Sunday, June 26, 2011

Practicum ~ Classroom Teaching


67. Debby teaching Improv[1]

Vocal Improvisation

and

Improvisation In Life & Art

Ju-Pong Lin was my advisor during my Practicum semester. One of the things she wanted me to work on was how I would articulate my interest in teaching in a way that would catch the attention of a school district. Meaning, use their language, criteria and measurements in order to find my way into their world. I did. The two classes listed below are the product of this inquiry.

The semester after my Practicum, I was hired by Tacoma’s School of the Arts[2] as an adjunct instructor. I taught a class that I created called: (The Anatomy of) Improv: Voice, Rhythm & Theatrics.

My Practicum work was directly responsible for my being prepared for this opportunity. This put my interdisciplinary practicum into a teaching environment, deepening and expanding my practice while developing a greater understanding of my chosen field. Below are two classes developed for the School of the Arts.

Improvisation In Life & Art

Students will learn what constitutes their Improvisational Body while examining, building and securing their own availability towards a spontaneous existence within their chosen field of art. This class will work on performance-based pieces that exist around their own artistic interests. Most importantly, this class is built on community and trust, resulting in extreme creativity and collaborative experimentation. Lectures and student lead seminars, assigned readings from Free Play, by Steven Nachmanovich, listening/watching selected composers and improvisational performances and journaling are all to be expected. Performances to unsuspecting and/or prearranged audiences will be presented, building aptitude, while creating further performative questions.

Prerequisite: No prior vocal, theatric or writing experience necessary

This class supports: ATP401 Actor's Studio/Technical Theatre Production, DAC421 Composition in Dance, LCW521 Creative Writing, VHP522 Computer Graphics & Design Adv. and All Academia as an important interdisciplinary skill.

Vocal Improvisation

Learning to improvise can be a journey of self-discovery. This class involves improvisation with rhythmic and melodic voice and spoken word. We will unite our voices (as instruments), tapping into your own unique sound while using musical “forms” such as circle-singing, call and response, solo and group exercises that support the magic of these spontaneous compositions. A performance and improvisational based class; we will take our music out into the community as well as performing at SOTA. Musical influences include Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening and Meredith Monk. Here you will find "flow" and meaning in your daily artistic life while using interdisciplinary art forms outside of your comfort zone. Create and be heard!

Prerequisite: Student should have basic to above average vocal and/or rhythmic skills.

This class supports: UMD401 Musical Theatre Production, UJW521 Jazz Combo Workshop, USW522 Song Writing, UCH420 Concert Choir/SOTA Singers



[1] Photo taken by: Kelly Duran, Theatre Dept., Tacoma’s School of the Arts, 2009

[2] SOTA’s (The Anatomy) of Improvisation: Voice, Rhythm & Theatrics’ Syllabus can be located in the Appendix on pg. 107

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