Acting Out Class Summary 2/25/13

Medea on Trial

The case for the defense

We began yesterday with the class presenting their cases for either the defense or prosecution of Medea. She was being charged with four particularly heinous crimes, and it fell to half the class to defend her and the other half to prosecute her. We selected teams of students to argue their cases against one another -- with a prosecutor going first, then a defense argument, and so on, until all cases were "tried."

It was great to see some of the students successfully "defend" Medea -- at first glance, not an easy task. Alas, after all the cases were presented, most agreed she was in fact...guilty.

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Presenting physical evidence

Last week, the students expressed an interest in performing Parts I and II again with a little more acting involved. Susan got the kids up on their feet and encouraged them to incorporate the elements of diction, expression, and physical movement. We finished Part I and will revisit Part II next week one final time, in addition to wrapping up our analysis and discussion of The Golden Fleece.

Susan says, "Once again, the kids came in with their characters ready to be revealed.
They all experimented with their voices and movement as we got up on our feet and read Act I.  

The case for the prosecution

They are showing real courage as they step into these Greek personalities and work the "actor" sides of themselves. Bravo! During the mock trial, it was very powerful to see the "defendants" and the "prosecutors" stake their claims about Medea. It was great to watch how anyone with a real convincing story can truly "sway" the jury."

Please have students review their lines from Part II and highlight them if they haven't already, so we can get the most out of our class next week.

Also, it's crucial that all students keep scripts in their binders, as we don't have extra copies on hand.

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Susan assists in bringing Heracles to life

Jason v. Medea

Homework

Imagine you are a crew member on The Argo. After reading “Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea” write a diary entry describing a typical day aboard ship, incorporating as many facts as possible from the reading. You can also share your thoughts about fellow crew members, including your impression of Jason and his qualities as a leader!

Calling expert witnesses

What's Ahead

On March 11, we will move on to the epic story of Homer's The Odyssey. Students will research The Trojan War, engage in literary analysis both in class, and at home, and write poems about their favorite Greek characters. 

By April 1, we will move on to the Shakespeare section of our class, beginning with Hamlet.

Claiming Medea is only partly guilty (clever!)

Polyphemus