Playmaking 2017-2018
It's that time of year again! This season of Playmaking at PS 11 is coming to a close. I taught my last classes there (until next season), the kids all finished writing their plays, we rehearsed them during the past two weeks, and have started the final performances on the Broadway stage at Circle in the Square.
Playmaking is a form of playwriting created many years ago by playwright and master teaching artist Daniel Judah Sklar. Daniel, Circle in the Square, and PS 11 have been in collaboration for the past 17 years. I joined the team in 2014, and have been teaching classes at PS 11 as a master teaching artist for the past few years.
We have a team of 10 Residency Assistants (RAs) who are also professional actors and fellow alumni from Circle in the Square Theatre School. They mentor 3-8 students of their own in each class. This residency is part of a year-long Arts Education training program, which I co-direct at Circle with Executive Director Colin O'Leary.
This year's 3rd graders at PS 11 were delightful. Some were passionate about writing from the beginning, while others struggled at first; but each and every one of them found and expressed their unique creative voice through writing and completing their own play.
Their first day started with a scribble scrabble, which sounds just like what it is: scribbling on a blank page. They do this for 20 seconds, then put pencils down. Similar to a Rorschach test--but without analyzing any of their answers--the kids then choose two of their favorite things that they see in their own scribbles, and create character profiles on them. They also learn about play structure and script format; how to build conflict into climax, then create action and resolution. They write their first imaginative plays, and witness them read by the actors.
During the next step, we give the kids an artistic challenge, which is to transform their imaginary characters into realistic humans, while still keeping the essence of their original scribble scrabble characters. Their final realistic plays are the ones that are being performed at Circle in the Square this week.
Not many kids can say that they get their original plays performed by professional actors on Broadway; but every single 3rd grader at PS 11 can.
I consistently feel rewarded and lucky when I do this work. The kids brighten my days; I'm honored to call Daniel Judah Sklar my friend and colleague, and grateful that he taught me Playmaking years ago, and entrusted me to teach it; I so appreciate the whole talented team of 10 RAs; and I love still being a part of Circle in the Square after so many years (I graduated from the theatre school as a 20-year-old back in 1993).
If you want to come see the rest of the children's plays at Circle in the Square this week, please drop me a line, and I'll give you the details. It's a rare and enriching experience to see the kids as they witness their own words come to life so beautifully on stage; and it's a delight to see the talented actors do what they do best. It's been an incredible pleasure working with them these past few months.
Me and my team after the performance today. From left to right: Danielle Amendola, Matthew Boyd, me, Cristina Sebastian, Gretchen Schneider, and Shana Casey. (Photo credit: Colin O'Leary)