Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program

In conjunction with the production of Waiting for Godot at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, the Page to Stage Program has created a unit for students in grades 912 in reference to the Drama and Theatre Content Standards 1-7 from the Hawaii Department of Education (See attached). In this unit, students will learn about Samuel Becketts life and the production history of Godot, while also preparing a production of the play that will be performed at

the end of the unit. The students will create their own concept of the production based on their experiences. They will have almost complete control of their scenes with additional guidance from their teacher.

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett Directed by Markus Wessendorf Kennedy Theatre Nov 12, 13, 19, Dec 2, 4 at 7:30pm; Nov 21 at 2pm For more information on public performances of Hamlet and Waiting for Godot call Kennedy Theatre Box Office at 956-7655 or purchase tickets online through etickethawaii.com/perform.html

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program

HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DRAMA AND THEATRE CONTENT STANDARDS, GRADES 9 - 12 1. Students understand and apply theatre skills to develop and communicate a story. Construct and refine a scene, individually or in a group, so that story and artists intentions are communicated to an audience. Develop a plot for a scene or a play incorporating rising action, climax, and resolution for a performance. Write a script incorporating character dialogue and stage directions. Stage a reading or performance of an original script. 2. Students understand and apply artistic collaboration in drama and theatre. Communicate to develop unified production concepts through research and collaboration among student designers, directors, and actors. Organize the interrelated responsibilities involved in theatre, such as design, stage management, marketing, and set construction. 3. Students understand and apply the skills of acting. Analyze and convey the physical, emotional, and social dimensions of characters found in drama texts and performances. Demonstrate artistic choices and acting skills by performing a scene or play. 4. Students understand and apply the skills of design and technical theatre. Organize and execute technical roles according to theatrical practices, standards of safety, and environmental guidelines. Use multiple technologies to enhance theatrical productions. Analyze improvised or scripted scenes for technical requirements. 5. Students understand and relate the role of theatre arts to culture and history. Analyze and compare the social impact of various cultures and historical periods. Use elements such as props, costumes, scenery, and language which are culturally and historically appropriate to create a performance. 6. Students analyze and critique informal and formal theatre productions. Observe and compare formal theatre productions. Analyze and evaluate critical comments about a dramatic work, explaining which points are most appropriate for the further development of the work. Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program Develop and explain appropriate criteria in making artistic choices for informal and formal productions. 7. Students understand and demonstrate how theatre arts are related to various art forms and disciplines. Analyze and explain common themes among theatre, various art forms, and disciplines. Integrate art forms and other disciplines into a theatrical performance. Research and explain the knowledge, skills, and discipline needed to pursue careers and a vocational opportunities in theatre arts.

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program
Teacher Goals: Teacher will introduce Becketts Waiting for Godot Student Goals: Students will begin to read Waiting for Godot, form groups, and watch video on The Classical Theatre of Harlem Unit Goal: With the teachers help, students will create a production of Waiting for Godot Hawaii Education Standard: Standard 2: Students understand and apply artistic collaboration in drama and theatre. Standard 5: Students understand and relate the role of theatre arts to culture and history. 1. Watch the video at this website about a production of Waiting for Godot in New Orleans. Date: Week 1 Class: 9-12 Theatre class Room: Time:

http://www.creativetime.org/programs/arc hive/2007/chan/welcome.html
As students watch the video, ask them to think about any situation in their lives where theyve had to wait for something that never came b. When the video is over, brainstorm ideas about waiting. - How does it feel to constantly wait for something? - Would you feel impatient? Restless? 2. Read the play out loud in a circle, switching roles every scene. 3. Form groups of 4-5 a. Going around the groups, assign 2-3 scenes for each group. Those are the scenes that each group will work on. b. Have each group choose actors, a director, and a stage manager ASSIGNMENT: 1. Read They Want to be Entertained by Barry McGovern 1. Read through your scenes and think about how you would design the sets and costumes for this play. 2. Do research on other productions of the play. Reflection: Progression: a.

Materials: Copies of the play Method to show documentary Copies of They Want to be Entertained from Reflections on Beckett to pass out.

Vocabulary Words:

Reminders:.

Assessment:

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program
Teacher Goals: Teacher will guide the students through a history of Beckett and Waiting for Godot Student Goals: Students will begin to research Godot and Beckett to help them form their own ideas of their scenes Unit Goal: With the teachers help, students will create a production of Waiting for Godot Hawaii Education Standard: Standard 2: Students understand and apply artistic collaboration in drama and theatre. Standard 5: Students understand and relate the role of theatre arts to culture and history. Standard 6: Students analyze and critique informal and formal theatre productions. 1. Assign each group to research a specific production of Godot a. 1957 San Quentin Production San Francisco Actors Workshop b. The Classical Theatre of Harlem c. 1961 TV Production d. 1956 US Premiere Coconut Grove e. Broadway 2009 Revival f. Paris 1953 g. Berlin 1975 2. Take the next 20 minutes to research each production and present it to the class. 3. Think about how these ideas could be worked into your own scenes/ ASSIGNMENT 1. Research Beckett. Assign each group a period from Becketts life a. Childhood b. School c. Paris Years d. World War Two e. His plays His novels Reflection: Date: Week 2 Class: 9-12 Theatre class Room: Time:

Materials: Copies of the play Internet Articles Reviews Vocabulary Words:

Reminders:.

Assessment:

Progression

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program
Teacher Goals: Teacher will have students explore different types of waiting and challenge students to not use technology for a day. Student Goals: Students will explore different types of waiting, leading to a day without technology Unit Goal: With the teachers help, students will create a production of Waiting for Godot Hawaii Education Standard: Standard 2: Students understand and apply artistic collaboration in drama and theatre. Standard 3: Students understand and apply the skills of acting. 1. Warm Up 2. Give the students 5 minutes to explore different types of waiting a. Should be individual 3. Challenge the students to spend the entire next day without technology. a. No facebook b. No internet c. No cellphones - How do you fill the time without technology? 4. Split groups up and have them start working on their scenes. a. Cast scenes b. Create a concept within the constraints of the general production. ASSIGNMENT 1. Directors: work on the concept that the group decided on 2. Actors: Think about your characters, how do their personalities fit within your concept and within the play. Date: Week 3 Class: 9-12 Theatre class Room: Time:

Materials: Copies of the play Paper Pencils

Vocabulary Words: Concept

Reminders:.

Reflection: Progression:

Assessment:

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program
Teacher Goals: Teacher will start helping the students in coming up with a concept for their production. Student Goals: Students will begin to create and rehearse their scenes in their groups Unit Goal: With the teachers help, students will create a production of Waiting for Godot Hawaii Education Standard: Standard 1: Students understand and apply theatre skills to develop and communicate a story. Standard 2: Students understand and apply artistic collaboration in drama and theatre. Standard 4: Students understand and apply the skills of design and technical theatre. 1. Warm Up 2. Rehearse in separate groups ON GOING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Memorize lines 2. Refine blocking Date: Week 4-6 Class: 9-12 Theatre class Room: Time:

Materials: Copies of the play Beginnings of props, costumes, set pieces

Vocabulary Words: Reminders:.

Reflection:

Assessment:

Progression:

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program
Teacher Goals: Teacher and students will perform their work. Student Goals: Students will perform their production of Waiting for Godot Unit Goal: With the teachers help, students will create a production of Waiting for Godot Hawaii Education Standard: Standard 1: Students understand and apply theatre skills to develop and communicate a story. Standard 4: Students understand and apply the skills of design and technical theatre. Standard 7: Students understand and demonstrate how theatre arts are related to various art forms and disciplines. PERFORMANCE DAY!! Students will perform Waiting for Godot in a Round Robin: One continuous play with the different groups. Date: Week 7 Class: 9-12 Theatre class Room: Time:

Materials: Copies of the play Props Costumes Set pieces

Vocabulary Words:

Reminders:.

Reflection:

Assessment:

Progression:

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program BOOKS Waiting for Godot. Samuel Beckett, The Complete Dramatic Works Faber and Faber. London, 1986 Damned to Fame The Life of Samuel Beckett, James Knowlson, Grove Press, New York, 1996 Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. Blooms Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed by Harold Bloom, Infobase Publishing, New York, 2008 The Letters of Samuel Beckett, Volume 1: 1929-1940. Edited by Martha Dow Fehsenfeld and Lois More Overbeck, 2009 A collection of the authors letters from 1929-1940. ONLINE RESOURCES Luckys Thought http://www.samuel-beckett.net/Penelope/Pozzo_Lucky.html An in-depth look at Luckys famous monologue. Waiting for Godot in New Orleans http://www.creativetime.org/programs/archive/2007/chan/welcome.html A collaborative project between Paul Chan, Creative Time, and the Classical Theatre of Harlem of a production of Waiting for Godot in New Orleans. VIDEO Beckett on Film. Dir: Various. 2003 A collection of all of Becketts Dramatic Works on DVD.

The Impossible Itself, Dir by Jacob Adams, 2008, http://www.newfilmmakersonline.com/title.aspx?levelID=16017&assetID=3097 A documentary about the 1957 production of Waiting for Godot at San Quentin Prison by the San Francisco Actors Workshop. *Must have a username and password to download. Please contact Godotdramaturg Yining Lin at lin.yining@gmail.com with any questions about these plans or resources.

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company

Waiting for Godot Grades 9-12 Lesson Plans, created by Yining Lin Kennedy Theatre Page to Stage Program

10

WAITING FOR GODOT EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

PRE-SHOW TALKS Saturday November 13 2010 Looking into Waiting for Godot by Yining Lin Saturday December 4 2010 "For the love of Godot: The Story Behind the Play" by Lindsay Timmington-McGahan Times: 6:30PM Location: Earle Ernst Lab Theatre GODOTS MOMENT POST-SHOW PANEL DISCUSSION Panelists: Elisa Joy White, Ricardo D. Trimillos, Laura E. Lyons, Jonathan Kamakawiwo'ole Osorio, Jean Toyama; Moderator: Markus Wessendorf. The scholars will relate the production to our present moment, especially here in Hawaii. Sunday 21 November 2010, 4:30PM Earle Ernst Lab Theatre For more information on educational events, contact KTPage@hawaii.edu

Waiting for Godot educational outreach co-sponsored by Hawai'i Council for the Humanities and All the World's a Stage Theatre Company