Identity Rumble -- Drama and
Poetry
In this 2-3 day creative writing project,
students will write a short dramatic dialog, a page of identity affirmations,
and a short poem. The “Identity Rumble” in the title was inspired by
the poems of Langston Hughes and refers to the voice of self that is always
there, heard at times as a rumble, submerged at times by the voice of others,
and at times is fully articulated.
In the drama unit, students will have a chance
to tune in to the voices of others--parents, teachers, friends, or romantic
interests--which can inhabit their minds at times. They will tune in to their
own voices as well, as they write a dramatic dialog, and act it out with a
partner. They will have a chance to share perceptions on the dialogs and
performances with classmates. Then, students will affirm their own tastes,
preferences, and values as they fill in an identity affirmation worksheet.
In the poetry unit, students will have the
chance to tune in to the expressive voice, found identity, and poetic elements
of three poets: Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Marge Piercy. They will write a short poem that responds to
a poem by one of these poets. The class will provide avenues by which they can
tune in to their model poem, for ideas and inspiration. Then they will tune in
to their own inner voices and create their own short poems.
In addition to
self-expression, students will gain first-hand experience with basic elements of both drama and poetry. Also, they will gain language awareness that will improve
their reading and writing in general. They will develop an ear for intonation,
rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration; and a sense of the use of images for
expression.
After completing the drama
unit, students will be able to:
-
Better focus in on and identify their own voice
and the voices of others that inhabit their minds.
-
Identify implied or direct conflict as
basic elements of drama.
-
Tune in to word stress and intonation
as means of emphasis in both daily conversations and dramatic dialogs, and to
employ this as an expressive tool in creative writing and acting.
-
Tune in to and express through acting the dramatic relationship in a
dialog a classmate has written.
-
Articulate the satisfactions of the
experience of self-expression through drama.
After completing the poetry unit, students will be able to:
-
Actively tune in to the tools of the poet in individual poems; including
rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and imagery.
-
Actively tune in to and gain inspiration and ideas from the tone and
speaker experience expressed in individual poems.
-
Tune in to their own inner creative
voices and instincts, as they use and transform elements and write their own
echo poem.
-
Articulate the satisfactions of
self-expression through poetry.
Class time: This project can be completed at a rather
fast clip in two days, with homework between classes. It would take three days
at a more leisurely pace, or with the activities given for homework instead as
class activities.
Materials: You will want to refer to the student
worksheets that follow. The worksheets can be handed out in two packets—one for
Drama and one for Poetry, or as you prefer.
Special Considerations: The
drama unit involves the active dramatic
elements of voice --intonation for emphasis--and conflict between two
characters. The poetry unit engages them actively with the elements of rhythm and image. The
goal here is to energize and sensitize students to language and voice in order
to write in these two creative genres. It is encouraged that, for this
project, interpretation of the poetry is kept to a minimum, at most helping
students tune in to the tone and the experience and concern of the
poet/speaker, in their own ways.
Part One
After
mentioning the topic of voices of others we hear in our minds, ask students to
read the statements on the worksheet Tuning In: Daily Drama (Worksheet 1). Students
should first read the comments on their own silently, and then read them aloud,
taking turns around the class. Students should be encouraged to expressively
use intonation to emphasize the underlined words. Point
out the effect of intonation on the message of these statements, a major part
of the strength--and irritation!--of the message. Remind students how they can
often imagine a certain person saying some such statement with a distinctive
kind of word emphasis.
Next, ask students to
consider: Can they hear how our minds
can work at times? How we sometimes hear
the imprints of the voices and
viewpoints of others? How those voices sometimes clamor to be heard?
Part Two
Ask students to turn to
the Identity
Rumble Dialog (Worksheet 2). Coach them to tune in to the voice of a particular person that they can hear making some such comment to
them. They should select a statement
often made by that person that really rubs them the wrong way, and goes against
their sense of self. Have them write
this comment they can hear on their worksheet in the space provided.
Next, have students read
aloud, in pairs, with the person sitting next to them, the example of this
twelve-line dialog. They should emphasize the underlined words, with
intonation. See the second student page in this worksheet.
Then, students will write a conversation between their voice and that of this other
person –expressing at least indirectly, the conflict implied in their comment
(there is a place for this on Worksheet 2, p.2.). They will start the conversation
with the comment, the one they have
written down on their worksheet. They will write at least twelve back and forth
lines of dialog, like from a play. Their dialogs should end on a note where their self finds its true voice (--even if that
would not work so well in reality!)
Instruct students to
write one or two quick exploratory
drafts of the dialog on their own paper, and then write their final version on the worksheet (page
two). While they are writing, you will want to circulate, to encourage students
and to answer questions.
Next, instruct students
to fill in the information (Worksheet 2, p. 3) about their dramatic situation for their dialog. State that this will give
their partner an idea of the context. They should be encouraged to write fictional
names for their characters and perhaps to fictionalize certain other details.
After this, they will write a copy of
their dialog for their partner (where indicated). Students will decide if
they prefer to play the character that represents themselves
or the other character. They will be matched up with a classmate (as possible,
of the right gender) who will play the other role.
The pairs of students will rehearse
each others’ dialogs, getting the relationship, the expression and the
emphasized words as expressive as they can.
The author can serve as a director, coaching their partner on the style
of speech of the other character in their dialog.
Next, have students read/act out the dialogs for the class.
Encourage them to feel free and expressive. If they read too softly or too
quickly, you can ask them to read the dialog again, speaking, say, even 10
times as loudly as they might imagine they need to!
Finally, a brief discussion can follow, in which
students share what they learned from hearing the dialogs performed—how it felt
to hear others acting out theirs; what they noticed about the issues in the
dialogs of others; if they noticed any patterns of issues; which dialog and
which acting spoke to them the most.
Part Three
Homework: Ask students to do
the following before the next class: Fill in the Identity Affirmation Worksheet (Worksheet 3) and bring it to class. {See the poetry homework below, for the next
class as well}
Identity Rumble
II -- Poetry
Part One
Part On
Homework: Ask students to read the Eight Poems (Worksheet 4, 8 pp.). Have them select the poem that they like and relate to the most. They should look for one that speaks to some aspect of their inner identity, who (or what, or where, or with whom!) they are or yearn to be. Then, in that poem, they will underline their favorite 8-12 line section. Also, they should answer questions 1-4 about their response to the poem (Echo Poem (Worksheet 5, p. 1). If you wish, you could extend to them the option of selecting instead a favorite poem of their own, one that is in some way expressive of who they are. If they do, ask them to bringing bring in two copies, one for themselves and one for you. Also, you may want to add your own choice of poems the selection here.
Previewing the Poems
Four by Langston
Hughes
--“I, too, Am
American” and “Dream Variations” were written by Langston Hughes in 1925 and
1921 in an optimistic celebration of self, even amidst discrimination by
society. He envisioned a joyful future with African Americans then “sitting at
the table” of American democracy, and “whirling and dancing” “in the sun.”
--“Juke Box
Love Song” from the mid-20’s, involves the self, the place, and a
romantic date. The poet is full of himself and his African American identity.
He imagines he can even still the “rumble” of subways
in
--“Dream Boogie” was written
later, in 1951, when Hughes, while still eminently optimistic, after years of
waiting for social change. More than his earlier poems, this poem shows
awareness of the “rumble” of the suppressed self of African American, kept down
under a, perhaps deceptive, happy and vibrant exterior. This poem can be seen
as a dialog between two people—one black one white—or two (disagreeing) sides
of one African American person’s mind.
One by Maya
Angelou
“Phenomenal Woman” is a zippy, rhymed poem that exudes confidence and enjoyment of self.
Three by Maya
Angelou
--“Secretary Chant” is built
upon an unusual visual image of how the speaker’s body—and in fact her
identity—is taken over by her secretarial job and social role as a woman. The
originality, verve, and humor add to its appeal and its affirmation of self.
One bit of humor is achieved by the line breaks between the sentence “Swollen,
heavy, rectangular,/I am about to be delivered/ of a baby/ Xerox machine. She
also plays with the spelling, with the word “once” becoming “wonce.”
-- “Traveling Dream” shows
the speaker having difficulty leaving for a trip. Things such as cats, tickets
keep slipping through her fingers and holding her back, keeping her from
getting a grasp. The surreal-like images are from a dream (as per the title),
but can certainly can occur in one’s waking life. For example a student could
experience such a disconnect when attempting to select a career, apply to a
school, or go off to college. This poem is positive in that it is in touch,
expressive, and humorous.
--“Colors Passing Through Us” is a joyful, self-expressive and celebratory. It invokes and celebrates the colors—the sides of self, say—of the author and of her romantic partner.
Part Two
Group Discussion: Students will have read through Eight Poems, selected their
favorite, and identified a section within the poem that speaks to them the
most. Also, they have answered the four questions in the Echo Poem Worksheet 5, to help them tune in to their response to the poem. In class, form groups of
3-4 students who have selected the same poem. Ask them to take turns reading
lines of the poem, say, four lines by four lines, around the group circle.
Next, have them share their answers to questions 1-4 from their Echo Poem worksheet and their thoughts
about the poem.
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Active Poetry Warm-up.
Write the
poems/sections of poem given below on the board and run through a quick
activator exercise bringing out these elements of poetry in a lively,
experiential way.
1. Rhythm--Dream Boogie, by Hughes.
Write the whole poem on the board. Then, read it aloud, emphasizing
the rhythm. As you read it, ask students where they hear the beats, marking the
stressed syllables. Most lines have two beats, while a few have one. There’s
some resulting syncopation.
2. Rhyme-- Phenomenal Woman, by Angelou. Write the first
nine lines on the board. Ask a student to read the poem and ask the class where
there is rhyme.
3. Alliteration— Dream Boogie, by Hughes. Elicit “dream deferred.” Then, read these lines aloud to show how memorable they sound: “Good morning, Daddy/Ain’t you heard/ The boogie-woogie rumble/ Of a dream deferred.”—Have students note the lively rhythm, rhyme, and the meaningful alliteration.
4. Image—
--“Dream Variations,” by Hughes. “Rest at cool evening/ Below a tall tree.”
--“Juke Box Love Song,” by Hughes. “I could take the Harlem night/ and wrap it around you,/ take the neon lights and make a crown,”
--“Colors Passing Through Us, by Piercy. Blue as cornflowers, delphiniums,/ bachelors' buttons. Blue as Roquefort,/ blue as Saga. Blue as still water./ Blue as the eyes of a Siamese cat.
Part Three
Have
students reread their selected 8-12
lines. For homework, they were to have written them on their Echo Poem Worksheet 5, p. 1. They will
then write an echo poem inspired by
these lines. Encourage them to experiment, echoing elements of the voice of the
poem. They can play and use with words they respond to, rhyme or rhythm patterns
they like, or a part of an image they are drawn to. They can actually copy a
few of the words in the section, but they should mainly write their own poem.
It would be good to have them write one or two quick rough drafts on their own
paper. Then, they can transfer their
poems to the Echo
Poem Worksheet 5, p. 2.
You will want to circulate, especially to
coach any students who seem stuck or who need inspiration. Finally, have students create a title for
their own poem.
Collect
the poems. When providing response, encourage signs of inspiration from the
original poem and, especially, expressions of their own identity, experience,
or voice. Also note rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, or images they have used to
good effect.
A brief
class wrap-up or individual written reflection of student thoughts could be a
good way to conclude the creative writing in drama and poetry project. Students
will then have a chance to collect impressions on what they learned about the
genres and what they learned about themselves.
Tuning In: Daily Drama
Whose voices do you at times hear in your mind? Parents? Teachers? Friends? Brothers and sisters? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? All those different parts of yourself?
“I know
you. You always. . .” |
“You
never. . .” |
“I’d
like you more if. . .” |
“I’d
love you much more if. . .” |
“You’ll
make more money if. . .” |
“You’ll
find a better husband/wife if. . .” |
“You
should be more fun. . .” |
“You
should be more serious. . .” |
“Do
you have to have that _____on your wall?” |
“Clean
your room more.” |
“What’s
that you’re wearing?” |
“Do
you always have to look so
____?” |
“Don’t
you ever brush your hair?” |
“What’s
that you’re wearing?” |
“But
you must think of your mother.” |
“But
you must think of your father.” |
“But
what will people think of you?” |
“What
will the neighbors think of you?” |
“I do
trust you to pick out your own friends. It’s just that. . .” “I do
respect your own ideas and values. It’s just that. . .” “I do
love you as much as ______” [Your so successful/popular brother
or sister].” |
Identity Rumble Dialog
Tune in to the voice of a particular person that you can hear
making some such comment to you. Hear some saying that really rubs you the
wrong way, and goes against your self of self. What is this comment that you can hear? Write it down.
Comment I can hear: _______________________________________________
Now, you’ll be writing a
conversation between your voice and
that of this other person –on the matter of their annoying comment. Begin with
the comment. Write at least twelve back and forth lines of dialog, like from a
play, bringing out the conflict. Underline
the words you hear as emphasized in
this dialog. End on a note where your self
finds it’s true voice (Even if that final statement would not work so well
in reality!). First, here’s an example:
Identity Rumble Dialog example:
Mother: “What’s that that you’re wearing?’
Daughter: “It’s a shawl”
Mother: ”It doesn’t
look like a shawl.”
Daughter: ‘Well,.
. . it’s actually a poncho.”
Mother: “But we’re
going to your cousin’s wedding.”
Daughter: “It looks good.”
Mother: “I don’t
think it looks so. . . proper.”
Daughter: “My friends
always wear these everywhere.”
Mother: “Which
friends?”
Daughter: “You know”
Mother: “How many
times do I have to tell you. . .”
Daughter: “Lets face it.
My outfit looks great. At least I’m keeping up with the times. Don’t be so jealous! . .
.By the way have you read any good books lately? Maybe a little philosophy,
or something like that?
Identity Rumble Dialog Cont’d
Your Own Identity Rumble Dialog:
Write here your comment
from the previous page:
Comment I can hear: __________________________________________________
Dialog: (first
draft)
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Identity Rumble Dialog Cont’d
To make the situation and characters more understandable to your partner, fill in these dramatic elements about the situation of your dialog. You can give fictional names and fictionalize some of the details, as you wish.
Characters (relationship/fictional names, age, & personality
type):
Relationship: ________________________________________________________________
Character 1: __________________________________________________________________
Character 2: __________________________________________________________________
Place (& description):
_________________________________________________________
Time (& weather/season):
______________________________________________________
Situation & Conflict __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Dialog: (copy
for your acting partner)
_____________________________________________________________________________
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My
favorite:
Color ________________ Season ________________ Time of day ___________________
Music ________________ Movies
_______________________________________________
Food (cuisine/ dish)
____________________________________________________________
Possession:
___________________________________________________________________
What I’d wear if I had more complete freedom:
____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What else I’d like in my bedroom:
________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I like books about
______________________________________________________________
I like people who
______________________________________________________________
I don’t like people who
_________________________________________________________
My favorite non-parent adult is
__________________________________________________
My favorite subject in school is
___________________________________________________
The career that I really want to pursue is
__________________________________________
Three other identity affirmations:
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
Selecting a Poem
Read through the eight poems
that follow. Four are by Langston Hughes, one is by Maya Angelou, and three are
by Marge Piercy. Select the poem that you relate to
the most. Look for one that speaks to some aspect of your inner identity, who
(or what, or where, or with whom!) you are or yearn to be, if we could express
it this way. Next, select and underline
the section (eight to twelve lines) of the poem that speaks to you the most. (Save the last page here to do in class.)
I,
Too, Am American
By
Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
Dream
Boogie
By
Langston Hughes
Good morning, daddy!
Ain't you heard
The boogie-woogie rumble
Of a dream deferred?
Listen closely:
You'll hear their feet
Beating out and Beating out a --
You think
It's a happy beat?
Listen to it closely:
Ain't you heard
something underneath
like a --
What did I say?
Sure,
I'm happy!
Take it away!
Hey, pop!
Re-bop!
Mop!
Y-e-a-h!
Dream
Variations
By
Langston Hughes
To
fling my arms wide
In
some place of the sun,
To
whirl and to dance
Till
the white day is done.
Then
rest at cool evening
Beneath
a tall tree
While
night comes on gently,
Dark
like me-
That
is my dream!
To
fling my arms wide
In
the face of the sun,
Dance!
Whirl! Whirl!
Till
the quick day is done.
Rest
at pale evening...
A
tall, slim tree...
Night
coming tenderly
Black like me.
Juke
Box Love Song
by
Langston Hughes
I could take the Harlem night
and wrap it round you,
Take the neon lights and make a crown,
Take the Lenox Avenue busses,
Taxis, subways,
And for your love song tone their rumble down.
Take Harlem's heartbeat,
Make a drumbeat,
Put it on a record, let it whirl,
And while we listen to it play,
Dance with you till day--
Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.
Phenomenal Woman
By Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Men
themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm
a woman
By Marge Piercy
My hips are a desk.
From my hips hang
chains of paper clips.
Rubber bands form my hair.
My breasts are wells of mimeograph ink.
My feet bear coasters.
Buzz. Click.
My head is a badly organized file.
My head is a switchboard
where crossed lines crackle.
Press my fingers
and in my eyes appear
credit and debit.
Zing. Tinkle.
My navel is a reject button.
From my mouth issue canceled reams.
Swollen, heavy, rectangular
I am about to be delivered
of a baby
Zerox machine.
File me under W.
because I wonce
Was a woman.
Traveling Dream
By Marge Piercy
I
am packing to go to the airport
but
somehow I am never packed.
I
keep remembering more things
I
keep forgetting.
Secretly
the clock is bolting
forward
ten minutes at a click
instead
of one. Each time
I
look away, it jumps.
Now
I remember I have to find
the
cats. I have four cats
even
when I am asleep.
One
is on the bed and I slip
her
into the suitcase.
One
is under the sofa. I
drag
him out. But the tabby
in
the suitcase has vanished.
Now
my tickets have run away.
Maybe
the cat has my tickets.
I
can only find one cat.
My
purse has gone into hiding.
Now
it is time to get packed.
I
take the suitcase down.
There
is a cat in it but no clothes.
My
tickets are floating in the bath
tub
full of water. I dry them.
One
cat is in my purse
but
my wallet has dissolved.
The
tickets are still dripping.
I
look at the clock as it leaps
forward
and see I have missed
my
plane. My bed is gone now.
There is one
cat the size of a sofa.
Colors Passing Through Us
By Marge Piercy
Purple as tulips in May, mauve
into lush velvet, purple
as the stain blackberries leave
on the lips, on the hands,
the purple of ripe grapes
sunlit and warm as flesh.
Every day I will give you a color,
like a new flower in a bud vase
on your desk. Every day
I will paint you, as women
color each other with henna
on hands and on feet.
Red as henna, as cinnamon,
as coals after the fire is banked,
the cardinal in the feeder,
the roses tumbling on the arbor
their weight bending the wood
the red of the syrup I make from petals.
Orange as the perfumed fruit
hanging their globes on the glossy tree,
orange as pumpkins in the field,
orange as butterflyweed and the monarchs
who come to eat it, orange as my
cat running lithe through the high grass.
Yellow as a goat's wise and wicked eyes,
yellow as a hill of daffodils,
yellow as dandelions by the highway,
yellow as butter and egg yolks,
yellow as a school bus stopping you,
yellow as a slicker in a downpour.
Here is my bouquet, here is a sing
song of all the things you make
me think of, here is oblique
praise for the height and depth
of you and the width too.
Here is my box of new crayons at your feet.
Colors Passing Through Us, ctd.
Green as mint jelly, green
as a frog on a lily pad twanging,
the green of cos lettuce upright
about to bolt into opulent towers,
green as Grand Chartreuse in a clear
glass, green as wine bottles.
Blue as cornflowers, delphiniums,
bachelors' buttons. Blue as Roquefort,
blue as Saga. Blue as still water.
Blue as the eyes of a Siamese cat.
Blue as shadows on new snow, as a spring
azure sipping from a puddle on the blacktop.
Cobalt as the midnight sky
when day has gone without a trace
and we lie in each other's arms
eyes shut and fingers open
and all the colors of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire.
Poetry:
Echo Poem
Tuning In To Your Poem
Your favorite poem in this selection
_________________________ _____________________________________
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Example
of Echo Poem
Say
a student selects the eight following favorite lines:
To fling my
arms wide
In some
place of the sun,
To whirl and
to dance
Till the
white day is done.
Then rest at
cool evening
Beneath a
tall tree
While night
comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my
dream!
An Echo Poem might be:
My Homeland
To
hold my arms open wide,
Expanse
on the beach.
To
stand and to breathe
Boundless,
the morning
The
sunrise, the dunes.
Cool
walk along the shore,
The
white sands, blue
Lake Michigan, I know you.
This
is my dream!
Your
Own Echo Poem
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