How do you document live performances & cultural events?

[Nicole M]

And are they a priority for your children's education?

 

You might remember that a year ago during college application time I had a panicked moment when I realized that there were dozens and dozens of events I'd worked, which my boys tagged along to see and hear, and it had not even occurred to me to document them for my son's transcript. They were so much a part of our ordinary lives, I just didn't even think of it. Major facepalm moment.

 

So this time around, with my 8th grader, I want to a better job, but am the sort of person who makes things far more complicated than they need to me. (As Nan would say: GRIN!) I'm thinking of just designating a folder for programs and tossing them in as we go. Though I suppose I'll need one folder for each year, because we see so many events, probably 1 - 3 a week. (Hamlet with Lisa-swimmermom3 in two weeks! I'm so excited I could squeal!)

 

So what do you do? Are theater and music events and museum trips a part of your homeschool life? Are you intentional about trying to see and do a balance of different sorts of events? Do you / did you make a list for the transcript?

[Guest]

My dd is in 9th grade, so I haven't done anything about a transcript; but I am keeping records of all the plays and musicals she sees -- just a list of titles. Dd saves programs and ticket stubs for herself.

 

I'm sure there are those for whom only reading and writing about a play "counts," but after all drama is meant to be performed, and to be seen being performed, above all else. Until relatively recently, publication of the texts of most plays was an afterthought (there was something called "closet drama" in England during the Renaissance -- not what you might think -- in which elites shared manuscripts of plays which were very writerly, not meant to be performed ever).

 

Dd sees a good share of classic theater as well as theater of the absurd, more contemporary comedies and dramas, and as much musical theater as we can afford. We attend talks by the artistic director of our local theater, meet-the-actors discussion groups, read biographies of actors, directors, and producers, etc. This year she wants to write a paper comparing structural aspects of two particular plays; this is her idea, not mine. I have written all these things down, but have not yet decided how to work them into course descriptions or a transcript and am interested to hear how others have gone about this.

 

Once dd has experienced a good big list of plays, then I think it will make sense and be fun for her to hear a series of lectures on the history of the drama as a form, because she'll be familiar with many of the plays referred to. Until then, I'm interested in having her see and discuss many very different plays, and fostering her sheer joy in it.

[Nicole M]

 

Once dd has experienced a good big list of plays, then I think it will make sense and be fun for her to hear a series of lectures on the history of the drama as a form, because she'll be familiar with many of the plays referred to. Until then, I'm interested in having her see and discuss many very different plays, and fostering her sheer joy in it.

 

Ding, ding! I am on my way out the door (to set up for a guest lecturer), but will reply with further thoughts later. Thanks!

[Julie in MN]

Barb Shelton has forms for this in her Senior High Form-U-La book.

 

Julie

[regentrude]

I keep a running list of "field trips": museums, plays, concerts, hikes in State and National Parks, guided cave tours etc. Not sure what I will do with it, but the list goes into my kids' portfolios (which we are required to have as a record). For plays and concerts we save the programs and put them into the portfolio, too.

 

For us this is a very important part of our children's education.

Living in a small city, I can not balance the kinds of live performances - we pretty much attend everyhing that is offered.

 

We may use concerts towards DD's music appreciation if this should happen to become a credit; atr this point we are just keeping all options by documenting "extras".

[swimmermom3]

Nicole, I have a form I think I got from Sonlight that I record field trips and events on. I try to have an objective stated besides "to have fun." Currently, I am madly scrambling to readjust our literature schedule to accommodate the play. My hope is that by the time we cover context, intro to Shakespeare, Garfield's story by way of intro to plot, read the Oxford School version, see the play, and possibly watch Olivier or Jacobi, the girl will have something to write about where she can reference the stage production.

I'll keep work related to the field trips and events in the same folder as the list. I doubt I will ever have to show them to anyone, but they make me feel better on the days where nothing gets done.:D

 

If we were really on top of this, we could have a Socratic discussion after the play, but knowing our kids, they'll opt for politics.

[regentrude]

Currently, I am madly scrambling to readjust our literature schedule to accommodate the play. My hope is that by the time we cover context, intro to Shakespeare, Garfield's story by way of intro to plot, read the Oxford School version, see the play, and possibly watch Olivier or Jacobi, the girl will have something to write about where she can reference the stage production.

 

 

This is something we are doing, too. We get ONE professionally performed live drama a year in our town and know about it many months in advance. last year it was "Of Mice and Men" which prompted a six week Steinbeck unit in preparation. This coming february it will be Shakespeare's Midsummernight's Dream, so we will have to spend a few weeks on Shakespeare which DD is already unhappy about because "it does not go with Ancient history".- well, sorry, gotta grab these oportunities and fit them in.

I wish we were in a bigger city where we could select the live performances to fit our course of study instead the other way round.

[Guest]

As usual, we seem to do things backwards from everybody else. Dd was apparently born with an understanding of Shakespearean language and will be laughing at the word play before anyone else in the audience. We listened to Jim Weiss's few available story versions of Shakespeare when she was little, and had a few picture books; we went straight from these to live theater when she won tickets at age nine.

 

After we see a show, we sometimes watch another version on DVD and discuss differences; then we -- sometimes, if interest is high -- mess about the with text. Dd likes to read aloud, act out scenes. There's a group that meets once a month in our city to read Shakespeare aloud just as a communal activity, and I'm hoping to join that. We went to hear Adrian Noble (visiting director here from the Royal Shakespeare Company in London) lecture about Shakespeare's language and how he works with his actors to get them to think the language through and use it on stage. We talk about the First Folio and how many versions of the plays actually exist. This year dd is listening to Bill Bryson's book on Shakespeare.

 

As for other plays, we just grab them when we can afford cheap tickets (usually previews). I don't worry about chronology, history, plots, anything at all beforehand; it's a thrill for dd to go into the theater and be surprised. Her auditory comprehension is so high that I've never once had to explain anything that was going on. She even likes Samuel Beckett. And when we came across the article on the 18th-century Shakespeare forger who wrote an entire play under Shakespeare's name, she wanted to find it and see if it sounded Shakespearean, if she would have been fooled, and how good it was. All our discussion happens over the weeks after we've seen a play.

 

This year (she's 14) she has begun to ask for all kinds of scripts to read, and she's making comments, on her own, about social and cultural contexts: crossover information from other stuff she reads and watches. This is clearly an area in which dd is motivated and enthusiastic, so I don't want to ruin it with too much forced analysis just yet. I am coming to trust that when she's ready for that, she'll let me know.

[Sherry in OH]

This is something we are doing, too. We get ONE professionally performed live drama a year in our town and know about it many months in advance. last year it was "Of Mice and Men" which prompted a six week Steinbeck unit in preparation. This coming february it will be Shakespeare's Midsummernight's Dream, so we will have to spend a few weeks on Shakespeare which DD is already unhappy about because "it does not go with Ancient history".- well, sorry, gotta grab these oportunities and fit them in.

I wish we were in a bigger city where we could select the live performances to fit our course of study instead the other way round.

 

Isn't Midsummernight's Dream set in ancient Athens?

 

What about the tragedies - Julius Caesar, Timon of Athens, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida?

[mcconnellboys]

Yes, all these things are part of our regular school week. I do look over upcoming exhibits and performance schedules in the summer to help plan what we'll see during the school year. I do try to find things that fit in with what we're studying for history and science. But we also go to things that come up on the spur of the moment throughout the year, too....

 

I do keep flyers, schedules, buy postcards, etc. to post in our notebooks for the year and I do keep some notes about what we did so that I don't forget.

 

I did not make a list, specifically, for my older son's transcript as he had more than enough credits for the humanities requirement anyway. If I had a child going all the way through high school at home, then I would use these as part of my humanities credits....

[swimmermom3]

As usual, we seem to do things backwards from everybody else. Dd was apparently born with an understanding of Shakespearean language and will be laughing at the word play before anyone else in the audience. We listened to Jim Weiss's few available story versions of Shakespeare when she was little, and had a few picture books; we went straight from these to live theater when she won tickets at age nine.

 

After we see a show, we sometimes watch another version on DVD and discuss differences; then we -- sometimes, if interest is high -- mess about the with text. Dd likes to read aloud, act out scenes. There's a group that meets once a month in our city to read Shakespeare aloud just as a communal activity, and I'm hoping to join that. We went to hear Adrian Noble (visiting director here from the Royal Shakespeare Company in London) lecture about Shakespeare's language and how he works with his actors to get them to think the language through and use it on stage. We talk about the First Folio and how many versions of the plays actually exist. This year dd is listening to Bill Bryson's book on Shakespeare.

 

As for other plays, we just grab them when we can afford cheap tickets (usually previews). I don't worry about chronology, history, plots, anything at all beforehand; it's a thrill for dd to go into the theater and be surprised. Her auditory comprehension is so high that I've never once had to explain anything that was going on. She even likes Samuel Beckett. And when we came across the article on the 18th-century Shakespeare forger who wrote an entire play under Shakespeare's name, she wanted to find it and see if it sounded Shakespearean, if she would have been fooled, and how good it was. All our discussion happens over the weeks after we've seen a play.

 

This year (she's 14) she has begun to ask for all kinds of scripts to read, and she's making comments, on her own, about social and cultural contexts: crossover information from other stuff she reads and watches. This is clearly an area in which dd is motivated and enthusiastic, so I don't want to ruin it with too much forced analysis just yet. I am coming to trust that when she's ready for that, she'll let me know.

 

Karen, you are not backwards...at least not that I would notice anyway.;) You are light years ahead of where we are with Shakespeare. This is the Dude's first introduction to it and dd has only read Romeo and Juliet. Dd loves word play and should have no trouble getting it. Swimmer Dude enjoys it as well, but he is still a bit literal. I actually wanted to start our study with Macbeth because I think it is more accessible (okay, and it does hit our history time frame), but I don't know if I will have time.

[Nicole M]

I'm just home for a quick dinner, and then we're off to see a production of The Cradle Will Rock tonight. But quickly, I thought I would share this little list from a theater professor I work with. I told him I wanted to be more intentional about theater with this kid, and asked what a professor of theater would considere a well-equipped student, what experiences would help give a student tools to support deeply engaged college level study. He sent this list:

 

First of all, three plays: DEATH OF A SALESMAN BY ARTHUR MILLER; OEDIPUS REX (THE KING) BY SOPHOCLES; ROMEO AND JULIET OR JULIUS CAESAR OR MACBETH BY SHAKESPEARE;

 

At least one trip, ideally two, to Oregon Shakespeare Festival to see at least three plays and go on a backstage tour;

 

At least one play or opera a year in town at the college or downtown or another venue;

 

At least one play or opera a year in Seattle at the Rep or Intiman or the Children's Theatre;

 

If possible, act a short scene -- with props/costumes/memorized -- from one of those three plays (just a minute or two) with another person.

 

Possibly learn 12 terms from the glossary section of DRAMATURGY NORTHWEST.

 

(He's so cute with his capital letters.)

 

We are not that far from Seattle, and live less than a mile from the small liberal arts college where I work, so we have all kinds of resources that I haven't really explored. This list makes me feel like I have a place to start; I've been overwhelmed by the options, frankly. And I spend so much time in my concert hall, it's hard to force myself out into other venues (though the plus side is that when I *am* in other venues and something goes wrong, I get a happy little song in my heart: not my problem!).

 

Thanks for all your replies.

[Guest]

This is the Dude's first introduction to it and dd has only read Romeo and Juliet. Dd loves word play and should have no trouble getting it. Swimmer Dude enjoys it as well, but he is still a bit literal. I actually wanted to start our study with Macbeth because I think it is more accessible (okay, and it does hit our history time frame), but I don't know if I will have time.

 

Maybe my view is just twisted because of dd's auditoriness, but I think many people are scared by Shakespeare simply because of the name, and don't realize quite how much slapstick there is in the comedies, or in the tragedies, how much of the brutal action takes place on stage so that the plot and the characters' dilemmas are quite accessible (Hamlet of course always excepted). I found reading the plays in grad school really, really difficult; I have trouble just keeping the characters straight. Yet every time we see one on stage I find it engaging, provoking.. and although there are of course layers and layers of historical and literary meaning, you can get a LOT from a relaxed viewing and talking it over afterwards.

 

We went up to Ashland one summer (saw Twelfth Night) and I'm dying to go back. Their schedule for next year just came out and among other things, they're doing a comedy by Moliere called The Imaginary Invalid -- the title alone has dd in stitches and we're trying to figure out how in the world we can get up that way to see it.

 

I'm thinking that just as most homeschoolers prepare a formal reading list for college admissions, I could make a separate list of plays seen and/or read, as many of them are considered classics.

[Ellie]

This year (she's 14) she has begun to ask for all kinds of scripts to read, and she's making comments, on her own, about social and cultural contexts: crossover information from other stuff she reads and watches. This is clearly an area in which dd is motivated and enthusiastic, so I don't want to ruin it with too much forced analysis just yet. I am coming to trust that when she's ready for that, she'll let me know.

Hmmm...how very unschoolish of you. :D Well done!

[Guest]

Hmmm...how very unschoolish of you. :D Well done!

 

:lol: Actually the hardest thing about homeschooling for me is learning when to keep my mouth shut. I have this tendency to want everything to be a magical teachable moment; I ruined dd's pleasure in discovery a few times when she was little and have to keep reminding myself not to do it again. Fine line to walk!

[FloridaLisa]

I've always documented them as part of our list of yearly field trips. But I never did anything with that list formally for college apps. It was for my records I suppose!

 

Lisa

[swimmermom3]

Maybe my view is just twisted because of dd's auditoriness, but I think many people are scared by Shakespeare simply because of the name, and don't realize quite how much slapstick there is in the comedies, or in the tragedies, how much of the brutal action takes place on stage so that the plot and the characters' dilemmas are quite accessible (Hamlet of course always excepted). I found reading the plays in grad school really, really difficult; I have trouble just keeping the characters straight. Yet every time we see one on stage I find it engaging, provoking.. and although there are of course layers and layers of historical and literary meaning, you can get a LOT from a relaxed viewing and talking it over afterwards.

 

We went up to Ashland one summer (saw Twelfth Night) and I'm dying to go back. Their schedule for next year just came out and among other things, they're doing a comedy by Moliere called The Imaginary Invalid -- the title alone has dd in stitches and we're trying to figure out how in the world we can get up that way to see it.

 

I'm thinking that just as most homeschoolers prepare a formal reading list for college admissions, I could make a separate list of plays seen and/or read, as many of them are considered classics.

 

So Karen, how would you do Shakespeare given the exposure that my kids have had? Would you start with having them see a recorded performance so they have exposure to the story and then do some context work and maybe map out characters before seeing the live performance. I definitely don't want to kill off the spark of enjoyment and discovery, but I also don't want them to be lost during the performance.

[Guest]

So Karen, how would you do Shakespeare given the exposure that my kids have had? Would you start with having them see a recorded performance so they have exposure to the story and then do some context work and maybe map out characters before seeing the live performance. I definitely don't want to kill off the spark of enjoyment and discovery, but I also don't want them to be lost during the performance.

 

All I've learned from ten years of homeschooling is -- sometimes -- how to teach my child. I don't think it's a transferable skill.:001_smile: I truly have no idea any more how a neurotypical child would experience a Shakespeare play, how difficult the language would be to get around.

 

What we did when she was younger was simply read a prose summary of the play (partly because the first ones we went to see, I'd never read or seen either -- The Winter's Tale and As You Like It). I think we had the Charles Lamb book. That was literally all we did. I stopped doing this after two plays because she asked me to; she wanted to "be surprised."

 

In The Skylark Sings With Me, David Albert recounts how he prepared his daughter for a Shakespeare performance: they read the prose summary, watched a DVD version, and he had the child memorize one short speech -- there are lots of famous quotes and speeches from Macbeth that would be fun to memorize and recite with one another. Like me, they did all the discussing afterwards. I suspect that as his daughter grew older, they would have done some kind of historical context-setting as well, but the book ends before that point.

 

This is a neurotypical kid he's talking about, so I suspect this is probably a good way to go. I think the balance he's trying to hit is between having a child go into an experience like this cold and be baffled and bored on one hand, or on the other, having the play turned into so much "work" that it's just not fun or exciting anymore. After all, one of the goals (I assume) is to have a child who is going to buy theater tickets for pleasure later in life, without thinking that this entails a huge research project beforehand. The amount of outside knowledge required is not that huge.

 

If you and yours love Bryson, have you tried his biography of Shakespeare? The illustrated edition is marvelous; there's also an audiobook; and it's hands-down the most accessible and human-interest-centered biography around. And it's not a huge scholarly tome; it's meant for everyday people who are interested in the man and the times. You won't get a lot of analysis of the individual plays, but more a look at the world of the theater in the Renaissance. It's short and of course it's engagingly written.

 

If you want to look up discussions of individual plays for yourself (not for student to read), I recently got a really cheap copy of Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All. It's a chapter per play, and I think it would help you find things to focus on when you discuss the play afterwards (or before, depending on how you do things). It's not too theoretical, too obscure, or too historically detailed; it focuses on characters, issues, central issues, language, and such. Some chapters are more of a slog than others -- she's no Bryson -- but I have found it very useful, particularly since you don't have to thumb all through the book to find bits and pieces on one play. It's all there in one chapter.