UCCI Course Description

A. Students will read, analyze, and discuss two of the three selected items below which reflect personal development and transformation:

• The autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and view the video clip of the one man show by Roger Guenveur Smith, Frederick Douglass NOW
• Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit (play) and view the movie
• Tracey Letts’ August Osage County (play) and view the movie (or suggested clips)
  

Through discussion and reflective writing, students analyze the similarities and differences between the narrative and video text of the selected items, focusing on themes that relate to personal change and social impact.  Students will then examine how these personal transformations and social issues might be relevant in their personal lives. Students will demonstrate their personal connection with one of the selected stories through the creation of an individual performance piece (e.g spoken word, dance, song, poem, monologue). This investigation of personal transformation and social action will help students refine their personal credo.

B. After considering how narratives can communicate personal change in the prior assignment, students will now view and discuss related KQED SPARK artist interviews such as headRush, which focus on how an artist bridges personal revelation to develop a larger personal societal mission, and using the credo worksheet create a revised personal credo (mission statement), building on what they investigated in assignment one.  Students will then write a reflective essay or narrative articulating their personal set of values, beliefs, and purpose. Student essays should include analysis of the foundations of their personal beliefs.

C. Students will then transform their essay into a personal monologue to be performed with the option of using multimedia components (e.g video, voice over). This demonstrates the student's ability to transfer self reflection into performance and to make connections between self and larger social issues which will ultimately become the focus of their social actions arts organization.

In unit one students analyzed themselves in relation to a variety of texts and developed performance pieces in order to revise and refine their personal credo. In this unit, students take that understanding and use it to identify problems or issues in their communities that resonate with them. Students will analyze social justice applications through classical literature and modern applied theatre programs and create a graphic representation which interpretes classical text in a relevant way. Students will survey their community and themselves for current social justice issues and their importance and create a report of their findings.

Using personal credos and knowledge gathered regarding relevant issues researched through community surveys (Units 1 and 2), students develop a prospectus which describes a non-profit performing arts organization which addresses their chosen social issue that addresses local community issues.  Students present persuasive speeches on their prospectus, “pitching” their vision to the group. The class forms groups around their top prospectuses and using a provided format worksheet as a guide , create a business plan for the chosen organization. Students take specific roles in creating the business plan and present formally to “prospective donors” as a scaffolding activity to the capstone project in Unit Four.

A. To set the tone of the unit, students will first read The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change by Adam Braun (or selected sections), complete journal responses, and participate in book talk style discussions using the prompts in the text.  

B. Students will research non-profit arts organizations (or review existing research from the 11th grade Arts in Civic Action course) and their strategies for impacting social change (i.e drama therapy or guerilla theater). Students will create a matrix of strategies used by these organizations that they will then use to inform their own arts organization prospectus in the next assignment.  

C. Using their matrix, survey data and research from Unit Two, and their personal credos, students will create their own prospectus for an arts organization.  Students will read Three Ways to Persuade by John Edlund and then write a persuasive speech supporting their business idea as expressed in the prospectus, which they will present to the class. After all speeches all delivered, students vote on and form groups around the top prospectuses/plans in preparation for assignment three.

D. Small groups will review components of model nonprofit business plans to determine the required elements/components for their own business plan. Then each group will create a non-profit business plan to expand upon their prospectuses from Assignment Two. The plans should include vision and mission statements, and other criteria determined from evaluating sample plans. They will also do a formal presentation for “prospective donors.” Students’ individual credos should inform their contribution to the group’s business plan. Plans will be included in student website/digital portfolios. The business plan will lead into their group performance project in Unit 4.

Students will create a capstone group project and finalize their individual digital portfolios. Students will write and produce an original applied theatre performance piece exemplifying work that might be done by their proposed arts organization in Unit 3 and write an expository essay which explains how their performance piece supports their personal credo. Students will also prepare for a career readiness jury assessment.

A. For their capstone project, students will reflect on their personal credo, knowledge of relevant current issues, and their proposed arts organization mission from the previous units. In small groups, students will write an original script for a 15 minute performance piece that will demonstrate the power of theatre to elicit change concerning their specific social issue addressed by their proposed arts organization concept.  

B. Students read Chapters 1, 2, and 6 from Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business and Chapter 8: What Actors Say from Healing Theatre: How Plays Change Lives to explore and support the process of building a relevant performance piece that is thought provoking and meaningful to the audience as well as the cast, crew, and playwright.  Students then write an expository essay that explains how their personal credo is reflected in their performance piece and how the performance piece supports the mission of the social action arts organization while reflecting on the above readings.

C. Students will work to complete items for presentation to a juried panel of arts professionals and educators including a presentation of their digital portfolio, an individual 3-5 minute performance piece which could be an adaptation of their work developed in Assignment Two or a new piece which reflects their personal credo, and a professional interview. Digital portfolio includes resumes, video clips, performance scripts, personal credos, and arts organization business plan.