Fences Project Draft; Brighton Beach Memoirs: Day 1

Period 3: Please complete your Fences creative draft:

• Option #1: Choose a character from Fences (Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.); write a poem (or monologue) from that character's perspective. 
• Try a poem starter: "When I..." followed by what that character did and how that affected his/her family. "When I married you, Troy, I swore I'd be true..." or "When I played ball with those white boys, I aimed every ounce of my being toward the fence..." or "When I built that fence..." or "When I blow my horn God will open the clouds of heaven above..." etc.
• Option #2: Fences keep things safe from the outside world or protect a family, but also trap a person from obtaining or getting what they want. Pick an inanimate object like a fence or wall or barrier of some sort that represents a human shortcoming or human flaw or restriction or boundary keeping the speaker from what he/she wishes to get or achieve. A problem with grades or money, for example, can be a barrier. It might also be a broken window or a stalled car or some other object. Use the object to explain how the speaker of the poem interprets their situation--what's keeping them back? Write about this conflict. See the following poems as examples:
• Mending Wall by Robert Frost
• Fences by Pat Mora
• Border by Gillian Clarke
• The Boundary by Bei Dao
• Other fence poems
•  Option #3: Choose a character or consider the plot of the play. Choose Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.; write a play scene taking into account the plot or character. You might write a scene that doesn't appear in the play or a scene that happened before or after the events of the play. 

If you did not complete your homework, do it now (in your journal). See the post after this one for details. 

Period 4ish: Brighton Beach Memoirs - reading

As a bildungsroman or coming of age play, note the following occurrences in your journal. divide your page into 4 quadrants. Use the 4 quadrants to take note of the 4 stages of the coming of age story.

The 4 Stages

REALIZATION -- changing, emotional and mental preparation, growing, physical changes

REMOVAL -- change of status quo or familiar environment; separation from support units (family, friends, social institutions), experimentation with "forbidden" issues/activities--testing the limits of support units/social institutions, breaking rules/laws or beliefs, etc.

CHALLENGE --- proving oneself; overcome a major problem or resolve a major conflict (killing the boss monster, growing mature, taking on responsibility, etc.)

REINTEGRATION - protagonist comes back into society; character undergoes a rebirth, new status, or new understanding or epiphany of his/her situation.

Nine Characteristics of a Coming of Age experience or story

1. Usually the protagonist is between the ages of 12-18, but can be younger
2. Adults are either "bad guys" or not important--they represent society or laws or rules--the natural order of things; in some stories a parent is missing, absent, or dead. Authority figures are often antagonists to the protagonist. (see below)
3. Usually involves a journey of some sort (this can by a physical, mental, or spiritual journey)
4. Protagonist must confront his/her fears or weaknesses
5. Conflicts with a parent /guardian/authority figure
6. Protagonist learns something important (usually about him/herself)
7. There are usually a series of tests or challenges that the protagonist must face and overcome
8. The ending may be bittersweet--there is often a loss of innocence as a protagonist matures
9. Scarification (there are often scars left--physical or/and emotional), but these "wounds" mark the protagonist as a hero--he/she has come through the "storm" and is "wiser" for the experience. Sorta like this class...

A memoir is a story about a memory. In essence the writer looks back on his/her youth and remembers a specific time period, or personal or historical event. In a MEMORY PLAY--a character does this remembering. He/she often breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the audience about what he/she remembers. Plays like this are SUBJECTIVE.

A few acting tips:

• Effective performances have ENERGY!
• Try to think about how you would react and what you would say were you in this situation.
• Empathize with the character you are playing.
• Match your tone of voice to the tone of the words.
• Speak loudly and clearly.
• Have confidence. If you make a mistake--own it. But keep going...

As you read Brighton Beach Memoirs out loud, practice your oral delivery. Those of you who are not reading parts should read along with the play script and take notes in your journal of each assigned element of the play:

Stage Directions
Costumes/Props
Lighting/Set
Conflict (person v. person)
Conflict (person v. self)
Conflict (person v. society)

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your scripts back with you to our next class.

Fences Discussion & Project; Brighton Beach Memoirs (intro)

Fences discussion:

1. Fences is both unique to the plight of African Americans and universal in its depiction of the human condition. What universal human condition(s) does Wilson’s play exhibit?
2. Note the realistic and metaphorical use of the fence in the play. Troy and Cory are building a realistic fence around the house. What is the metaphorical fence being built?
3. The father and son relationship between Troy and Cory is explored as a central part of the drama. Their relationship becomes complicated by strong feelings of pride and independence on both sides. What are some of the primary conflicts between Troy and his sons? Examine the relationship between Troy and his own father. What did Troy admire about his father? What did he despise? How has Troy’s experience as a child affected his relationship with Cory?
4. Troy is not a flawless protagonist, what are Troy’s most obvious flaws?  Is Troy Maxon a tragic hero? How is Troy a morally ambiguous character?
5. What admirable characteristics does Troy possess?
6. How is Troy’s behavior an instrument for others suffering?
7. By the end of Fences, every character except Raynell is institutionalized--Rose in the church, Lyons in the penitentiary, Gabriel in the mental hospital, and Cory in the U.S. Marines. The only free person is Raynell, Troy’s daughter. What might the institutionalization of his family members represent? What might be represented by the fact that Raynell is the sole remaining Maxson to exist outside of an institution?
8. Explore some of the generational differences that exist between Troy and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. What are they and why is it generational?
9. Describe the relationship between Troy and his job/money? How does money create conflict in the play or contribute to the plot or characterization?
10. Discuss how the diction of Wilson’s play adds or detracts from the play as a whole?

Fences Writing Prompt:

• Option #1: Choose a character from Fences (Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.); write a poem (or monologue) from that character's perspective. 
• Try a poem starter: "When I..." followed by what that character did and how that affected his/her family. "When I married you, Troy, I swore I'd be true..." or "When I played ball with those white boys, I aimed every ounce of my being toward the fence..." or "When I built that fence..." or "When I blow my horn God will open the clouds of heaven above..." etc.
• Option #2: Fences keep things safe from the outside world or protect a family, but also trap a person from obtaining or getting what they want. Pick an inanimate object like a fence or wall or barrier of some sort that represents a human shortcoming or human flaw or restriction or boundary keeping the speaker from what he/she wishes to get or achieve. A problem with grades or money, for example, can be a barrier. It might also be a broken window or a stalled car or some other object. Use the object to explain how the speaker of the poem interprets their situation--what's keeping them back? Write about this conflict. See the following poems as examples:
• Mending Wall by Robert Frost
• Fences by Pat Mora
• Border by Gillian Clarke
• The Boundary by Bei Dao
• Other fence poems
•  Option #3: Choose a character or consider the plot of the play. Choose Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.; write a play scene taking into account the plot or character. You might write a scene that doesn't appear in the play or a scene that happened before or after the events of the play. 

Before the end of class: please go to the library to pick up the play Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon.

HOMEWORK: Conduct the following research for our first play: Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon. Write your notes in your journal.

Find out:

1. Who is Neil Simon? What is he famous for? What books or plays did he write?
2. Where is Brighton Beach? What did it look like in the 1930's?
3. What was life like for American citizens in the 1930's? 
4. Check out this link and read about what was happening in the U.S. and around the world in 1937.
5. Finally, read about baseball in the 1930's. 

Fences: Discussion; Characterization & Writing Project

Fences:

Please submit your play analysis for Fences to the Google Classroom.

Let's take the first 10-15 minutes of today's class please take a look at these scenes from Fences. In the first clip, we'll see two different versions played first by James Earl Jones and then by Denzel Washington. Compare/contrast the two versions. Note the reaction by the audience as well as the performance.

• Act One, Scene Three (different performances...); film
• Fighting Death (Act One)
• Act Two, Scene One (from the Broadway production)--this is drama...view and evaluate the performance. 
• This is My House! What does film do for a story that plays don't or vice versa? What's special about a theatrical performance?

When an author develops a character, he/she relies on characterization. Characterization is based on four distinct things:

• What a character says or thinks about him/herself
• What another character says or thinks about the character
• What the character does (the actions the character does and the choices he/she makes)
• The details or physical description the author or narrator gives us. In this case, what is revealed in the STAGE DIRECTIONS of the playscript. 

Read out loud: Act 2: Scenes 4-5 (pg. 85-101).

Examine the characterization on these pages. What do we learn about the characters?

After examining the characterization from these scenes, let's hold a discussion about the play:

1. Fences is both unique to the plight of African Americans and universal in its depiction of the human condition. What universal human condition(s) does Wilson’s play exhibit?
2. Note the realistic and metaphorical use of the fence in the play. Troy and Cory are building a realistic fence around the house. What is the metaphorical fence being built?
3. The father and son relationship between Troy and Cory is explored as a central part of the drama. Their relationship becomes complicated by strong feelings of pride and independence on both sides. What are some of the primary conflicts between Troy and his sons? Examine the relationship between Troy and his own father. What did Troy admire about his father? What did he despise? How has Troy’s experience as a child affected his relationship with Cory?
4. Troy is not a flawless protagonist, what are Troy’s most obvious flaws?  Is Troy Maxon a tragic hero? How is Troy a morally ambiguous character?
5. What admirable characteristics does Troy possess?
6. How is Troy’s behavior an instrument for others suffering?
7. By the end of Fences, every character except Raynell is institutionalized--Rose in the church, Lyons in the penitentiary, Gabriel in the mental hospital, and Cory in the U.S. Marines. The only free person is Raynell, Troy’s daughter. What might the institutionalization of his family members represent? What might be represented by the fact that Raynell is the sole remaining Maxson to exist outside of an institution?
8. Explore some of the generational differences that exist between Troy and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. What are they and why is it generational?
9. Describe the relationship between Troy and his job/money? How does money create conflict in the play or contribute to the plot or characterization?
10. Discuss how the diction of Wilson’s play adds or detracts from the play as a whole?

Fences Writing Prompt:

• Option #1: Choose a character from Fences (Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.); write a poem (or monologue) from that character's perspective. 
• Try a poem starter: "When I..." followed by what that character did and how that affected his/her family. "When I married you, Troy, I swore I'd be true..." or "When I played ball with those white boys, I aimed every ounce of my being toward the fence..." or "When I built that fence..." or "When I blow my horn God will open the clouds of heaven above..." etc.
• Option #2: Fences keep things safe from the outside world or protect a family, but also trap a person from obtaining or getting what they want. Pick an inanimate object like a fence or wall or barrier of some sort that represents a human shortcoming or human flaw or restriction or boundary keeping the speaker from what he/she wishes to get or achieve. A problem with grades or money, for example, can be a barrier. It might also be a broken window or a stalled car or some other object. Use the object to explain how the speaker of the poem interprets their situation--what's keeping them back? Write about this conflict. See the following poems as examples:
• Mending Wall by Robert Frost
• Fences by Pat Mora
• Border by Gillian Clarke
• The Boundary by Bei Dao
• Other fence poems
•  Option #3: Choose a character or consider the plot of the play. Choose Rose, Troy, Gabe, Lyons, Cory, Bono, Raynelle, etc.; write a play scene taking into account the plot or character. You might write a scene that doesn't appear in the play or a scene that happened before or after the events of the play. 

HOMEWORK: Work on your writing project. 

Sketch Workshop; Fences

Please get into the following groups and read/comment about each other's original sketches.

Group 1: Linden, Simone, Pia, David, Ariel, Amir, Thalia

Group 2: Harrison, Hannah, Giovanni, Aryonna, Andrew, Kelly, Sarah


Your comments should include:

• Read the scripts OUT LOUD. Practice reading parts and dialogue out loud to hear it come alive! Share parts. The writer should not play his/her own character roles. Choose roles within your groups. Everyone should help read out loud!
• Notice errors in formatting, spelling, or grammar for each script. 
• Comment on the effectiveness of each script--did you think the sketch was funny: why or why not. Aim to give constructive criticism. What could the playwright have done to improve the scene? What did the playwright do that worked?

When both groups have finished reading and discussing the plays that were turned in, we will go to the library to pick up our next play: Fences by August Wilson.

If you missed it last class, or did not do your homework--here it is again:

Please research and take notes in your journal to find information about:

1. August Wilson is a famous playwright. Find out about him at this link.
2. In 1918 when Troy Maxson is your age (about 14), he leaves the South for Pittsburgh. His father was a sharecropper. What is a sharecropper? What was life like for a sharecropper in the South? How did the system of sharecropping entrap people? How could a person escape that life? Read about it here.
3. The Negro League (What was it? What happened to it? Why was it created? etc.)
4. Jackie Robinson & Satchel Paige (who are these ballplayers?)
5. The setting of this play is 1957. Please research and find information about this time period. Some questions to help guide your research are:

• What were the social, economic, political and educational expectations and opportunities for African Americans at this time?
• What advances had been made in civil rights?
• What significant changes will occur in America during the years between 1957 and 1965?

Some links to help prepare you (feel free to take notes on the following):

Images of the civil rights movement
Images of “the children’s crusade" of the civil rights movement
Timeline of the civil rights movement

HOMEWORK: Read the rest of the play. Complete a play analysis for the play. Due Monday, Nov. 26.

Sketch Writing Project

Write your sketch. Use the time given to you in class today to write your sketch draft. Your draft should be at least 3 full pages (but can be longer). The typical sketch is about 5-6 pages in length.

See the handout regarding play script format. Once you complete your draft, please proofread, correct your grammar and format, and upload to the Google classroom.

If you finish early:

Option A:

• Write a second sketch of your choice. Your sketch will count for your writing portfolio (final) and count as extra credit.

Option B:

• Watch sample "famous" sketches from a variety of TV shows/performances (some may not be suitable due to language or situations, watch at your own risk):
• The Dentist (Tim Conway from the Carol Burnett show)
• Pink Tights & Plenty of Props (Rowan Atkinson)
• Roll Call (Rowan Atkinson)
• Substitute Teacher (Key & Peele)
• Nazi Sketch (Mitchell & Webb)
• Mister Robinson's Neighborhood (SNL)
• Homey D. Clown (In Living Color)
• Lie Detector 
• Evil Boss (SNL)

Option C:

• Complete your homework (see below).

HOMEWORK: Our next play will be Fences by August Wilson. It deals with Troy Maxson and his family in Pittsburgh, 1957.

Please research and take notes in your journal to find information about:

1. August Wilson is a famous playwright. Find out about him at this link.
2. In 1918 when Troy Maxson is your age (about 14), he leaves the South for Pittsburgh. His father was a sharecropper. What is a sharecropper? What was life like for a sharecropper in the South? How did the system of sharecropping entrap people? How could a person escape that life? Read about it here.
3. The Negro League (What was it? What happened to it? Why was it created? etc.)
4. Jackie Robinson & Satchel Paige (who are these ballplayers?)
5. The setting of this play is 1957. Please research and find information about this time period. Some questions to help guide your research are:

• What were the social, economic, political and educational expectations and opportunities for African Americans at this time?
• What advances had been made in civil rights?
• What significant changes will occur in America during the years between 1957 and 1965?

Some links to help prepare you (feel free to take notes on the following):

Images of the civil rights movement
Images of “the children’s crusade" of the civil rights movement
Timeline of the civil rights movement

Sketch Writing

Look here for samples of fine sketch writing:

• Marty Feldman: The Bookseller Sketch
• The Cheese Shop Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• The Dead Parrot Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Self Defense Against Fruit Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Italian Lesson: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• The Headmaster Sketch: Rowan Atkinson

Sketch Writing:

1) Choose a setting. Avoid common set-ups. Think original. Only set the sketch in one location.
2) If you're trying to sell your material [or enter a contest], don't put in anything expensive like a helicopter [or car]. Most TV shows [or theaters] are on a tight budget.
3) Three [or four] characters is more than enough for a short sketch. Don't write for a big cast. Avoid crowd scenes where the actors do not speak.
4) Think about what is happening visually as well as the words you use to communicate an idea. Be specific! A speckled trout wearing a fake mustache is funnier or more vivid in the audience's mind than a fish.

Types of Sketches

To help you get going, here's a few tried and tested comedy formats for sketches.

1) Escalation: Funny idea starts small and gets bigger and bigger, ending in chaos of ridiculous proportions.
2) Lists: Sketches in which the bulk of the dialogue is a long list of funny items. The best example of this is "Cheese Shop" in Monty Python. (You can find all the Python sketches at www.planetcomedy.force9.co.uk/bookstore.html.)
3) Mad Man, Sane Man (opposites): This format speaks for itself, but don't go for obvious settings.
4) Dangerous Situations: For example, sketch set on a flight deck of aircraft.
5) Funny Words: Sketches which use the sound of language itself to be funny. For example, use of the words "blobby" or "wobble"; Names can be funny if you want people to think of your work as comedy or humorous. Some names are just funny: Aloysious Butterbean is a funnier name than Tom Johnson or man.
6) Old and New: Getting a laugh from putting something modern in an historical setting (Or, vice versa) Example: Abraham Lincoln using a cigarette lighter shaped like a handgun. Benjamin Franklin inventing the fidget spinner, Alexander the Great using a cell phone, Jesus dining at the Cheesecake Factory, etc.
7) Big and Small. Getting humor from large differences in scale. For example, a pig trying to make love to an elephant (South Park).

All plays and sketches start with characters in a setting. Once you have an idea for these, try one of the types of sketches. Go ahead and try. Use the format you find in "The Zoo Story".

Write your sketch.

HOMEWORK: Continue writing your short sketch.

Zoo Story Quiz; Rehearsal - Coffeehouse

We'll take our quiz on The Zoo Story.

Then, it's off to the Ensemble Theater to rehearse. Please bring the selections you are planning to read with you to the theater.

Consider: Are you pleasing your audience? Can we hear you? Can we understand you? Are you holding our attention? Are you too unfocused and confusing? Have you put energy into your performance or delivery? Are you boring? Are you making occasional eye-contact with your audience?

1. Are you matching your TONE of voice to the TONE of your speech or story?
2. Are you sincerely trying? [Avoid just going through the motions--an audience can tell that a performer just doesn't care or would rather be doing anything other than speaking...why should we listen to a person like this?]
3. Are you reaching the goals you set out for yourself? Are you following the advice I gave you?
4. Are you practicing? 
5. Memorize your titles and the first and last lines of your stories/poems. 

Period 4: (with time remaining...)

Look here for samples of fine sketch writing:

• Marty Feldman: The Bookseller Sketch
• The Cheese Shop Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• The Dead Parrot Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Self Defense Against Fruit Sketch: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Italian Lesson: Monty Python's Flying Circus
• The Headmaster Sketch: Rowan Atkinson

Sketch Writing:

1) Choose a setting. Avoid common set-ups. Think original. Only set the sketch in one location.
2) If you're trying to sell your material [or enter a contest], don't put in anything expensive like a helicopter [or car]. Most TV shows [or theaters] are on a tight budget.
3) Three [or four] characters is more than enough for a short sketch. Don't write for a big cast. Avoid crowd scenes where the actors do not speak.
4) Think about what is happening visually as well as the words you use to communicate an idea. Be specific! A speckled trout wearing a fake mustache is funnier or more vivid in the audience's mind than a fish.

Types of Sketches

To help you get going, here's a few tried and tested comedy formats for sketches.

1) Escalation: Funny idea starts small and gets bigger and bigger, ending in chaos of ridiculous proportions.
2) Lists: Sketches in which the bulk of the dialogue is a long list of funny items. The best example of this is "Cheese Shop" in Monty Python. (You can find all the Python sketches at www.planetcomedy.force9.co.uk/bookstore.html.)
3) Mad Man, Sane Man (opposites): This format speaks for itself, but don't go for obvious settings.
4) Dangerous Situations: For example, sketch set on a flight deck of aircraft.
5) Funny Words: Sketches which use the sound of language itself to be funny. For example, use of the words "blobby" or "wobble"; Names can be funny if you want people to think of your work as comedy or humorous. Some names are just funny: Aloysious Butterbean is a funnier name than Tom Johnson or man.
6) Old and New: Getting a laugh from putting something modern in an historical setting (Or, vice versa) Example: Abraham Lincoln using a cigarette lighter shaped like a handgun. Benjamin Franklin inventing the fidget spinner, Alexander the Great using a cell phone, Jesus dining at the Cheesecake Factory, etc.
7) Big and Small. Getting humor from large differences in scale. For example, a pig trying to make love to an elephant (South Park).

HOMEWORK: None. Please arrive at the theater by 6:30-6:45. We start at 7:00. The show will last about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. Good luck!

Coffeehouse Rehearsal; The Zoo Story

Select 2-3 poems, 1 non-fiction essay or speech + 1 poem (or 1 short story); 1 short story + 1 poem, or 1 short story + 2 poems; or 1 longer short story. Select your BEST work. After attendance, let's go to the ensemble theater to practice. We will go in alphabetical order (just like during the coffeehouse!)

Rehearse.

Are you pleasing your audience? Can we hear you? Can we understand you? Are you holding our attention? Are you too unfocused and confusing? Have you put energy into your performance or delivery? Are you boring? Are you making occasional eye-contact with your audience?

1. Are you matching your TONE of voice to the TONE of your speech or story?
2. Are you sincerely trying? [Avoid just going through the motions--an audience can tell that a performer just doesn't care or would rather be doing anything other than speaking...why should we listen to a person like this?]
3. Are you reaching the goals you set out for yourself? Are you following the advice I gave you?
4. Practice. 
5. Memorize your titles and the first and last lines of your stories/poems. 

Period 4: 

1. Go the library and check out the play: The Zoo Story by Edward Albee.

2. Get together in reading groups of 2 or 3. These groups are only for a day, so please work with someone you know you can trust to focus on the assignment. If you are in a group of 4, I will split you into two groups of 2. I prefer no one work alone, as it is important for you to practice reading out loud.

3. Read The Zoo Story together in your groups today. Assign parts as follows:

a. 3 students: one play Jerry, one play Peter, one read the stage directions where appropriate (only the longer directions).
b. 2 students: one play Jerry, the other play Peter, read the stage directions silently.
c. If you have been stubborn and must work alone, you may either join a group of two, or read alone, but realize you are missing part of your practice and cheating yourself out of more effective performance skills.

4. AS YOU ARE READING THE PLAY: In your group discuss how the author uses conflict in his play. Plays are based on conflict. Conflict can come in 4 “flavors” or types:

• i. Person vs. Person

• ii. Person vs. Self

• iii. Person vs. Nature

• iv. Person vs. Society or God

5. Be able to answer how each type of conflict is used in the play. Also, consider what the title means, as a signpost pointing to the play's theme and message.

HOMEWORK: If you did not finish reading The Zoo Story, please complete the play on your own time by yourself. There will be a quiz next class on the play and we will continue rehearsing Wednesday (Gamzon) & Thursday (Craddock) for our upcoming coffeehouse performance on Thursday, Nov. 8 (7:00 in the Ensemble Theater).l