Where Do You Begin? Take It From The T.O.P.

T.O.P. is a philosophy of educational theatre that is a content-driven, process-oriented approach that may do one or all of the following:

1. Use theatre arts as a means for ensemble participants to more deeply discover who they are through writing, developing, and performing original material around a particular theme.

2. Use theatre arts as a way to raise consciousness about societal issues for pre-determined audiences.

3. Use the gifts and talents of the ensemble participants in the creation and performance of the finished product. There is usually no outside casting of the finished material.

4. Use an organic, experimental approach to the development of the project.

How do you begin?

Know your purpose:  It's a process.  Know who you want to work with and what your goal is. (Teenagers? Older Adults? Children?) Remember Shakespeare said, "To Thine Own Self Be True." If you don't like working with kids then don't.  Stay with your passion. This is intense, intimate work that requires an investment of time, courage, energy, and risk. As a T.O.P. facilitator, you must have the commitment to the purpose and a passion for the work.

Know your audience:  It's a product. Know who you are creating the material for - specific population, demographic, community?

Students as Collaborators: This work is not directed by you.  This work is highly organic and requires letting go of control.  You may start with a theme but the process of developing the content is collaborative.  There is an art to facilitating the process and knowing what the boundaries are but let the students take the lead. 

Anchors: As the facilitator you are also part of the collaborative process. You may have a vision and there may be certain anchor points you want included in the finished product.  You may identify certain material, poetry, music, news stories, historic events or visual metaphors that will help shape the piece of theatre you are devising. This is not a free wheeling, completely unstructured process. Rather, there are seeds of inspiration that you plant within the ensemble. 

Theatrical Storytelling Styles:  Is the piece you are devising non-linear? Is it a collage? Will you employ a particular style? Genre? What will serve the purpose? Perhaps the piece is didactic in nature lending itself to a Brechtian approach.  Perhaps you are creating something that would best be expressed through physical movement.  Having students explore different genres, styles, practitioners and processes will ignite their imagination and invite creative exploration.

Time:  Give yourself the necessary time to experiment.  Eventually the piece needs to be solidified. However I always tell students, "You can't fake a process." If the process has integrity, the product will have integrity.

Controlled Chaos: Be comfortable with the messiness of the creative process. Remember you are starting from nothing. No script, no blocking, no roadmap. However, I recommend that the stage manager keep rehearsal reports so that there is a record of where you have left off and where you need to pick up at the next rehearsal.   

Intended Impact: Your compass is the desired impact you want to have on the audience. What do you want to be the take away from their experience? 

 Trust: Above all trust and keep going.  There will be setbacks. There will be doubts. There will be confusion.  There will be conflict. There will be breakthroughs. There will be discoveries. There will be exhilarating moments. There will be satisfaction. There will be fulfillment.

Reflect: Theatre on Purpose teaches a way of working that applies not only to theatre but to any creative endeavor.  I believe that one of the most important aspects of T.O.P. is what students learn about themselves.

At the end of the process, I always have students do a reflection on their own process of collaboration.  By holding a mirror up to themselves, they see how they work, how they deal with obstacles and how they communicate with others. 

There is comfort in coming to know one's self.  Theatre on Purpose provides a way for students to understand themselves, to recognize their gifts and contribution to the whole and to be confident in who they are. 

A Theatre on Purpose practitioner understands that the goal is not the product. It is the process. 

The Importance of the International Thespian Society

Often, students who are drawn to theatre are not involved in the main -stream high school programs, clubs, or sports teams.  It was for this reason that I chartered a Thespian troupe in my second year  building the Tri-School Theatre Program and years later reactivated a dormant troupe in my current position at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.  

When I began teaching,  I knew very little about the International Thespian Society.  The Thespian Honor Society formed the center of the program and created a focus.  By rewarding quality work with a point system, the Thespian Society gave me a structure by which to organize the program.  We established a group of officers and developed a constitution. The student officers were given the responsibility for communication, planning and executing social activities and philanthropic work and for tracking members’ the points.  The International Thespian Society elevated the program immediately because of its well -designed point and ranking system. Students achieve various levels of honors based on the number of hours of quality work. The fact that the International Thespian Society is recognized by colleges and universities as the only honor society for secondary school theatre students gave me a story to tell  students and  parents.  

Initiating new members in a dignified ceremony instilled pride in the work. By being a member of the International Thespian Society, students joined a multi-faceted organization with a long-standing traditions. We developed a potluck to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of the students. This event quickly grew into a formal awards banquet in the spring. 

Parents love nothing more than to see their children recognized.  

For the T.O.P. practitioner, it is important to establish criteria that is in line with the educational theatre philosophy of the program.  Developing self-esteem in students is a priority.  I have seen students lives completely transformed by their involvement in the International Thespian Society.   It is the equivalent of an academic honor society for theatre arts. 

FESTIVALS

I believe taking students to one or two specific educational theatre festivals provides a growing experience on a number of levels.  A theatre community is like a family.  We come to know one another well and as a T.O.P. practitioner we see the potential in our students and strive to nurture their abilities. However perspective is a good thing.  If a student wants to pursue theatre in college or as a career, there is great value in providing opportunities to test themselves in a larger talent pool.  Some festivals provide adjudicated events for monologues, musical theatre, dance and duet scene work.  This kind of experience teaches students to:

1.    select appropriate audition material

2.    conform to time limitations and requirements

3.    understand how they perform under pressure

4.    benefit from written critique by other educational theatre professionals

The other great value in attending an educational theatre festival is that theatre students discover their “tribe.”    In a traditional high school setting, theatre students can feel like the proverbial “square peg in a round hole.”  In a festival setting, they meet other students who are creative, passionate, and like themselves.  There is no greater feeling than to belong and to be accepted for who you are. Theatre festivals create a safe environment where friendships, alliances, and support systems are formed. 

For programs with a Thespian Troupe, I recommend attending the state festival.  Usually this process is frenetic and overwhelming especially for newer teachers. I recommend not trying to do it all the first year. Take a small group and observe, ask questions, and get to understand the various opportunities. Once you have conquered your state thespian festival, I would suggest going to the International Thespian Festival.www.schooltheatre.org 

This is a much bigger undertaking because it requires travel and therefore, fund raising, chaperones and a week of your summer.  

Is it worth it? I would have to say yes. A week-long immersion for students to take workshops, see productions done by other high school programs and to compete in Individual Events based on their qualifying at the state festival is one of the best learning experiences a high school theatre student can have!