One of the most important aspects of the 8th grade curriculum is the theater project in which the students work together in a social way, carrying out an intensive study of language and its expressive power. In addition, they create and sew their own dresses, paint and assemble the set and perform the makeup.
Students at this age (13/14 years old) have to work intensively to represent a new personality. Also the gestures and expressions of the character they will represent and that will be possibly very different from their own.
When representing a character, teenagers will
create a protective mask through which they can express emotions that
otherwise would not come out.
In this way students train the
perception of themselves and of others. At the same time one can
discover new abilities as an individual and also at a group level.
This project represents a great challenge for students’ personal growth and an effort to overcome the ups and downs that come with every artistic process. But at the same time, all this process brings huge personal fulfillment and satisfaction.
However, and beyond individual and personal benefits, and leaving aside the final result, from a pedagogical point of view, the whole teamwork process, unites the group. Each student puts his/her individual strengths to support the common project in which every single person is important and indispensable.
The 2015-2016 8th graders, adated Dante Alighieri’s “Divina Comedia”. A play with three acts: Purgatory, Hell and Paradise. All included eurythmy pieces. The play was presented to an open audience at the end of the school year.
Masks and part of the dresses were made by students and some parents and teachers. You can watch part of the final act in the following video: