Team Triple Threat Debates.

Here's a little secret about theatre artists: we love working with people from other disciplines, because it is really an opportunity to work on one facet of what we do at a time. In addition to remaining an art in its own right as acting, theatre also combines music: through the obvious form of singing, if it is a musical production, or sound design, as in other dramas. It also includes dance in some way; even in straight plays, there is an element of choreography in the blocking, or the way the actors move about stage. So when I have the chance to return to a practitioner of one of these elements, it's really a chance for me to enjoy focusing in one an aspect of theatre I may have been neglecting previously.

So what's all this got to do with this class? My teammates and I have been communicating via email to discuss our upcoming project and are feeling really excited about where it is going. As I have mentioned previously, we have set our sights on highlighting our diverse strengths and areas of interest. Jessica had the great idea of creating a website that would be a resource for teaching one subject across multiple disciplines; for example, teaching Peter and the Wolf using dance, theatre, and music activities. I really like this idea for multiple reasons, but the most notable being that anyone could benefit from it. A lot of general education teachers in the elementary level are pressed to be superheroes: teach all subjects for all children. This will help, in some small way, to hit the required standards for the state and administration, while allowing a lot of creativity in the engagement of students. It's a corny old saying, but we could make this way of learning truly fun!

One subject I hope to pay particular attention to is creating community. A friend of mine who does incredible applied theatre work in many settings, including urban prisons, once commented that without a shared experience there can be no communal learning. I really value that notion and think that the process of creating community standards and culture go a long way towards deepening the work that is done in the classroom.

Okay, now I'm just rambling... I should have a functioning countdown lock when I get on my arts-education soapbox. An idea for the website? Hmm....

"O brave new world, That has such people in't."

Hello, and welcome to my new blog for Technology Resources in the Classroom!

For our first post, I thought I might tell you a little bit about our first group meeting in our small groups for class. I really enjoyed meeting my two partners, and most importantly, choosing our team name. Choosing a team name is not as straightforward as it may seem: it has to project the right image! It has to have the same air of confidence as say, Team Awesome, but not be overly confident, like Team Optimus Prime. It should also say something about the team's constituents!

Which is why I'd like to introduce to you: Team Triple Threat.

I might be stating the obvious, given the title of this post, but I am an Educational Theatre major. (The title is from The Tempest, if you missed that, which is totally understandable.) My other group members are Dance Ed and Music Ed majors. In order to successfully convey our spectrum of talents, and equally intimidate the other groups (just kidding!) we chose the name Triple Threat. It also highlites one of the major benefits to having a group comprised of different represented majors: we can pull from each other's strengths, and hopefully find a ground of common interest to engage with for our final project.

Sound good? That's probably because it is. Team Triple Threat is Coming To You: Fall Finals, 2012.

Christina