing. Especially when you have kids this bright.”
Tap the Talent
Ozzie’s theater program, run as a half hour mini-course plus after-school club, takes an entirely non-traditional approach to the classic theater model. “Institutions and parents often have a performance way of looking at being in the arts. You get a play. You get cast in it. If you don’t get cast in the part you want, you sort of don’t do much of anything.”
At Shipley, Ozzie believes there are kids with wide ranging talents who can participate in the performing arts on a multiplicity of levels. “We have kids here who are extraordinary writers, who are good with fashion and design, who are great musicians, and who have good ideas.”
Organized Chaos
In order to tap into those talents, Ozzie structures his course the same way the professional world is structured when starting from the blank page. “You sit in a room and you hash out ideas,” he explains. “With these kids, I had everybody think of a character they’d want to play. I had them come up with ideas for the play. Everything was separate in the beginning. Then the process involved taking all of their separate ideas and finding a through line to discover what the play was.”
Constructive Argument
Eighth grader Katie Balun, the play’s assistant director, observed, “It was very confusing in the beginning. We disagreed on a lot of things but we learned to make compromises.”
Alanna Miller agreed about their ability to learn from conflict, “We learned how to use conflict and still how to move forward.”
Shelby Marcee noted that it was definitely a team process. “If someone came up with an idea, by the end of the day it could completely change and become better. Even though there were a lot of conflicts, we seemed to work it all out in the end.”
Christy Fleshman spoke to the organic nature. “A lot of people’s characters sprouted out through the process. It took a lot of practicing and time because you really had to develop the scenes.
Be What You Want to Be, Do What You Want To Do
One student, Jackson Durham, played the entire score of the show on his guitar. “What I’ve learned is that you can shape the play to your own desires. With this whole process of completely making it, we could include everyone however they wanted to be included. I got to play the guitar rather than act.”
“All of our ideas were manifested into this,” agrees ShelDan Dalsimer, “It was a melting pot of so many people’s ideas.”
In listening to the group converse, it’s impossible not to notice the casual and respectful way in which they interact, one person beginning a thought, another refining it. It’s clear that, having worked together on a project in which they had to self-advocate, compromise, and invest themselves, they have developed skills and grace beyond what one might expect for kids their age.
“The main thing about collectively starting at the blank page,” noted Ozzie, speaking to his primary goal for the group, “is that you really have to learn how to listen to those you’re with in the room. It’s a necessary skill for success. The whole idea of arguing constructively was the best part.”
If you missed last fall’s play, take heart. Their next project is even more ambitious.
“A film,” says Katie Balun, “this spring.” And the group nods, because even though they don’t know what it’s going to be about, they know it’s going to be good.
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The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.