Teaching theatre is not so easy

I haven't updated in a while and that's because things have just been kind of going along at a normal pace. I haven't really been teaching lessons much, but that's because I'm working on multiple different types of drama projects with the kids. While I do enjoy this, and am glad to somewhat be putting my skills to use, I think the teachers have a bit unreasonable expectations for my accomplishments. Yes, I have studied theatre at a university and worked in professional theatre in varying manners, but that does not mean that I can turn a class of mostly unmotivated 7th graders into professional actors with a 10 minute mediocre script about King Arthur. This is basically what they want. I keep telling them, that like in anything, the kids have to care in order to be good. And some of them do care and are good. I'd like to keep those kids. Others, I'd like to just send back to grammar lessons.

I'll detail the few projects I am working on at the moment.
1. English Drama Club. This is a club of my own invention of which I am the leader. This means I get to do whatever I want, theoretically. I started with 4 7th grade girls (from that same King Arthur class) and it has now grown a bit. Today I had 10 7th graders and 1 9th grader. They're not very good at focusing and trying to play drama games with them is a bit ridiculous. They either act very goofy, ask "what's the point?", or just basically complete the task without really learning or exploring. I'm getting to know them better, so hopefully we'll be able to do something real soon.

2. 13th grade Drama course. Yes, I am an English teaching assistant, but somehow I ended up meeting with a German language drama course once a week for an hour. The teacher is a bit weird and also has strange expectations of me. Last week I was supposed to teach them how to fence (I've done it once before) and next week I need to teach them how to do Baroque dancing (despite the fact I told her I have no idea how to do that). They are performing Moliere's "The Bourgeois Gentleman" at the end of the year. This means, the whole year on 1 play and it's Moliere IN GERMAN. Geez. But the students are pretty cool, so that makes it better.

3. 7th grade. I've already touched on them, but I would like to add a point. The class is composed mostly of girls. King Arthur is really a boys' story in their minds and the script sucks to begin with anyway. They have been working on this since mid-September and are understandably bored with it (I am too!) and I told the teacher this. Apparently we are working on it until February. Aaaaaagh!

4. 5th grade. I think I have spoken before about my love for the 5th graders. They are sweet, adorable, eager to see me, and actually usually care what's going on in class. They don't have that whole teenager thing working against them yet. I am doing a skit with them of the Jon Sczieska book "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs". They find it hilarious, which is funny cause I'm pretty sure they don't understand half of what they are saying despite my best efforts. They are performing this on Monday night for a parents' conference. Yikes! Meeting the parents of my students and having their kids perform in broken English sounds a little terrifying. However, my girl playing the Wolf is destined to be an actress. So she makes it all worthwhile even when the boys in the background are trying to tackle each other. And they're all just darn cute.

"That's a lot of drama!" you say. Katie must be thrilled. I am and I'm not. It's a LOT harder to work with kids who have very limited vocabulary as well as varying levels of interest. And for the most part are all pretty young and therefore also a little more difficult to deal with. It is nice that they let me do theatre, but it's no where near the level I am used to doing it with other students in the US. Language is an issue!

This weekend we are having a Fulbright gathering and making a Thanksgiving potluck. It'll be nice to have a mock Thanksgiving dinner, but I am not sure how I am going to cope without my mom's amazing apple pie and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while peeling potatoes and apples. It just really won't be the same. I've never missed a Thanksgiving at home, and it really is a great holiday just for togetherness and yummy food. I'm not sure people here even know it exists.

Also, Saturday is a day trip to a town on the Polish/German border...on the Polish side. Szczecin. Yeah, that's a lot of consonants! Update on that and Thanksgiving festivities will come later.
Until then, I will continue to brave the cold, the rain, and the ever present 30 mph winds. Whee!