Hello Mrs Chips
When I ran my last children's scriptwriting course for Kidz Kabaret I had a calm class of four little girls and one boy. They devised a gentle little story about three teenagers on a beach.
This time I have five wildly excitable 11-year-old boys, one of whom will go to any lengths he can to stay on a chair without actually putting his bottom on the seat.
"Ok," I said to them above the shouting. "In this course I'm going to help you devise your own story which you will write down then perform. It'll be put on dvd for you to keep."
"Oh, I already have a story," said Tommy. "It's set in a school and ..."
"It's really good you have ideas," I retorted in my best teacher voice. "But I want you to.."
Shlurp.
"This milk shake is really good," interupted Timmy from behind a 32 oz cup. "I think milk shakes are my favourite food. Apart from ice cream, of course."
"Oo, I like pizza," chipped in Todd. "Sausage is best."
"Very interesting," I interjected. "Now about the script."
At the end of a very long hour, Timmy was so high on sugar I was longing for the time when he was merely laying across the chair with his head on the table.
Still, the boys had managed to choose a character each to be for their skit, and written a list of characteristics. Next week we'll move on the setting the scene and writing it all down. I'm a firm believer in giving children free choice over their writing ideas, particularly as this is meant to be a fun alternative to the more disciplined writing they do in school.
But if anyone can tell me how we're going to put together a skit featuring the following characters, I'd be keen to find out.
We have a man who looks like a baby but he's a really a 54-year-old lawyer. A mean homeless six-year-old who lives in a box and makes money by playing Yugimon card games. A 43-year-old bridge builder who can juggle 1,000 things at once, but will probably only be able to manage two for the show if he puts down his milkshake and one-year-old baby who sucks his thumb and giggles a lot (but in a highly irritating way if the little rehearsal was anything to go by). There is fortunately, one girl, but she's bald and comes from Venus.....
This time I have five wildly excitable 11-year-old boys, one of whom will go to any lengths he can to stay on a chair without actually putting his bottom on the seat.
"Ok," I said to them above the shouting. "In this course I'm going to help you devise your own story which you will write down then perform. It'll be put on dvd for you to keep."
"Oh, I already have a story," said Tommy. "It's set in a school and ..."
"It's really good you have ideas," I retorted in my best teacher voice. "But I want you to.."
Shlurp.
"This milk shake is really good," interupted Timmy from behind a 32 oz cup. "I think milk shakes are my favourite food. Apart from ice cream, of course."
"Oo, I like pizza," chipped in Todd. "Sausage is best."
"Very interesting," I interjected. "Now about the script."
At the end of a very long hour, Timmy was so high on sugar I was longing for the time when he was merely laying across the chair with his head on the table.
Still, the boys had managed to choose a character each to be for their skit, and written a list of characteristics. Next week we'll move on the setting the scene and writing it all down. I'm a firm believer in giving children free choice over their writing ideas, particularly as this is meant to be a fun alternative to the more disciplined writing they do in school.
But if anyone can tell me how we're going to put together a skit featuring the following characters, I'd be keen to find out.
We have a man who looks like a baby but he's a really a 54-year-old lawyer. A mean homeless six-year-old who lives in a box and makes money by playing Yugimon card games. A 43-year-old bridge builder who can juggle 1,000 things at once, but will probably only be able to manage two for the show if he puts down his milkshake and one-year-old baby who sucks his thumb and giggles a lot (but in a highly irritating way if the little rehearsal was anything to go by). There is fortunately, one girl, but she's bald and comes from Venus.....
posted by Hilary at
11:02 AM
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