Creating "mindful ensembles": guiding emerging readers through the ensemble-based playwriting and physical theatre process

Abstract

The proposed research involves an interactive approach to the study of effective pedagogical techniques involving applying theatre games and ensemble exercises as an alternative means of increasing literacy and reading comprehension. The target age groups will be dissected into two populations at Waikiki Elementary School: Kindergarten/ 1st grade ("emerging readers") and 2nd/ 3rd grade (self-directed "independent readers"). The past several years have seen an increase in the codification of "performing arts in education" programs, and I am investigating the connections between kinesthetic learning and group-based ensemble-building processes as effective agents in increasing literacy. This will be an experiential process in which I utilize and facilitate several renowned ensemble-building exercises in conjunction with literacy-building techniques, while still striving to maintain a sense of enjoyment and creativity during the lessons. To accommodate Waikiki Elementary School's P4C and "Habits of Mind" school-wide philosophical teachings, many of the short plays will be centered on Aesop's Fables, as well as other famous fairy tales that reinforce the school's approach to moral teachings and each individual child's developmental growth. The 28-lesson curriculum will be designed to culminate in two public presentations of theatre pieces selected, written, and ensemble-created by the students themselves. I will explore the relationship between the students' comprehension of the principles of written and performed dramatic structure at the beginning of the after-school program, and their comprehension at the end of the program, post-performance. It is my intention to eventually integrate physical theatre and storytelling as essential components for increasing functional literacy at the "emerging readers" level. It is my long-term goal to create a one-year curriculum that mandates kinesthetic learning paradigms and their integration into "arts in education" after school programs, available for all student populations.