Exposing Eighth-Graders To High-Quality Theatre

One of the things I like to try to do each year is take my students to see a worthwhile play.

Many students have gone on field trips to see plays before they reach the eighth-grade.

But I'm not sure if many of them end up seeing plays that stay with them and inspire a potential future interest in going to see plays on their own.

I've formed that impression from polling my students.

A lot of them will raise their hands when asked if they've gone to see a play before as part of a school field trip.

Not many--sometimes none--of those hands stay up after you ask those same students if they actually enjoyed or at least appreciated the play they saw.

The five best plays that I've taken students to see have been by Triad Stage and the Playmakers Repertory Company.

Both theatres do an amazing job with their productions.

The Playmakers' only advantage is that we're also able to expose students to the Rathskeller restaurant, a more unique dining experience than most of them have had before.

In chronological order, those five best plays are "Having Our Say" (PRC), "The Glass Menagerie" (PRC), "North Star" (TS), "Cyrano de Bergerac" (PRC), and "The Diary of Anne Frank" (TS).

While not very single student appreciated each of these plays, I felt confident with each one that I had succeeded in exposing my students to high-quality theatre.

From polling students and reading and listening to their responses, I also know that a majority of my students found themselves enjoying and appreciating the plays.

In many cases, I was confident that I had exposed my students to their best theatre experience to date.

And that some of them might end up choosing to go see plays on their own later in life.

The big challenge is finding plays that are "old" enough for eighth-grade students without having language or content that's "too mature".

I try to select plays that will engage the students and hopefully interest them.

If the play has a message about how we ought to treat fellow human beings, that's certainly a big plus.

The play also has to occur during the school year and have student matinees.

Finally, it has to fit in well with any other planned field trips. The calendar spacing has to be worked out so that trips aren't too close together. (The last several years, that's meant finding a play that doesn't conflict with a fall trip to Grandfather Mountain/Tweetsie Railroad and a spring trip to Wilmington.)

I've already started taking a look at what's being offered during the 2007-2008 school year.

I don't know even know if it will end up being age-appropriate, but I'm very disappointed that Triad Stage scheduled "Bloody Blackbeard" to open the last week of school.

The subject of Blackbeard fits beautifully with North Carolina's eighth-grade social studies curriculum.

And since it's a Preston Lane original production, I'm guessing that it's going to be a great play. (I've absolutely loved "Brother Wolf" and "Beautiful Star.")

I was taking a serious look at "From the Mississippi Delta," another Triad Stage offering.

I knew I needed to get a copy of the script so that I could make sure that the content was age-appropriate.

Reading Go Triad yesterday, I noticed that "From the Mississippi Delta" was being performed that same day at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM as part of Winston-Salem's National Black Theatre Festival.

I jumped in my car, drove to the Winston-Salem Marriott, and was able to purchase a ticket about 15 minutes before the 3:00 PM show started.

The play was OK, but I didn't think it was as powerful as some of the past plays we've taken students to see.

More importantly, it had some sexual content that went a little too far for eighth-grade students. (Not to mention, there's a part of the play during which "pimps, hustlers, and whores" are mentioned a few times.)

In my search for the "perfect play to take students to see during the 2007-2008 school year," I've also gotten some great input from News & Record theatre critic Leslie Mizell.

I've never gotten in touch with her before.

Leslie's been amazing!

She's e-mailed me a couple of times and has provided great elaboration about the plays that she's mentioned.

I don't know if other teachers have sought her advice before, but she's a wonderful (and wonderfully willing) resource.

Several other positive options don't occur at times that will work out well.

There are a couple possibilities that remain.

And I'll remain on the look-out for plays I haven't heard or read about yet.

I'm still hopeful that I'll find as perfect a play for my students as the ones I've been able to find in the past.