7/16/2022
Topic:
Tools And Strategies
Jenny Sejansky
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Over the years, I have taught several students with varied disabilities. I have never had any student, so far, that had severe mental or physical disabilities that kept them from being active in my program. I am blessed with students who are loving, kind and helpful with each other to begin with. But when they are with students with disabilities, the light from their hearts is blinding. One student had Asperger's Syndrome. His disability prevented him from writing, so he did all of his assignments on the computer. He also had a hard time keeping his answers to a minimum, so I would often have him provide his answers verbally. This kept him from going into too much detail in his answers. This child loved being on stage. Because of his autism, he would forget that "live performance" meant "strangers in the house". He would be fine in rehearsals, but as soon as we had an audience, he would freeze. But with help from his friends, he would be reminded of cues and staging with gentle prodding or guiding him by the arm to wherever he needed to be. After this happened a second time, he got so upset at himself and became quiet. He even refused to play his favorite improv games and told me he didn't think he could do Theatre anymore. I asked him if there was anything else he'd like to try before giving up. Was there anything besides performing he'd like? How about lights? He wasn't too sure this was for him but he agreed to try. My class is actually a small Theatre equipped with a lighting board and a sound board. As soon as I turned the board on, I showed him what the Master does, what the Black Out key is for and how it's used. I showed him how to dim the lights and fade to black. I showed him how to mix colors and intensify brightness, etc. The next day, he walked into class and went straight for the lightboard. He turned it on, sat down and started finding specific areas to light. He practiced following actors around the stage with lighting. We sat together and wrote down which lights hit specific parts of the stage. We created a color chart. I asked him to describe how color conveys meaning and helps to enhance what the actors are doing on stage. Within three days, this student had-gone from wanting to leave Theatre to joining our Theatre Tech club! His form of autism causes him to be super- specific, which is why short answers elude him. This attention to detail actually helped him in creating beautiful lighting plots for all of the acting scenes being presented in class. This new-found confidence also got him back on stage playing his beloved Improv games with his friends. He is not the only student with memorization problems or social anxiety. The use of a lighting board or any of the technical aspects of Theatre can be useful in helping students thrive, succeed in and love Theatre. Being involved in Theatre and all it has to offer can be the key to unlocking talent and a sense of accomplishment in a students with disabilities.
I hope I have answered this question correctly. As an acting teacher, I try to incorporate tech into our in-class performances as often as I can. |
7/16/2022
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jenny Sejansky
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I teach Theatre I-IV and IB. I have been fortunate over the years and have been able to keep all levels separate, with the exception of the highest level, which is mixed. My classes are performance-based but provide many opportunities for tech, directing and SM positions. My summative tests are always performance/reflection based. This includes skills from memorization to staging and performing whatever the assigned duties are. After the execution of the scenes in front of invited, student audiences, my students must reflect on how they believe they did and provide evidence- verbal or photo- of their work and what they are explaining. I project the Reflection Requirements on screen and give them the entire class period to write their reflections. Those who are still not done may email then to me later the same day or they can turn it in the next day. Students with disabilities such as testing anxiety, visual impairment or impaired memory may do the work on their computers using TEAMS. A written document with the expectations of the reflections are posted there. Students may take their time during and after class to submit. Students who cannot memorize lines or physically can't do too much staging are encouraged to run lights, sound or work back stage in whatever capacity is needed. They write about their experiences, as well. There are some students who go to their para or to consultation and do their tests with supervision. I often get emails from those teachers asking me for the right answer so they can help the student complete answers. I have also had students give me verbal answers if they could not write or type an idea that required a lot of information. There are so many ways we can help our students succeed without "dumbing down" or making them feel unappreciated. |