CISB was very lucky to welcome Mike Pasternak from the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) to the school on February 22. He is an experienced theatre practitioner and educator who works with students of all ages.

Mike conducted a full-day Commedia dell’Arte workshop with Grade 10 Theatre Arts and drama enrichment students. Students learned the history of Commedia, acted out the various Commedia characters and took part in fast-paced, physical drama exercises. Perhaps the most exciting part of the workshop was the opportunity to work with Commedia masks! We are very proud of the students for taking on such a complex and challenging theatre form. A big thanks goes out to Mike Pasternak and ISTA!

8Bloom was the first class to take part in a Service as Action project in Theatre Arts! Grade 8 students interviewed grade 6 students about issues they face in middle school and then created physical theatre performances inspired by their responses. After performing these short plays for and receiving feedback from all grade 6 classes, the grade 8 students reflected on their overall experience through a short video or blog post. Check them out below:

theatre-arts-unit-2-blog-post

WE WILL ROCK YOU
CAST and CREW LIST!

GALILEO……………………………………………………..TONY WANG
SCARAMOUCHE…………………………………..…….……BELLA NESS
KILLER QUEEN…………………………………….…MARTYNA PEKALA
KHASHOGGI…………………………………………………..……SEAN LI
OZ………………………………………………………..…..SI YUN JOUNG
BRIT………………………………………………………………….QIRUI WU
BUDDY……………………………………………….…….…SOPHIE NESS

ANNA ZHAO…..………….MADONNA, TEEN QUEEN 1, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
PAULINA JAROSCENKA………………..ARETHA, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
JACOB LEVIN…………………………………….. TEACHER, PUFF, YUPPIE
MYA ZHEN-MICHIE…………..FREDDIE, YUPPIE, TEEN QUEEN, GAGA KID
L.T. CHEN………………………………………SIXX, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
JANE LING……….TEEN QUEEN 2, ELECTRONIC VOICE, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
CAROLINA LIU…………….TEEN QUEEN 4, JACKSON, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
VINCE MA………………………………..QUATRO, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
STELLA YU…………………….…TEEN QUEEN 3, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
MIN SUN KIM…………………….…TEEN QUEEN, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
MEILUN GONG………………………………PAUL, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
MARIKA HOSKOVA………………………BRUCE, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
SOPHIA DENG………………MICHAEL JAGGER, YUPPIE, GAGA KID
KEANA KORMYLO……………………………..……YUPPIE, GAGA KID
LUCIA ALVAREZ GARCIA…………………………YUPPIE, GAGA KID
OLIVIA OU……………………………………………YUPPIE, GAGA KID
SAMUEL TUNG………………………….………………………GAGA KID
TRINA LIN…………………………………………………..……GAGA KID
PATRICIJA JAROSCENKA………………………….…………GAGA KID
ISABELLA LIANG………………………………….……………GAGA KID
ALINA QIU…………….…………………………………………GAGA KID
ARZUM LI…………………………………………………………GAGA KID
SPARSH NAIR……………………………………………………GAGA KID
ANGEL LIU………………………………………………………GAGA KID
ERIN KANG………………………………………………………GAGA KID
ANDY GENG……………………………………….……………GAGA KID
BOB CUI……………………………………………..……………GAGA KID
CHRIS SHI…………………………………………..……………GAGA KID
SERENA LAU……………………………………………………GAGA KID

BACKSTAGE CREW

Stage Managers:

• SAMUEL LI
• JENNIE ZHOU

Costumes/ Props/ Makeup:

• STEPHANIE SONG
• LOUIS LIN
• SOPHIA ZHOU
• AO CHEN
• SELINA TANG
• FARRAH YIN
• KANA HSU
• JAE LIM KIM

Tech:

• SAE HEE JEOING
• JANE HWANG
• CLAIRE YOU
• LILY WANG
• JENNY HE

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!! 🙂

It’s January…and that means it is the beginning of musical season! Auditions for CISB StageCats’ spring production of We Will Rock You School Edition are in full swing. Students interested in being on stage must show off their talents by performing a short monologue and singing a song. After one round of callbacks, tough decisions will be made and the final cast list will be up! Look for it here or on Ms. Knowles’ classroom door E213 next Wednesday, January 18th.

This week, we started our first unit in Grade 7 called “Behind the Mask.” We are very excited to be partnering with the Language & Literature and Language Acquisition Departments for this unit. After studying texts Antigone (L&L) or Iqbal (LA), learning mask performance skills and exploring the concept of private and public persona, students will  create their own masks and write monologues from the perspective of one of the characters from the text.  So far in the unit (on the theatre side), we have been exploring the concept of social masks through role-playing. We will be learning mask performance techniques next!

It is officially the start of trimester 2. So far, students have been taking part in icebreaker activities and playing drama games to get warmed up for three months of theatre arts! The energy is high, and everyone is excited to engage, create, perform and inquire. If you would like to know specifics about the Theatre Arts 7 & 8 units or look at the course syllabus, check out the MYP Theatre Arts menu.

Below are some candid shots of what we have been doing in drama class this week.

Game – Museum

A class favorite! – Museum

Class Expectations – Respect yourself, others and the space

Class Expectations Brainstorming

Class Expectations – Good examples of respect!

The CISB StageCats would like to thank everyone who helped out with Nothing but the Truth or took time out of their busy schedule to see the show! Your support is greatly appreciated. Please take a look at our “Productions” menu for a detailed re-cap of the show and production pics!

The StageCats’ 2nd production opens next Friday the 25th. Tickets are still available in the CISB lobby! Check out the story in Beijing Kids below:

https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2016/11/18/school-show-previews-tolerance-on-trial-at-cisb/ 

CISB StageCats are back with an all-new production called “Nothing but the Truth”. 

Is Elizabeth Warren a witch? An angel? An evil villain? These questions are at the heart of “Nothing but the Truth”, a new play that places a young girl on trial for suspected supernatural abilities. In this family-friendly comedy with an important message for all ages, a colorful cast of characters take the witness stand to give many different versions of the truth. Can we trust any of them? Find out the truth on November 25th and 26th.

This is an original play, written specifically for our school’s talented performers – who have previously thrilled audiences with hit performances of shows including “High School Musical” (2015), “Grease” (2016) and “Selfie” (2016). Over 40 students are involved in this celebration honesty and acceptance.

Please take a look at the show posters below for more information.

TICKETS: can be purchased in advance in the CISB Lobby, or from a member of the cast/crew. Tickets can also be reserved by emailing: patrick.connolly@cis-beijing.com or angela.knowles@cis-beijing.com

#StageCatsTruth

Over the past couple of weeks, students have been preparing for the first StageCats Pocket Performance of the year! These small-scale shows provide extra opportunities for students to hone their skills, and allow busy students to work the performing arts into their schedules. The program for this performance consists of monologues, scenes and special performances by StageCats Glee.

Come join us on Tuesday, November 15th and/ or Thursday, November 17th at 1 pm in the CISB Auditorium for 30 minutes of awesome theatre! Admission is FREE.

Performance Info!

No More Mister Nice Guy Scene Rehearsal