Third place!

So, the past few weeks, I've been spending a lot of time (in class, between classes, after class) working with a group of seven fifth graders for Fu Xing's entry into the Kaohsiung City Reader's Theater competition. Susan and I auditioned and selected the team members together, while I was solely responsible for writing a 5-minute original script. Considering I had no idea what "Reader's Theater" even was, let alone what an appropriate script would entail, it was a bit of a challenge. Last year's English teacher prepared them for months before the competition and was able to arrange multiple practices a day, and the students earned second place. Susan and I found out about it a week before the registration deadline (less than a month ago) and, both being new to Fu Xing, had no idea how to go about... anything.

Anyway, long story short, we pulled it together. The competition took place today, and I'm happy to say that my students got third place in their division! (Groups were divided by school size.) And I think they had a good time with it, too. Special thanks to Glennie for getting the ball rolling with my creativity. Here's an excerpt from our conversation on November 5th:

me: i need a creative idea for a kid's play

Glennie: how are you?

can you base it on a book?

me: that kids who can't really speak english could pull off

8:26 PM should be original

Glennie: winnie the pooh?

ah

me: it's 7 kids

and there's no acting, just.. dramatic reading

Glennie: you have to write it?

me: previous winners have included a lot of kids speaking in groups and singing

yes

Glennie: hmm

when do you need it by

8:27 PM me: tonight.

well i have to have a solid idea tonight

we submit our registration tomorrow for the contest

which includes the kids' names and the title/subject

8:28 PM Glennie: ok, right now all i'm coming up wiht is having masks

of two different colors (two groups of three) who don't like each other for one reason or another

me: hahah

Glennie: and one little kid in a white mask who makes them see that they are pretty when they mix (i.e. red and blue groups make purple) or something

So, with that in mind, here I present to you the final rehearsal of Fu Xing Primary School's "Blue, Yellow, and Red," starring Annie as the Narrator, Marvin and Gavin as Red, Lily and David as Blue, and Dennis and Christina as Yellow. I was way too nervous to film during the actual performance, and I'm way too impatient to wait for the official recording, so the final rehearsal (with mistakes and prop mishaps and all) is what you get. But trust me, you'll get the idea.



And here's a picture of Susan, me, and the Fu Xing Reader's Theater team after the performance.

PS: This post was supposed to go up Wednesday night, after the competition took place Wednesday afternoon, but the video took an eternity to upload, so you're not seeing it until now. Sorry!

PPS: Mom, did I ever thank you for this shirt? If not... thanks. I like it. I wear it a lot. Like to Reader's Theater competitions.