Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:49:28 -0600
To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Subject: [Puptcrit] Workshops: Helping too much?  (I think. . . )


Hobey, I've had the exact same experience.  What I've started doing now is
trying to talk students like that through the process, breaking it down into
tiny steps.  For example, drawing a shadow puppet of a dog:  What shapes do
you see in the head?  Try drawing a circle - good!  Now put two triangles on
top of it -- could they be ears?  Rather than doing it for them, I suggest
simple things they can try.  I have also found that there is a certain type
of kid who will ask you to do it for them just for the attention.  I try to
move in, offer suggestions and encouragement, then step away for awhile to
let them struggle a bit.  I think we often can learn from our struggles,
especially in a supportive environment.  I may watch discretely from across
the room, and if there seems to be more need, come in again with
suggestions.  Some people do better having an image in front of them - a
photo or another drawing.  I encourage this, as long as they don't trace it.

One of the worst classes I ever taught, the teachers had chosen all the
"good" kids to go camping for a week, and all the "bad" kids to stay behind
in the puppet class.  I couldn't even get their attention long enough to
introduce myself.  This is the only case where bad rehearsals didn't lead to
a better performance -- they really got worse in front of an audience.  I
was stunned on the last day, as I was disheartedly picking up the shredded
cardboard sets, to see the very same students in a step dance team, led by a
drill seargent instructor with a whistle.  They were focused, together, and
had completely transformed.  AHA -- structure!  That made me wonder about
the part of art that is skill based and focused - could you teach art in the
same way sports are taught?  I imagine a room full of students and a coach
with a whistle, "Okay - red paint, go!  Blue paint - Go!  Green paint - Go!"
Drills provide a structure in sports that many find appealing, and they do
seem to build skill.  Then, once they are hooked and have some skill, open
the door for creativity.  Sometimes too many choices are overwhelming.

Anyway, it is still a fantasy of mine - I haven't had to try it yet to that
extreme.  But I do often remember that lesson and heavily structure some
classes.
-- 
Chris Griffith
Circus Minimus Puppetry
<http://www.littlerednose.com>
(612) 724-1435


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