Download Reflection Example 1

Student Learning Capacity Reflection
Student Name: Marissa H
Subject / Class: Advanced Theatre Arts
Describe the attached evidence:
In April, 2012, the Theatre Arts students put on a performance of the play, “Florence, David, and Art” by
Greg Atkins. I had a major acting role in the play, and also acted as the Assistant Director. I have
included a copy of the playbill.
Many artifacts will represent several Student Learning Capacities. Explain how the attached evidence
proves that you are…
a Critical Thinker and Inquirer: I demonstrated critical thinking and inquiry in the study and portrayal
of my character. I had to think critically about how my character would act, how she would say her
lines, etc. by doing an in depth character study. I also had to ask myself questions about the choices I
made in my portrayal of the actor, such as, would my character be angry or sad when she sees her
boyfriend out with another girl?
Academically and Personally Accountable: I demonstrated accountability by learning my lines in a
timely fashion, as well as completing all task designated to me as Assistant Director. I took the
leadership role and modeled accountability for my fellow cast members.
a Communicator and Collaborator: I and my fellow cast members demonstrated communication and
collaboration through every aspect of putting the play together. Every person in the play has a job to do,
and they must all work together to complete the project. This means constantly discussing, working
together, being open to the suggestions of others, and working together. Team work is the name of the
game in theatre. I not only participated in the collaboration, I also facilitated it as the Assistant Director.
Globally Aware and Culturally Diverse: This play was set in Florence, Italy. In order to accurately depict
the play, I needed to research different aspects of Italian culture.
a Digital Age Learner: A great deal of tech was needed to pull off this play. I aided the tech crew in
using computer generated images as the backdrop for the scenes, downloading music for scene
changes, and creating light and sound sequences.
Use the back of this sheet to reflect on your selection.
Discuss the process that took place in completing this task. What knowledge did you learn? What did
you learn how to do? Be sure to describe the skills you used in completing this task, and explain how
you anticipate using these skills beyond high school (college, career, etc.). If necessary, refer to the
“Portfolio Starter Questions” handout and Savanna’s “Student Learning Capacity” handout.
When I reflect back on my senior year and how I demonstrated my knowledge of the Students Learning
Capacities, one project stands out in my mind. In April of this year, Savanna High School's Theatre Arts
students put on the production of "Florence, David and Art" written by Greg Atkins. I had two
important roles in this production. I was one of the lead actors, and I was the Assistant Acting Director.
As a lead actor, I had to truly understand my character, Liz. I had to read the play closely, focusing on
the characterization of Liz: what her words truly meant, how she interacted with other characters, etc. I
had to focus on the subtext and get inside the head of my character. This required a great deal of
critical thinking and inquiring. I also had many lines to memorize, and it was important to do so
quickly. It is hard to block a play when the actors are still on book. Also, actors often learn their lines
based on cues, i.e. the lines of the other actors that come before their own. If I did not know my lines,
that could derail an entire scene. It was important to be personally accountable to learn my lines
quickly, as other actors were counting on me.
Once I learned my lines, I collaborated with the other actors on how to act out each scene. As we put
the scenes together, we had to ask ourselves, would our characters do this? What kind of emotion
would my character portray in this scene? What are the underlying issues between among our
characters? Our inquiries led to more communication. Once we had established our characters, we
began collaborating on putting it all together and polishing it. We worked on running lines, blocking
out our scenes, and experimenting with different ways to convey emotion. This required a great deal of
communication with my fellow cast members. In a play, it is important to be a team and work together
in order to achieve the best product. We did this extremely well, and the end result was something of
which we could all be proud.
My second role was as the Assistant Acting Director. This role meant that I was in charge of a lot of
aspects of the production and had many responsibilities. I had to figure out all the stage directions and
communicate all of them to the cast, so they knew what to do on stage. I also had to make sure that we
had all the props we needed for the production. The most important thing I did was to facilitate our
rehearsals. During the rehearsals I was in charge of making sure that everyone knew what they were
supposed to do for each line and what side they needed to enter and exit on for each scene. Also, I had
to make sure that each person brought on the right props at the right time. Without my direction there
would be a lot of chaos in the rehearsals. As the Assistant Acting Director I learned how to be a leader
and take charge of a situation. Having those skills will help me a lot in the future.
As the Assistant Director, I also learned a great deal about culture and digital learning. The play is set in
Florence, where a group of art students have gone to study art. The images of the paintings and the
sculptures studied needed to be the background for the set. I worked closely with the tech crew to find
the images, create a slideshow, and set up the projection. I learned a great deal about technology
working on this aspect of the play.
It was also important to understand the culture of Florence in order to create all aspects of the set. I
studied many online images of Florence in my creation of the hotel and café sets. I also helped create
the soundtrack that accompanied the scene changes. This research helped me set the mood and create
the suspension of disbelief necessary for the actors and the audience to believe they were in Florence,
Italy. It also piqued my interest in travelling to Italy someday. The best part of the cultural learning was
learning the Italian accent. Although my character was an American, many of the characters were
Italian, and had to learn the accent. Those students used accent and dialect cds to learn to speak the
“Italian way”. It was great fun, and made me very aware of how to use my voice to convey character.
Student Learning Capacity Reflection
I worked very closely with Mrs. King and I learned so much about putting on a production. She allowed
me great freedom, but helped me when I became frustrated or lost. My eyes were opened to what a
huge job it is to be a director. I know that this experience helped me to better understand how to
manage time and responsibility. I also learned that when everything becomes too intense, to take a
break and laugh, then get back up and start over. I am very grateful that Mrs. King believed in me and
gave me this opportunity.
This project stretched me as a student, and also helped me to realize that I have learned the skills
necessary to be a leader. I know this experience will help me in the future. I have always felt like I was
a born leader, but this project stretched me. The more I reflect on the skills I had to master during this
project, the more I realize that I am capable of taking on such a huge responsibility and being
successful in it. I also feel very confident that I have been extremely successful in internalizing the
Student Learning Capacities of Savanna High School. I feel confident about my future, and this project
has been a huge part of that.
Use the back of this sheet to reflect on your selection.