THEATRE Devising Theatre from Personal Connections to the Natural World A devised performance workshop based on personal connections to nature. Estimated time needed: Two, 90-minute sessions. UT Lead(s): Gabrielle LewisARS Teacher-Designer(s): Baylie HeadYPAR/ARS Student-Researcher(s): Norah Young Lesson Series Overview This devised performance lesson series invites students to develop original pieces of theatre based on their personal connections to the natural world and their surrounding environment. In the first session, students revisit writing developed in the ELAR classroom based on their connections to the natural world. Students then use their writing to create short, gesture-based performances. In the second session, students begin by making embodied images through the drama-based pedagogical strategy I Am a Tree. Students then analyze a video of youth-devised performance before breaking off into small groups to create devised performances of their own. After each group shares their performance, the whole class reflects on the ways embodied performance can deepen our relationship to the natural world. LESSON SERIES PLAN Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): TheatreCreative expression: performance(E) employ physical techniques consistently to express thoughts, feelings, and actions nonverbally.(F) create, write, and refine original monologues, improvisations, scenes, or vignettes that reflect dramatic structure to convey meaning to the audience through live performance or media forms.Critical evaluation and response(C) offer and receive constructive criticism of peer performances. Educator & Student Reflections“Their scenes combined essays from multiple students, which let them explore how the world looks through different perspectives. Climate literacy is vital because it affects these students more than it ever will us. They talk about it constantly—they’re having conversations adults aren’t having. For them to express their thoughts and perform them was really powerful.” – Baylie Head “In English, you’d normally just write a paragraph and be done. But we combined English and theater—we wrote essays about how climate change has impacted us and turned them into scripts, scenes, and monologues.” – Norah Young YPAR | Youth Participatory Action Research YPAR Arts-Based Research Outputs Student Examples
