pip report

1. Professional Inquiry Project – Producing a Student-Created Christmas Play
Michele Martyn – PS III – St. Joseph’s School, Coaldale
At the beginning of the school year, two grade six students expressed interest in writing
the annual Christmas play that the grade six students of St. Joseph’s school traditionally star in. I
was asked to use my theatre experience to help these students accomplish their goal. I opened the
opportunity up to the entire grade six class, and invited anyone who was interested to lunch time
meetings to brainstorm and write the Christmas play.
The first two weeks of the process were brainstorming weeks. There was a group of three
girls (initially) who wanted to write the play together. I provided the girls with a central theme
for the play: Christmas is about giving, especially to those who may not deserve the gift. We met
for four lunch periods, and brainstormed ideas for stories with that theme. We knew that we
needed to have roughly 30 speaking parts for each grade 6 student (this number eventually grew
to 33 roles). At the end of the four lunch periods, we decided on having a family telling stories
by the fireplace, and that each story would be written by a different group.
The next four weeks were writing weeks. At this point, there were two girls who
consistently came to our meetings and wanted to write the play. There were three other girls who
came less frequently, so they provided assistance to the main writers. Twice a week (sometimes
more), lunch hours were spent writing the script. I provided some guidance during this time,
explaining how a script is traditionally formatted, and providing suggestions for the story. At the
end of October, the writers sent me their scripts, and I put the stories together and structured the
script for 33 students.
The months of November and December were rehearsal months. Tuesday, Wednesday,
and a few Thursday lunch periods were spent rehearsing in the music room. During the first
rehearsal, we cast the play by drawing names, and then did a read-through. Two weeks were
spent blocking the play. These rehearsals allowed me to introduce the students to rehearsal
etiquette, and some basic theatre concepts. Rehearsals during the last two weeks of November
and the first week of December were focused on running and rehearsing the play as many times
as possible, as well as reinforcing rehearsal etiquette. The set (constructed by Mr. Stan Mastel)
went up in the gym on Monday, December 8. That Monday, the students spent their music class
getting familiar with using the stage and sharing microphones. On December 9 and 10 we did a
full run-through on the stage. Our dress rehearsal took place December 11 in the morning, and
the final performance took place that evening.
This process provided the entire grade six class with an opportunity to work together as a
team to create a unique and exciting product to present to their parents and peers. They gained
valuable public speaking experience, and the sense of pride that comes from working on
something for an extended period of time and sharing the final product with a community. The
writing process also served as an enrichment activity for two of the strongest writers in the class.
I have included a copy of the script “Merry Christmas, Mr. Jenkins!” as an artifact for
this project.