Get a Drama Major Into the Act

 

            Today's Snack: Buy a packaged quick-bread mix, such as pumpkin bread or blueberry muffin mix, and make a loaf of special bread or muffins. The aroma will draw others to the kitchen to eat with you - and as they say in the theatre, the taste will "bring down the house." Enjoy with your favorite fruit juice!

 

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Young people love to learn from people who are only slightly older. So it's a great idea to find a high school or college student willing to volunteer some time to come in and work with younger kids after school. You could call the local high school's drama teacher, or the drama department of the nearest college or university. Your after-school group could call him or her your "student-mentor."

 

Ideally, a student-mentor would do this as a class project, for extra credit, or simply for the joy of volunteering and sharing the many skills of drama. It does look good on college and job applications!

 

Maybe it could be set up like a short course, with the student-mentor coming to the after-school location to work with the kids once or twice a week for six weeks. Maybe they will put on a short skit, demonstrate the skills of drama, or perform a song and dance routine.

 

The final meeting the dress rehearsal for a brief performance given for parents and families on the last session of the short course, when the parents come to pick up the kids and can stay an extra few minutes for the show or demonstration.

 

For one or two young people, the older student might come in as a tutor on an informal basis and be paid for his or her time.

 

But if it's a larger group setting in a formal after-school program, perhaps some class extra credit could be arranged for the older student. Or, if the high school requires a set number of community service hours, dedicating those hours to a drama club in an after-school setting would be an ideal way for a performing-arts minded teenager to spend them.

 

Parents could always pool their money to pay the student-mentor a stipend, too. It would be worth it!

 

Ideas:

 

Dance and movement

 

Choreography workshop

 

How to develop (brainstorm) a short script

 

Scriptwriting basics

 

Performance terminology

 

Production

 

Directing

 

Stage management

 

Costumes

 

Dialogue

 

Acting