My students have been watching theatre all year. We've read Romeo & Juliet and seen a rock musical version of it. We've read Julia Alvarez' In the Time of the Butterflies and watched the stage version at the San Diego Repertory. My students have designed costumes and created wonderful sketches. My students have designed sets and built mini-models. My students have read theatre, analyzed theatre, appreciated theatre. And now, I want to give them the opportunity to CREATE theatre--with all its elements--in a meaningful, powerful way. I want to move away from just the sketches and just the mini-models--I want their theatre, their words to come to life, in full size. 

I am a firm believer that writing is powerful. And a way that I can get students to believe this too is by helping them bring their work to life. Below is my project description along with a budget breakdown in the Roles & Budget Breakdown section. 

The Playwright’s Project
Carol Cabrera, 9th Grade Humanities

Driving Questions:

How can we connect with our humanity, and convey it honestly in writing?

How can we work together to create honest pieces of theatre that can change a room of strangers into a connected groups with an authentic, shared experience?

Anchor Texts:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Final Products:

**Individual:

-Each student will create a notebook of free-writing and brainstorming inspired by Oulipan activities and Peter Elbow theories of creating writing.

-Each student will create and revise a one act play. Each student will submit their one act play for feedback from theatre professionals through the CA Playwright’s Project, submitting their pieces for possible professional production in the 2015 Festival of CA Playwright’s Project Plays: http://www.playwrightsproject.org/programs.htm#Contest

**Group:

Students will work together to build an evening of theatre to be presented to the community.

Out of the 50 plays that are written in our class, we will read and analyze and work together to choose 5-10 pieces to produce together as a class (depending on length of pieces).

Roles & Budget Breakdown

Roles that will be available for the second aspect of the project:

*Directors ~Run by students/no funds needed

*Playwrights (if a playwright’s work is chosen, they will be given chances to edit their work as it is being created by the director and actors)~Run by students/no funds needed

*Actors~Run by students/no funds needed

*Scenic Design and Construction~Student Run $1200 for scenic elements/designs for all plays

*Costume Design and Construction~Student Run $600 for fabric/second hand purchases for all plays 

*Lighting Design and Construction~California State University Technician Run $55/hour  for 8 hours + tip for student workers $520

*Sound Design and Board Operation~Student Run $20 for iTunes purchases

*Stage Managers/Marketing/Production~Student Run $300 for postcards/mailing/posters/pens & other stage management material/color versions of program/etc.  

Important Dates:

Project Launch: April 24th

Scene 1 Due: May 1st & 2nd (read alouds in class)

Scene 2 Due: May 6th & 7th (read alouds in class)

Complete One Act Play Due: May 9th

Revised One Act Play Due/Cover Letter/Entry Form: May 12th (& submitted to contest

Auditions for Plays: May 15th

Plays/Cast/Production Teams Announced/Notebook Due: May 16th

Exhibition/Shows: June 9th & 10th

Two different showcases of student work (Showcase A- June 9th, Showcase B- June 10th) 

Back Up Plan