Class 3 students radiated enthusiasm as they joined their remote Drama class on Tuesday morning, sporting masks, capes and other creative and colorful attire.
These young actors were dressed to depict the persona of their very own superhero, a character they created in Art class with Lower School Art teacher Lauren McCarty. There, students carefully curated their superheroes, focusing on certain colors, letters or images and creating an emblem to reflect their special powers. In addition, Ms. McCarty helped show students how to use household items to create costume elements such as arm bands, masks or headbands.
Today, in Drama, the costumes – and characters – were unveiled!
“Wow! Looking great, friends,” commented Sarah Bellantoni, Head of Lower School Arts and Integration and Drama teacher, as students entered. The small rectangle in the lower left corner of each individual’s Zoom box, usually reserved for a student’s name, now displayed unique titles such as: Audrey the Detective, Star Raven, Laser Girl and Dolphin Speaker.
To begin, students practiced striking superhero poses and briefly described their powers. “I have a button that says, ‘Press here to spread kindness,’” shared one student. Another spoke about her power to heal the sick. Other impressive abilities included helping the homeless and taking technology away from people who are on their phones too much.
“Communicate your character not just through your words, but through your voice and body,” explained Ms. Bellantoni, stating that these simple assets are an actor’s biggest tools. “When acting, I think of two hands lining up,” she said, placing her hands together - palms facing one another. “Where is my character different than me? Where are we the same?”
As a warm-up, Ms. Bellantoni asked students to stand and recite one sentence from the monologue they had written the week prior that was from the perspective of their superhero. “Who remembers the difference between monologue and dialogue?” she asked.
“Monologue is when you’re speaking by yourself and dialogue is when you’re talking with other people,” one student answered.
“Exactly, Laser Girl,” Ms. Bellantoni affirmed. She emphasized the importance of volume and introduced a new word: Intensity. “Act like this is the most important thing your character has ever said!” she explained. “Who wants to demonstrate?”
An eager volunteer stood and said fiercely, “I’m waking up and I’m going to save the world!” posing with her arms outstretched and with her hands clenched into fists.
“When I wake up, I will save all the puppies!” another exclaimed, beaming a bright smile and hoisting up her own pet into her arms to use as a prop.
For their next activity, students split into break-out rooms to play ‘The Hot Seat,’ where the pairs were instructed to interview one another while in character. Before they dispersed, Ms. Bellantoni engaged them in a Q & A demonstration with a student, aka ‘Plastic Charley,’ asking questions such as ‘When did you realize you had special powers?’ and ‘What is a message you would send to people around the world?’
Ms. Bellantoni praised the actor, noting that Plastic Charley’s voice differed from her usual “human” tone. Her body language also allowed her to further embody her environmentally-conscious character.
In break-out room 3, one student asked, “What are you scared of?” to which her superhero friend responded, “Since my power is to find animals that are endangered and help them, I’m scared that I will forget to save one!”
Another pair in break-out room 4 asked what their superheroes weaknesses would be, if any. “I can’t fly,” offered one student. Her partner countered, “I can’t catch all the bad guys!”
Once the class regrouped in the main session, Ms. Bellantoni asked what the actors learned about their superhero peers during the game. Audrey the Detective shared, “Hearty the Superhero has a special button and if you press it, she’ll say good things!”
Star Bunny commented, “I learned that Recycle Rainbow can pick up all the trash in the Atlantic!”
Ms. Bellantoni gushed over her students’ immense creativity and improv skills, offering positive feedback to each student. She noted that the superhero theme will continue next week, with a focus on creating dialogue between the diverse characters.
As the animated students made their exits, Ms. Bellantoni signed off by saying, “I loved getting to know your characters! Have a powerful and heroic Tuesday!”
