The Art of Teaching Theatre: Creating Vibrant Post-Performance Dialogues

For many audience members, Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, which plays the Mark Taper Forum through January 10, 2016, doesn’t end when the curtain falls. In fact, the moment the actors take their bows marks the beginning of an even deeper engagement with this play about the mystery of faith: it’s when the post-show discussion begins. Instead of...

The Art of Teaching Theatre: Creating Vibrant Post-Performance Dialogues

Conversations from the Classroom: English Learners Speak the Language of Theatre

Over 50 percent of Los Angeles County citizens live in a home where a language other than English is spoken. I teach theatre at Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel, about 10 miles east of Downtown L.A.; approximately a quarter of our students are English learners, and they speak 25 different languages. In previous years, I have taught language l...

Conversations from the Classroom: English Learners Speak the Language of Theatre