4 of our seasoned StageCats competed in the BWYA Speechwasy last weekend. Sean Li and Bella Ness performed a scene called Ms. Spitspot’s Spic-and-Span Playplace and Anna Zhao and Carolina Liu performed select scene from StageCats’ recent production of Live. Both teams performed very well in all 3 rounds of the High School Division. In the end, CISB won 2nd place overall as a team along with the Middle and High School Debate Society. Great work StageCats and Debate Society!

We are two and a half weeks into the new trimester and it has been an action-packed, fun-filled 12 days. Both grade 7 and grade 9 students took part in a variety of team-building drama activities in order to build trust and community in the classroom. Students also brushed up on their basic stage skills such as vocal projection, expression and stage positioning, and gave valuable feedback to their peers on these same skills. Now we are diving into our first units! The grade 7 unit, Behind the Mask, focuses on mask performance skills and the concept of inner and outer personas; this is an interdisciplinary unit with English Language and Literature and English Language Acquisition. Grade 9s will be exploring the melodrama genre in their unit Drama Queens. In this unit, students will learn melodrama elements such as stock characters, melodrama gestures and asides while also inquiring into how the techniques of a genre can transfer through time. Below are the unit outlines for both grade 7 and grade 9:

Behind the Mask:

Statement of Inquiry – Individuals communicate and interpret public and private identity depending upon the situation

Key Concept – Communication

Related Concepts (arts) – Interpretation

Global Context – Identities and Relationships

Inquiry Questions (arts) –
What skills are required to perform in mask effectively? (factual)
Do masks change the relationship between audience and performer? (debatable)

Drama Queens:

Statement of Inquiry – The techniques and systems of a genre can transfer through time and space

Key concept – Time, place and space

Related Concepts – Genre

Global Context – Scientific and Technical Innovation

Inquiry Questions –
What is a genre? (factual)
How do the techniques of a genre transfer through time? (conceptual)
The what extent does time/ space impact the techniques of a genre? (debatable)

Here are some pictures of the first two weeks of trimester 2: