Putting Together a Drama Class Adaptation Project

Episode 181: Putting Together A Drama Class Adaptation Project Middle school teacher Shelby Steege takes us through step by step of the adaptation project she does with her students. Listen in to catch the details so that you can do it for your own drama classroom.  Hint! Casting happens before the script is written. Show Notes Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo Episode Transcript Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama teacher resource company. I’m Lindsay Price. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! This is Episode 181 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode181. Today, we are talking about a specific project for the classroom. That’s right! We’re doing a little case study here on an adaptation project. Our guest is going to take us step-by-step through this project which she does with her students. So, grab a pen, open up a note app on your phone, listen in to catch the details so that you can use it in your classroom. I’m going to give you a little hint about what’s to come – for this project, casting happens before the script is even written. Isn’t that nice? I like that! It’s very exciting! Okay, let’s get to it! LINDSAY: Hello, everybody! I am today speaking with Shelby Steege. Hello, Shelby! SHELBY: Hello! LINDSAY: Tell everybody where in the world you are. SHELBY: Well, I live in Louisville, Kentucky. But the school I teach at is in Taylorsville, Kentucky – about 45 minutes outside of Louisville. LINDSAY: Awesome. I’m really intrigued about today’s conversation because we’re going to talk about a specific project that you do with your students with adaptation. But, first of all, I want to start with you. How long have you been a teacher? SHELBY: This is my 16th year teaching here at the school I’m at. I did also a couple of years teaching with children’s theatres in Kentucky. LINDSAY: What was it that made you want to teach theatre as opposed to perform or anything else? When did you start getting interested in theatre? SHELBY: I started really getting interested in theatre when I was in middle school. Loved it. Took classes in high school. I didn’t go to a school that did a lot of theatre in school but I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have a great children’s theatre there. I was involved very heavily in their theatre academies and I decided to go into teaching theatre. I kind of think I always knew that’s what I would end up doing with my love of theatre because I always loved working with kids – always loved little kids, older kids. So, that really was the way I could meld the two things I was passionate about into a career and it’s worked out pretty well so far! LINDSAY: 16 years! What is it that you think makes drama important? Why do students need to take it? SHELBY: Well, most importantly – and it might sound cheesy – drama changes kids’ lives. I have seen it numerous times. It truly changes who they are. They gain confidence. Whether it’s onstage or backstage, the skills that they learn participating in theatre are skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. I just really think that it also is inclusive of everyone. I tell kids, if they want to get involved in something, I can find a place for them in theatre. They don’t ever have to step foot onstage but we can get them a place where then they feel like they’re part of something bigger than them – feel like they have a community and a family that they connect to.