Lesson Plan Nugget: Telling Your Story
Write your Oscars Acceptance Speech
Vietnamese-born Chinese-American actor Ke Huy Quan received an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Waymond Wang in 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once. Watch Quan speak briefly about his family's history in his Oscar acceptance speech.
Find an acceptance speech from a theatre-focused awards ceremony (Tonys, Oliviers, Drama Desk, etc.) from a winner who identifies as Asian or Pacific Islander and learn more about their artistic works or journey, then imagine you win an Academy Award!
Write an acceptance speech that incorporates your family's history and experiences and illuminates your story.
Consider the following guiding questions:
What award would you win?
How would you say your family's history and ancestry laid a path for your success?
What obstacles do you imagine you would have to overcome to be recognized at the top of the industry?
What parts of your personal story would you want to see reflected in your work as an industry professional?
Standards
TH:Cn10.1.I.a. Investigate how cultural perspectives, community ideas and personal beliefs impact a drama/theatre work.
TH: Cn10.1.III.a. Collaborate on a drama/theatre work that examines a critical global issue using multiple personal, community, and cultural perspectives.
Lesson Plan Nugget: Engage Students with Anime
Anime as Image Theatre
Tap into you’re the world of manga and anime to celebrate API month with your students. Starting with a graphic novel (manga) or short film (anime) example, recreate the story as a series of frozen images- a living graphic novel on stage.
Step 1- Choose a graphic novel or short film example to analyze, or allow your students to bring in examples.
Caution, manga and anime, like their counterparts in novels and film, run the gamut from kid friendly to mature themes, be sure to preview any examples you wish to use in class. For a great source of kid-safe anime check out the free videos at Funimation produced by Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., which exists to introduce audiences to Anime.
Step 2- Have students work together in small groups analyze the structure of their chosen piece, identifying beginning, middle, end, characters, conflict and complications.
Step 3– Challenge students to plan and rehearse a way to re-create the story in 6 to 10 frozen images.
Step 4- Perform scenes for each other and reflect: what details did each group include that helped to bring to life the characters and tell the story?
Variation: Use this lesson nugget to teach fight choreography and safety by re-creating a climactic moment from the story in slow motion as a series of carefully chosen slow motion fight moments.
Standards
Middle Grades (May also modify for older elementary students using the standards for grades 4 or 5)
TH:Cr1.1.6.a - Identify possible solutions to staging challenges in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr1.1.7.a - Investigate multiple perspectives and solutions to staging challenges in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr1.1.8.a - Imagine and explore multiple perspectives and solutions to staging problems in a drama/ theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.6.a - Identify the essential events in a story or script that make up the dramatic structure in a drama/theatre work. TH:Pr4.1.6.b - Experiment with various physical choices to communicate character in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.7.a - Consider various staging choices to enhance the story in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.7.b - Use various character objectives in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.8.b - Use various character objectives and tactics in a drama/theatre work to overcome an obstacle.
TH:Pr4.1.HSI.a - Examine how character relationships assist in telling the story of a drama/theatre work.
High School
TH:Cr1.1.HSI.a - Apply basic research to construct ideas about the visual composition of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr1.1.HSI.c - Use script analysis to generate ideas about a character that is believable and authentic in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr1.1.HSII.a - Investigate historical and cultural conventions and their impact on the visual composition of a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.HSI.b - Shape character choices using given circumstances in a
drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.HSII.a - Discover how unique choices shape believable and sustainable
drama/ theatre work.
TH:Pr4.1.HSIII.b - Apply a variety of researched acting techniques as an
approach to character choices in a drama/theatre work.