The Professional Development Program at People’s Light connects teachers with artists from the Theatre to explore ways that theater and movement methods can enhance classroom learning. Teachers can participate in several different hands-on, practical workshops through our Teacher In-service Workshops at Schools and Workshops on Plays. Teachers can earn Act 48 hours by attending any of these workshops. (Persons holding Pennsylvania professional educator certification must complete continuing education requirements specified in Act 48 to keep certificates valid. For more information on Act 48 visit www.pde.state.pa.us/teaching/).

In-Service Workshops for Teachers

The following is a list of suggested workshops for teachers. People's Light will also customize a workshop for your school.

Location and Time: We offer workshops at your school in a large, open space. Workshops are meant to fit a 1-to-3 hour time slot, depending on the school’s need.

Standards Addressed: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Theater, Social Studies, History, Civics and Government

Participants and numbers: K-12 teachers, including teachers of special education, ESL and gifted/talented students. Each workshop can accommodate up to 25 teachers.

Fee: $200-$800 (depending on time, number of artists, and number of teachers)

Course Selections

Building Cooperation and Trust

Are you interested in creating a classroom environment where students feel more at ease to participate and share ideas? Interactive theater exercises provide structures for students to engage in meaningful experiences and dialogue together. This hands-on workshop will demonstrate how the theater-making experience can heighten trust and stimulate dialogue with students:

• getting to know you exercises
• risk/trust exercises
• group collaboration exercises

Improvisation in the Classroom

Improvisation allows you to delve into curricular content in an in-depth and creative way. Through improvisation, students live in the worlds of stories and historical events, experiencing the situations from multiple points of view. For example, in a large group improvisation about the Great Depression, students might improvise union members and factory owners debating a factory closing. Students use language and communication to problem-solve an imagined situation while also building a stronger sense of understanding and empathy for a character or situation. Find out the many structures improvisation can take in your classroom—from individual writing exercises to two-person dialogues to scenes involving the whole class.

Shakespeare Alive

Help your students to feel comfortable reading and enacting Shakespeare's texts with confidence, emotion and understanding. Our very popular workshop will focus on incorporating the actor's tools of voice, body and imagination to open up the text. Exercises include

• ensemble activities that build trust and enthusiasm for language
• vocal exercises that enhance confidence in encountering the text
• movement exercises that enable students to freely use their bodies to convey the emotion and action of a story
• activities that lead to informal performance pieces in the classroom

On Your Feet: Strategies for Kinesthetic Learners

Teachers will learn a step-by-step process that encourages students to work cooperatively, expand knowledge of subject matter and present material in creative, visual formats. Learn a variety of physical methods for

• visually representing a story or text in tableau
• understanding a text's mood, theme or characters
• representing the chronology of a curricular subject
• assessing understanding of curricular material

These are workshops offered to groups of teachers at your school (or at People’s Light) to prepare them for the plays they plan to bring their students to see. People’s Light schedules the workshop with the school at a date and time convenient for the school. Act 48 hours available through People’s Light.

The workshops introduce the play to the teachers and provide a number of movement and drama classroom activities that teachers can use in the classroom. Workshops are typically 1 or 2 hours long.

For more information about Professional Development, please contact Nancy Shaw, at 610-647-1900, ex 101, education@peopleslight.org.