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Date: December 5 , 2008
Times/Grade Levels:
Grades K-2: 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. ET
Grades 3-5: 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
Grades 6-8: 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. ET
Cost: Free!
Requirements for Participation: Must be on the MAGPI network and have H.323 (IP) videoconferencing capabilities
Description:
Students will create and work with masks as part of this exciting workshop, brought to you by ArcheDream! Participants will be shown a series of painted masks in various emotions and asked to pick the mask that attracts their attention. Each is given the opportunity to manifest the emotion that the mask embodies, which becomes a revelation of invisible feelings. The communication as each participant reveals their issue of feeling bonds the group into a new relationship.The exercise teaches how to objectify a subjective emotion and attain an art form and communication with peers. Participants’ differences are brought into harmonious relativity.
Resources:
Required Materials
Each student needs the following:
- A Pre-Cut Mask (cut out of poster board - - choose one of the templates below)
- Scissors
- Pencils
- Erasers
- A variety of colored markers
- Black markers
- Colored pencils (not necessary but preferable)
- Glue
- Glitter, feathers, and other small objects to glue for decoration
- Elastic string to tie on masks
Videoconference Outline:
- Welcome/Introductions
- Introduction to ArcheDream
- Introduction to Masks and Culture
- Mask Making Activity
- Guided Movement Exercises with Masks
- Wrap-Up
Preparing Students: The following activities can be used to build student anticipation, sharpen summarizing and analyzing skills and promote reflection in order to build context and comprehension.
1. Create a Time Capsule. Get students started with guided imagery. Tell them to imagine how much life experience they gather in a week, a month, or even a whole year. Then, imagine being able to have a record of that experience forever. What would be the benefit or reward? Have each student create a time capsule and record their experiences for a certain period of time.
2. Guided Discussion. Discuss why artists must know how to communicate with themselves in order to communicate with the world.About a week before the workshop, pose the following questions to students to be pondered and then discussed:
a. What language does not have to be translated?
b. Besides the spoken languages, what other forms of communication exist?
Allow students time to formulate opinions. 1-3 days later, have the class discuss possible answers to these questions. Without giving anything away and allowing students to come to their own conclusions, it may be helpful to point out the following:
a. Universal languages do not have to be translated. What are the benefits of using universal language to communicate? Is there any benefit to not being understood?
b. Sign language, gang signs, symbols such as flags and traffic signs, baseball hand signals and more. How many kinds of nonverbal communication can you think of?
3. Observation: “Read” the people around you. Go somewhere and people watch. Take notes in your Time Capsule.
4. Acting: Play charades!
Post-Program Activities
1. Summarize your experience with ArcheDream into a single, all encompassing word. It’s not as easy as it may seem! Finding just the right word is a work of art. Go even further by translating that word into nonverbal language such as a gesture or painting.
2. Why wear masks? Each student can study a culture that makes and uses masks and share their findings with the class. Then, students can work together to find common threads of experience between mask making cultures. Can you determine by which cultures ArcheDream is influenced?
Suggested focus points for study are:
- Geography and demographics
- Rituals and traditions
- Historical events
- Global context (relationship with “outside” world)
- Language
3. Define ‘archetype’. What archetypes can every human being relate to, regardless of culture or background?
P.A. Standards
The following Pennsylvania Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities apply to the pre-conference and conference activities associated with this program:
9.2 A. Explain the historical, cultural and social context of an individual work in the arts.
9.2 E. Analyze how historical events and culture impact forms, techniques and purposes of works in the arts.
About ArcheDream:
ArcheDream is an archetypal mask theatre that uses ritual, movement and myth to present allegorical dramas. The organization uses masks, costumes, original music, various forms of dance and multimedia projection to tell their stories.