How do you teach self-motivation?

In a field like theatre, so much of learning seems to come down to self-discipline. It is not like math, where you either understand how to do the problem or you don't. It isn't even as tangible as music (where you either can or can not play the solo). And so I am left asking after many class periods, is there a way to motivate students to not slack?

For example, my acting class is currently working on Shakespearean scenes. And though they have all had their scenes chosen for at least two weeks, and though we have been working in class for the last three weeks on the text, still they come to class today to work on their scenes unmemorized, unblocked and frequently without the basics of motivation or intention decided. They perform the scenes for a grade on Thursday and I have no doubt that the work they do between now and Thursday will be at least equal to, if not more, than all of the work they have done up to this point.

I know that they all have busy lives, other classes to do work for and parts to memorize, but these are supposed to be the most devoted actors in the school... and if they won't work on a part more than two days out of the performance what am I supposed to do??? I'm dissappointed in their lack of work ethic but honestly, is that something I can teach? I supposed I could give them lots of little assignments along the way (turn in your objective for the scene... turn in your blocking for the scene, etc). But when it self-initiative supposed to kick in? If not in upper level college classes, then when?

A Good Day...

Two weeks ago, I was in a panic. We were finishing up the Ancient Greeks in Styles of Acting and moving ever closer to the dreaded "Shakespeare." Shakespeare is one of those guys that you either love teaching... or you hate. Okay, that's not true. You either love teaching him, you hate teaching him, or you're scared of teaching him. Me? Up until about a week ago, firmly in the third camp.

Now don't get me wrong. I've studied Shakespeare in school. I've acted in a few Shakespearean plays. But the idea of being responsible for teaching other people to act Shakespeare seemed daunting. I mean, how do I balance the beauty and hugeness of the language with the intimacy and honesty that we expect out of our actors?

A few nights ago, I realized that the deadline was looming and it was not going to get any easier. So... having no idea where to start, I opened up all of my books on Styles and then turned to my handy "Speaking Shakespeare" by Patsy Rodenburg. And as I read, I began to think, "Hey I know this... and this... and this!" And suddenly this mammoth that is Shakespeare didn't seem so hard.

Start with what you know... it seems so simple but as a teacher I am always having to remind myself of that. Sometimes I get so consumed with the sheer amount of information that is out there (that I don't know) that I forget... I do know a fair amount about this stuff.

So today, I taught my first lesson on Shakespeare. We didn't get out of chairs. We just looked at text. We examined what the words mean and what they conjure up for us actors. We looked at how they sound and how they appear on the page and what that means for us as actors. We looked at iambic pentameter, not as something that limits us or should scare us, but as something that points us towards better understanding of the text. And, get this, it was fun. I left them hanging, swearing to them that the best was yet to come (because it is!)... and I think a few of them might even be looking forward to coming to class on Tuesday. All in all, I'd say that's a good day.

Diversity

One of the reasons I was drawn to the arts as a kid (and one of the reasons I love teaching) is the diversity of the people who are drawn to it. I am in the process of teaching a class on Oral Interpretation of Literature and my students just shared the titles and short synapses of their prose pieces in class this morning. I placed a few stipulations on their choice. First, it has to fit in the three to five minute time limit that they have. Second, I wanted them to choose something that challenged them (and preferably that included direct discourse between characters and a setting that needed to be illuminated). And most importantly... something that they were really excited and passionate about doing!

Just in the pieces that they have chosen it is clear how dramatically different the interests of the class are. We have everything from a guy contemplating suicide to a piece from Winnie the Pooh. I love that. I love how much I learn from the diversity of choices. I love that students bring in pieces that I would NEVER choose for myself (which in turn means that I would choose pieces that they wouldn't consider). That is the beauty of art. You (and fifteen other people) are given certain parameters... and the variety that comes out is what makes us unique. What a cool job.

Favorite Quotes

Those who can, do.
Those who believe others can, teach.
-John King

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.
-Gail Godwin, US novelist and short story writer

Lessons Learned

As I reflect back on my classes today I realize that it might not be a bad idea to be keeping a journal of my teaching. Specifically I plan to write about
1. Exercises that worked or didn't work
2. Extrapolate on why certain lessons seem effective or other ways in which I can use those lessons
3. Chronicle my epiphanies (both good and bad)!
4. Share (and remind myself) why I love this job

We'll see how often I use this venue. I might post regularly. Maybe only when inspiration really strikes. But I feel like my personal blog should be about my personal life. It's about time I had a professional blog devoted to this thing I have devoted my life to: teaching theatre.