Cullen Middle School Theatre Proposal

Proposal for Creation of a Middle School Theatre Troupe during the 2019-2020 Academic Year April 2019- Draft 2.1

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Branson L. Cobb University of Houston Theatre Education Major, B.F.A. bransoncobb98@gmail.com (903) 905-2649

Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0

Overview I would create a theatre troupe (modeled after that of Lantrip Elementary Theatre Troupe) at a middle school in the third ward. The theatre troupe would serve to introduce students to the art of theatre using the 6th through 8th-grade TEKS as a guidepost for curriculum. The theatre troupe would also serve as a training experience for UH Theatre Education majors to gain experience in curriculum writing, classroom management, and lesson delivery for middle school students. Finally, the Theatre Troupe creation would serve to establish a relationship with the school and the UH Theatre Ed program.

Goals 1. Secure and maintain a middle school location and relationship UH Theatre Education team can go into and create an after-school theatre troupe.

2.

Create an environment in which the teaching artists are able to grow and develop practicum experience when working with middle school aged students.

3. Develop a curriculum that implements that foundations of the middle school theatre TEKS. 4. Use teacher-generated data in order to shape teaching strategies and curriculum throughout the academic year.

5. Create a sustainable middle school theatre troupe by mentoring the next group of administrators for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Specifications Alignment with Lantrip Theatre Club (LTC) & Norms Seeing that the middle school theatre troupe would both be modeled after and share teaching artists with LTC, we would align our schedule and norms with them. This will stop any possible confusion on there being two different “procedures” for things such as missing theatre club or submitting your lesson plan since there will be one unified procedure. Our administrators would meet regularly with the LTC administrators to make sure that we are aligned on our norms, scheduling, and other areas that may arise.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0 Timeframe & Scheduling The middle school theatre troupe would meet the same days as LTC, only at a slightly different time. The teaching artists would still clock the same amount of hours as those at LTC, just only at an adjusted time due to the dismissal time of all Houston ISD middle schools (3:50 pm). Here is the currently proposed schedule:

Lantrip T.C.

Middle School T.C.

Meeting

1:30 pm

2:15 pm

Leave

2:30 pm

3:15 pm

Start T.C.

3:15 pm

4:00 pm

Dismiss T.C.

5:00 pm

5:45 pm

Approx. Leave time

5:30 pm

6:15 pm

Total Time (weekly):

4 hours

4 hours

Total Time (annually):

100 hours

100 hours

Note: Teaching Artists who have a rehearsal or show call will be dismissed 45 minutes before their call.

Dividing UH Teaching Artists Between the Theatre Clubs When it comes to dividing the UH Teaching Artists between the two theatre clubs, it is not an easy task. After looking at the current theatre education ensemble numbers and experience, I have a plan that would best divide the theatre educators into the theatre clubs. Overall, the end goal is to create a divide that is as fair as possible for the teaching artists and lets as many people get exposure to both Lantrip and the middle school theatre troupe.

The Third Year Ensemble (6 members total): Three of us would come to the middle school and three of us would go Lantrip.

The Second Year Ensemble (9 members total): For an even split, seven of the sophomore ensemble members would come to the middle school theatre troupe, while three remain at Lantrip. At the end of the year, they would talk with Gary to see where they would be placed the next year for when they serve as head teaching artists and administrators.

The First Year Ensemble: The freshman ensemble would go to Lantrip for their first year and go to the middle school theatre troupe the following year.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0

Lantrip Theatre Club

Middle School Theatre Troupe

Third Year I Third Year II Third Year III

Third Year IV Third Year V Third Year VI

Second Year I Second Year II First Year I First Year II First Year III First Year IV

Second Year III Second Year IV Second Year V Second Year VI Second Year VII Second Year VIII

In the event that we accept six or more First-Year Theatre Education Majors, I would recommend the following division of the teaching artist:

Lantrip Theatre Club

Middle School Theatre Troupe

Third Year I Third Year II Third Year III

Third Year IV Third Year V Third Year VI

First Year I First Year II First Year III First Year IV First Year V First Year VI First Year VII & up

Second Year I Second Year II Second Year III Second Year IV Second Year V Second Year VI Second Year VII Second VIII If there is an large number of second years compared to first years, then some of the second years can be sent to balance out the numbers.

In the event that we go with the first provided example and some members of the second year ensemble are to remain at the Lantrip Theatre Troupe, Gary Cooper should make the final decision on who is the stay at Lantrip.

TEKS Based Learning & Curriculum Development The middle school theatre troupe would be aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) as much as possible in order to ensure that the students are receiving instruction that is equivalent and appropriate for their grade level. This includes a strong focus on collaboration, drawing upon one’s environment and history to create drama, safe use of the body, and the fundamental terminology and roles of theatre.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0 The overall curriculum and scope & sequence will be created by myself as part of this internship. However, the majority of the lesson plans themselves will be created by the teaching artists who teach at the middle school theatre troupe. This will strongly resemble the current process that LTC has in place. This will allow for the teaching artists to gain experience in lesson plan writing for middle school-aged students.

Collecting & Using Data Goal number four of this internship is to create and use teacher-generated data in order to shape and guide the middle school theatre troupe. This is going to be accomplished in two ways.

I.

Early on Auditions/Audits Within the first few weeks of theatre club, we will hold an auditions/audit of our students who will be evaluated by a randomly selected panel. We will be able to use this data to compare to the data collected when we hold auditions for our celebration of learning at the end of the school year. By having both of this panel’s being randomly selected, we know that we are getting the best possible data and allows us to measure growth and/or lack of growth.

II.

Weekly teacher feedback survey The end of each week of the middle school theatre troupe, the teaching artist, and administrators will be sent a survey via email. This four-question survey will evaluate the lesson, behavior, and overall effectiveness of the club for that day. Finally, the teaching artist will be able to anonymously comment/report on issues or concerns that they may have from that day.

We will be using SurveryMokey.com for our survey collection service since it allows us to anonymously collect results, while still being able to see who has submitted their feedback. We will be able to see the results and who has submitted feedback, however, will not be able to see who has submitted what feedback. You can take a look at the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5JM9MBG

Final Performance One of the large goals of the middle school theatre troupe is to produce a final performance/showcase of some sort. However, at this time I am not able to solidify plans for this performance, due to us not knowing what our student numbers will look like.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0

The end goal, is that students are creating, acting, and producing (alongside teaching artist) a scripted play. The Middle School Theatre Troupe administration will come together around December and January in order to solidify plans.

Administration Structure The goal of the administration structure being purposed for the middle school theatre troupe is to support the teaching artist, further a relationship between UH Theatre Program and the middle school, and provide quality instruction to students.

By having a head administrator and two head teaching artist, it allows for two people to overlook and support the teaching artist and oversee instruction. While another person can handle the relationship between UH SOTD and the middle school, handling concerns with students/parents, and looking for ways to forward the program.

Once roles for the 2019-2020 school year is established, the head teaching artist and I will sit down to establish roles and responsibilities.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0

Possible Locations One of the main goals of this internship is to create a middle school theatre troupe in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. After doing research, there are three main middle schools that currently lack theatre programs. I believe that these three schools are the strongest choices seeing that these are the two middle schools that Lantrip Elementary feeds into.

I.

Cullen Middle School 6900 Scott St, Houston, TX 77021 - 3.2 miles from UH School of Theatre & Dance This location more truly reflects the Third Ward since it is not a magnet school.

II.

Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan Middle School 2610 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004 - 1.5 miles from UH School of Theatre & Dance This location is a mixture of students from the Third Ward and other areas of Houston.

III.

Navarro Middle School 5100 Polk St, Houston, TX 77023 - 1.6 miles from UH School of Theatre & Dance This school already has a running theatre program with both classes and after-school productions.

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Middle School Theatre Troupe Proposal- Draft 2.0

Timeline of Events This is an approximate timeline of events that would lead to the successful creation of the middle school theatre troupe. Some of the events may be done out of order or at the same time.

Spring 2019 I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Submit the first draft of the proposal Send out feeler email to schools Rewrite proposal with further details Meet with the school administration Develop Scope & Sequence Begin developing curriculum Meet with Lantrip Administrators to align theatre clubs Submit final proposal and curriculum

Fall 2019 I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Follow up and confirm the school’s participation Meet with Lantrip administrators to align clubs Prepare curriculum and materials for teachers Meet with teachers to prepare for the first day The first day of the theatre club Run theatre troupe making adjustments as needed Meet with fellow administrators to make adjustments after first semesters Meet with teachers to reflect on the first semester

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