Tag: 8th grade

For Coaches and Teachers, For Kids, P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box, Resources

P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box Time: Close Reading

Alison Weaverdyck
From Stainedglassbypj.com
From Stainedglassbypj.wordpress.com

Winning isn’t everything, but it is a shame when a team misses an opportunity to get points because of an oversight.Here are a few ways to help your students excel during the P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box round.

1. Read the Prompt thoroughly. The P.A.R.T.Y. challenges are never longer than one page. Even though 45 minutes isn’t a long time to do everything needed to develop a skit, it is worth a team’s time to read the prompt more than once.

2. Look at the scoring rubric. It is not a mystery how the performances are going to be scored, the scoring rubric is included on the team copy. Unless penalties are assessed, each performance scores a minimum of 30 points, because we don’t believe in zeroes, and a maximum of 117 points. Some categories stay the same, and others change depending on the story being told. Each section of the “Team’s Use of Materials” category is always worth a maximum of 10 points, for instance, and is about the appearance of costumes and sets. The section with the largest potential for earning points always centers on the plot, and the team’s ability to address the central problem. On its own, this part is worth up to 25 points. Some prompts also require teams to do something specific, like recite a poem or add music, and if gets left out it can mean a loss of 10 points.

3. Take notes. Every Meet there are teams who have to prepare their performance during the first Tri, which means it can be hours between seeing the prompt and when the performance finally takes place. Even though teams can’t take the prompt with them in order to ensure that no other team gets an unfair advantage, there is no reason they can’t take notes about what they are going to do in their skits. In the excitement of performing, kids can sometimes forget their lines and leave out something key to their story. These notes can be kept “back stage” and referred to during the performance to make sure that nothing important gets forgotten. Another place where these notes can come into play is if the team uses a narrator, who can hold onto them during the performance and refer to them throughout.

Check out the other PARTY posts for more tips!
Make it Memorable
Costumes Make the Characters
Backdrops Set the Scene
Props Add Pop

For Coaches and Teachers, For Kids, P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box, Resources

P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box Time: Props Add Pop

Alison Weaverdyck
From Beauty with a Twist
From Beauty with a Twist

Just like a character’s costume, the props they use can make people with certain occupations easily recognizable. A person wearing a tie is some kind of professional, a person with a tie AND a clipboard is probably an inspector. A person wearing a baseball hat could just be a fan, but if they are also carrying a glove or bat, that will do even more to make identification by the audience possible.

In some cases, the right prop can also replace a costume. But, if this is your team’s approach, that should also mean that props get enough attention. If you are going to use a single object to tell us everything we need to know about a character, you had better make it a good object. Here a few examples of props that can help you tell the story, even if there is no costume to aid you.

1. Wands- witches, wizards, fairy godmothers and the like all carry these magical sticks. Oftentimes, teams get drinking straws in their boxes, which can serve as a basis for a wand. But don’t just point a straw at your foes, make sure to add something like a star to the end, or have another person throwing bits of paper to show that magic is coming out of it.

2. Scrolls- Some prompts explicitly call for a narrator, but really you can add this pseudo-character to any story. One benefit is that they do not necessarily need a costume, but they do a lot to tell the story and keep it on track. If you do have a narrator, give them a scroll with the script or even just an outline of the skit so they can keep the action moving if someone drops a line, or make sure to keep important parts from being left out by mistake. A bard, herald, or even a royal cook on her way tot he market in the Medieval age could carry scroll as well.

3. Weapons- There is no official policy against violence in the P.A.R.T.Y. performances, but in general we have found that judges respond better to humor than to drama or violence. But, that doesn’t mean that weapons can’t be employed to help tell your story. Even without any armor, a person carrying a broadsword is probably a knight. Maybe your cowboy doesn’t have a ten-gallon hat, but he does have a six-shooter that he pulls on the bad guy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an alien who carries a ray gun, either.

Another interesting thing I noticed in my own USAT days, as well as during judging, is that oftentimes the idea for the answer to the prompt comes from the materials available. More than once I have seen multiple teams decide to have a wizard in their skit because there was already something that looked like a wand in their box. On one hand, this is a good thing and they were able to make a quick decision and execute it. On the other hand, the three similar skits blended together in the minds of the judges, which made it harder to judge them individually and made them seem less creative than they really were.

To be safe from this problem and to get noticed, it is a good strategy to alter any object at least in some way before using it in a skit. If the long, shiny thing just screams “wand” at you, at least make the handle longer or have it make a silly noise when you’re using it. In general, seeing something used for something other than its intended purpose will be more memorable, and so be more likely to earn you more points. For instance, it is much more interesting to see a milk carton as a hat than to see it being used to pour imaginary milk.

My own teams never made it to State, but we sure had a lot of fun! But, for some teams, the competitive aspect of USAT is part of the experience and enjoyment of participating. For my final installment of this series, I will be posting P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box Time: Close Reading in order to give some tips about maximizing points during this round of the competition.

For Coaches and Teachers, For Hosts and Facilitators

Meet 3 Reflection

Alison Weaverdyck

Wow! This condensed season is just flying by. The Round Robin competitions are now over (unless you were one of those unfortunate districts caught in the January 9th inclement weather, that is) and we’d love to hear from you about this or any Meet so far this season.

Have you noticed any differences from last year to this year? Are the weekly articles on this blog helping you and your team? Did any of the events stand out to you? Do you have any pictures to share?

Leave us a comment by clicking the link above, or send pictures to usatstuff@gmail.com!

For Coaches and Teachers, For Kids, P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box, Resources

P.A.R.T.Y. in a Box Time: Backdrops Set the Scene

Alison Weaverdyck
comedy_tragedy_by_kaiazon deviantart.com
comedy_tragedy_by_kaiazon deviantart.com

The materials that teams get for each P.A.R.T.Y. challenge vary, but one thing that they always get is a large piece of butcher paper for making a backdrop. Some prompts or stories may only call for a single setting, while others require to characters to move between locales. Oftentimes the backdrop is left to the last few minutes of prep time and the scenery is just an afterthought, but there are lots of creative ways to get the most out of that paper and add something special to a skit. So here are some tips for getting the most out of a backdrop.

  • The appearance of the backdrops counts as 10 points of the overall score for the skit, so don’t overlook the opportunity to get more points by doing something sloppy or unrecognizable.
  • Did you know that the paper is large enough that if students use both sides they can easily show up to four different locations? But, transitioning between them can be tricky. Most of the time, the paper is draped over the top of the backdrop holder. It can be taped in place to ensure it doesn’t fall during a show, but most teams rely on gravity to keep it in place. But, depending on how many times the characters need to change location this can be a dicey proposition, and a backdrop that falls down in the middle of a show is distracting for the audience and the performers. Tape from the competition kit cannot be used during the skit, but it can be used during set up.
  • In order to change between backdrops, students can turn the entire backdrop holder around rather than trying to “turn the page” by moving the paper itself. This can save time and hassle, but they also need to make sure they leave themselves enough space between their extra team members and any props or costumes they are saving for later and the backdrop holder as they move it.
  • One clever way to use the paper is to cut a “window” into the paper and have a character stand behind it. I was in a skit once where we had “breaking news” on a television and we used a window we cut into the paper as the television screen. Maybe the characters go through a drive-thru window at a fast food restaurant, or they step through a door to another world. There are lots of ways to incorporate this trick and add interest to a show.
  • There is no rule that says the paper must remain intact. Backdrops can take any shape your students can imagine, and the paper can be used in costumes and props if the need arises.
  • Time is of the essence, so consider dividing the labor during the PA.R.T.Y. prep time. If some people are better at drawing you might consider putting them on backdrop duty rather than working on it all together.
  • When considering the limited time available, it is also a smart strategy to get good at identifying the minimum elements needed to convey a certain place or time. If the story takes place in the future, a hover car in the sky can go a long way to situating your story in time. If there is a scene in a classroom a desk with an apple on it is a good way to simply show that setting. This corresponds to the E (Eliminate) of the SCAMPER technique.

 

Announcements, For Coaches and Teachers, For Hosts and Facilitators, For Kids

Meet 2 Reflection

Alison Weaverdyck

That’s two Round Robins down and only one to go! We’d love to hear from you about our second Meet of the season.

Did any students display a special or surprising talent? Did you get a kick out of any of challenges? Were there items on the Face-Off that even stumped the parents?

Leave us a comment by clicking “Leave a Comment” below the title of this post and send your photos to usatstuff@gmail.com to get them into our upcoming photo gallery.