Today was another grand day, my friends. I’m so grateful to you for how you’ve grappled with the more complex tools and terms introduced during this class. Of course, I’m equally appreciative for how you’ve embraced our intentional sense of play.

Our morning began as all our mornings have begun: with games and Daily Pages. Our circle game took a big leap forward – and, believe it or not, it even tied back to yesterday’s pedagogy; the version of the game we played this morning is actually how some storyweaving sessions are introduced! Pew! Pew! Pew! added several new moves, and in 1 – 7 we saw the dramatic crowning of a new set of champions. Kudos, all!

As for your Daily Pages: congratulations, you’ve hit the 8-minute mark. And you did it without breaking a sweat. I strongly encourage you to continue with 8-minute Daily Pages when our class wraps. If you’re so inclined, this practice will continue to offer insight and inspiration.

After a brief rehearsal, we presented your adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” followed by a productive Liz Lerman Critical Response Process. I so enjoyed your presentation, and I’m looking forward to where your next iteration(s) will go. Allow the way, we dug into some heady concepts; please share with your parents your understanding of the Benign Violation Theory and the Peak-End Heuristic.

We unpacked four new precepts, using again a kinesthetic, expressive community-building exercise to foster discussion about these new ideas. I love that our room is adorned with your creative efforts, as well as the great words of great artists. Today’s quotations included:

— Ntozake Shange

“As you stand on the shoulders of those who have paved the way for you to tell our stories be fearless!”

— Tim Bond

“Whatever art form you’re working in, it’s crucial to see it clearly, to feel it clearly, and not to worry about the results, or how someone else will see it.”
— Omar Epps

— Konstantin Stanislavski

After lunch, we read Frank R. Stockton’s seminal short story “The Lady or the Tiger.” I love this story, in part because it gives a name to a type of impossible choice that I think all great stories should feature; I love watching what happens when characters have their backs against the wall and must choose between imperfect – and mutually exclusive — outcomes. Then, working both collectively and independently, you analyzed Stockton’s story using all of the tools we’ve thus far explored during our course.  And with this analysis in hand, you drafted another new short play, adapted from “The Lady or the Tiger.”

We closed our day exploring the fourth element of Aristotle’s hierarchy, Diction. Specifically, we dove into the theories of the influential Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, and the power of allowing subtext to either rise to the surface or to float deep in submerged language. Remember, per Stanislavski, “Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home.”

If you allow your characters to speak their subtext, they will always surprise you! All you have to do is listen.

Thank you again, my friends. What a wonderful day! Let’s have one more tomorrow.

Best,