Middle School Drama Teacher Alana Gushuliak-Soldan
Episode 85: Middle School Drama Teacher Alana Gushuliak-Soldan
What is it like to teach Middle School drama? Alana Gushuliak-Soldan became a middle school drama teacher because that was the job available. But now five years later she’s still at it and love it. She’s come along way in those five years, listen to her story.
Show Notes
Episode Transcript
Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello, I hope you’re well. Thanks for listening.
Okay. Here we are at Episode 85. You can catch the links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode85.
So, what is it like to teach middle school drama? Right. Alana Gushuliak-Soldan – kids call her “Miss G” – became a middle school drama teacher because, well, that was the job that was available.
I’ve got to tell you, the more I talk to middle school teachers, the more common this situation is. And, if you’re one of those folks out there sort of in the wilderness, not quite sure where to turn, you know, this podcast is for you because, five years later, Alana is still at it and she loves it and she’s come a long way in those five years – like, mistakes and triumphs galore. So, okay.
So, let’s listen to her story! Okay. I’m going to talk in the story because, you know, it wouldn’t be much of a conversation with just one person speaking. That would be a podcast monologue. You can listen. I’m going to talk, okay? That’s… Now I’m digressing. But, okay, here’s our conversation with two people. Stop digressing!
Lindsay: Hello, everybody! Thank you for joining us on the Theatrefolk Podcast today. I am really happy to talk to Alana Gushuliak-Soldan. How are you?
Alana: I’m well. Thank you very much.
Lindsay: Awesome. Thank you for joining me today. And, first off, tell everybody where you are in the world.
Alana: I am at a school called Dr. Donald Massey in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Lindsay: Awesome. Canadians represent. We love that. And what level do you teach?
Alana: I teach grade seven, eight, and nine.
Lindsay: Oh! So, that’s a neat junior high, middle school level. It actually includes grade nine, huh?
Alana: That’s right, yeah. The school is K through nine – kindergarten through grade nine – but we have probably about a quarter of our students are junior high aged.
Lindsay: Yeah, cool! And how long have you been a teacher?
Alana: Five years.
Lindsay: Ahh! And what made you choose to be teacher? Why did you decide to do this?
Alana: My father was a teacher and I grew up overseas in a country called Papua New Guinea. So, schooling was quite different. I went to an international school but had fantastic teachers. And then, we traveled around the world for a year, backpacking with my family, and did correspondence at that time, and got to really appreciate my dad’s teaching style.
And then, moved back to Canada in sort of our junior high years, and I have just wanted to share the world, I guess. I wanted to… I’m excited about the world and how it works and how big it is, and teaching seemed to be a great place to share that.
Lindsay: Well, how wonderful that you actually got to see the world. Did you realize how wonderful and lucky that was when you were experiencing it?
Alana: I think my parents took me at a really good age. I moved first when I was five and the culture in Papua New Guinea is so completely different. I mean, you’re living in the rainforest on a house that is on stilts and, you know, school is cancelled because the weather is too hot as opposed to too cold.
Lindsay: The complete difference from where you are now, right?
Alana: Exactly! Exactly. So, I think that I understood how different it was. And then, the country went into a civil war and that’s when we left and I think that helped me realize how safe most of our lives are in most countries and that, you know, as we were traveling around the world, people aren’t really that different.
It was a great opportunity. I was sort of at that cusp around grade six when I was starting to look beyond just myself and was able to do that in countries that were foreign and unique and diverse and incredible.
Lindsay: Wow! Wonderful. And, because I’m going say I don’t know where Papua New Guinea is, where is that in the world?
Alana: Sure. It is right above Australia.
Lindsay: Ahh! Okay.
Alana: Yeah, there’s an island that sort of looks like a bit like an emu and half of it is West Papua of Indonesia and the other half is Papua New Guinea.
Lindsay: Awesome. And the reason we sort of are connecting is because you do a lot of our plays and a lot of my plays which is really awesome. Do you teach drama as well as put on the plays? What’s your focus?
Alana: I do. I teach drama. So, seven, eight, nine – drama. And then, English or Language Arts and Social Studies.
Lindsay: What is the focus when you teach drama at the junior high level?
Alana: I think a large portion is building the knowledge of self and others, making sure students are able to communicate and respond to communications. So, building communication skills. Building self-confidence is one of the big keys in junior high. Realizing drama as an art form. And then, you know, specifically looking at the idea of projection, movement, and actual performance.
Lindsay: That whole notion of moving beyond yourself, that just, like, is totally in your wheelhouse for, like, knowing that the world exists and how we can, like, just sort of pay attention to that.
Why drama, specifically, for you when you were thinking about being a teacher?
Alana: I did performance through music. And so, my first degree was a Music English combined major. So, I had a performance background. But, to be completely honest, I went into drama because I wanted a teaching contract and that was what was up on the plate at the time and I’ve spoken to a lot of drama teachers and, at the junior high level, for better or worse, that’s how a lot of teachers come into the drama circle.
So, not necessarily with a lot of background experience but, you know, they come into it and some of them absolutely love it and have fantastic experiences and others really struggle and leave it after, you know, a year or two which is unfortunate.
Lindsay: So, when you started, let’s talk about your first days as a drama teacher. What did you expect was going to happen? And were you completely surprised and shocked? Obviously, you must love it a little bit because you’re still doing it.
Alana: I do now. I think maybe more than the first day, my first year was very difficult.
Lindsay: Why? Share why.
Alana: I think a lot of junior high students come in to the program feeling like it’s a free-for-all class – that it’s not as serious as music because they don’t have to learn a new language like music – and a lot of the students, we started with having three options at our school. It was art, music or band, and drama. And the students who didn’t feel they had artistic skills had the choice then of music and drama. And, if they didn’t feel like they were, you know, strong enough to learn to play an instrument, the last choice was sort of drama.
And that was very difficult for me because I think a lot of the students wanted to be there because they couldn’t fit into the other two options that there were in the school.
Lindsay: So, they’re already sort of in that self-confidence notion. They’re already starting off with a pretty low feeling about what they can do, artistically.
Alana: Yes, it’s true. That’s true. And, on top of that, I didn’t – except for my own performance in music performance background – I wasn’t sure where to start and how to go about things. And so, my own confidence level with how to build a program was kind of low, I guess.
Lindsay: So, what did you do to change that?
Alana: I contacted as many people as I could who had experience with teaching drama and Edmonton Public is really good. A number of the people in Edmonton Public are really great with the drama programs that they have going on and were so open with sharing their experiences and sharing how to make, you know, even little things work.
I didn’t know – because we don’t have desks in the classroom – do we sit in a circle? And, if it’s that circle, is there a bit of a seating arrangement? And even minor things like that, I didn’t have the background for and so they were able to share those experiences with me and those sort of tricks of the trade, I guess. And then, I started searching online for things that other teachers have posted. Well, that’s sort of how I stumbled upon Theatrefolk as well.
Lindsay: Well, thank you so much, first of all.
When was that moment when you decided, “Yes, I can do this,” and, “Yes, I’m going to keep doing it”? Was there a specific class or was it at the end of a year or a student?
Alana: Yeah, it was at the end of a performance and, the very first year, we did a performance. It was one of yours. It was Hairball and I wasn’t even sure if the students were going, it was an evening performance which, for our school, was a brand new thing and I was hoping that the students were going to show up. And they came and showed up and then they did a really fantastic job of the performance and I realized that I guess I wasn’t giving them as much credit as I should have and that they were able to rally together and truly make it work.
And I realized, after that point, how important trust and teamwork are in drama, specifically. I had spoken about the importance of ensemble work and working together but I didn’t, I guess, actualize that in my own head until I saw what they were able to do. And so, each year, that has become stronger and their performances as a school, you know, have developed and become stronger as well.
Lindsay: So, let’s move on to that. So, when we’re talking about rehearsing and putting on a play with a school group, do you put out plays just with a class or as an extracurricular activity?
Alana: No, mine are only class-centered. I know that for our curriculum, we don’t have to put on shows. It could just be class work. But I find that students are highly motivated by performing and putting a show on for other students or for their parents and really grow drastically by putting on a show. And so, the grade seven students, I have only for a semester so they end up doing a black-light show every year at the end of their semester. And then, the grade eights and nines each put on a number of shows through the year.
Lindsay: So, let’s start with the challenges. What are the challenges of rehearsing with this age when you’re putting on a show?
Alana: I think that one of the challenges for a show in itself is finding scripts that are large enough where all of the students feel that they have a legitimate role. I’ve found that, you know, if they’re idle in class, chaos is not far away and it works better, obviously, if everyone is working. On top of that, sort of getting them into the idea of rehearsing their own roles while still being part of the larger group.
And so, the way I organize things is I’ll have a warm-up that is organized into whatever the class objective is for that day. And then, they have group work time where I’m circulating but they’re working on either their own memorization or in their scene. And then, I make sure that we view one to two of these scenes in each class so that I have a bit of teaching directing time and their peers can offer advice. It also means that, with everyone watching and learning at the same time, there’s a focus again and it’s not as disjointed as sort of the middle portion of the class.
Lindsay: And then, what’s the greatest reward of putting on these shows?
Alana: Seeing how independent they can be. I had a show that I did last year and one of the students had some large challenges that he was dealing with and, at the last minute, he sort of walked out and wasn’t able to go up and perform. So, the students covered that really quickly. I had to go and, you know, find where this student had gone, and the show just kept going on and I wasn’t even there.
So, they were completely self-reliant and able to make it fly on their own, and that gave them so much encouragement for their own abilities – that, you know, the idea of building self-confidence and teamwork and understanding of others sort of came naturally out of that experience, and I think the performances tend to do that.
Lindsay: It’s funny. I think I’ve seen, in other middle school junior high performances, I was at one where a parent was at the performance and she was like, “Well, I’ll stay backstage with the students,” and the teacher was like, “No, they have to be on their own.” And, if something happens, they have to deal with it on their own. And I think that is just an amazing – aside from the product of the performance – that thing alone where “I am going to work together with my peers” is such a valuable skill, you know?
Alana: Exactly, and right at that time, too, when, you know, whether they’re in grade eight or nine, they move into high school and the jump for our students going into grade ten, it’s so large where, all of a sudden, high school seems like this place where they don’t have as many people helping them out and they have to figure all of that out on their own, and this idea of creating a performance together and making it fly together really does give them a chance to demonstrate that skill.
Lindsay: Awesome. Okay. So, two questions: so, if you’re talking to yourself five years ago, or another – we have a lot of people who listen who are on the exact same boat – they ended up with the program and they’re not quite sure where to go.
So, let’s start with, when you’re rehearsing a show with this age group, what are your top three tips to other teachers and what is the most important thing to remember when you’re rehearsing a show?
Alana: One of the very first things, even before the show, I really emphasize the role of the performer and the role of the audience member because, in the class, if they are struggling with being an audience member, they’re not giving each other or themselves that level of respect that they are hoping for when they’re doing a performance which is why we do a lot of watching each scene as we’re rehearsing.
I do videotape their performances at different times throughout the rehearsal so that they can go back and do a self-assessment and we watch the show as they have it in that rehearsal and, you know, they have a bit of a sheet to fill out as to what they saw themselves doing well, what they want to improve on, because I have found that junior high students really think they’re all that and, you know, it’s one thing for me to say that I noticed that they need to work on this or “Do you think you could give me more of that?”
But, when they’re viewing that as a class and they see themselves performing, they’re able to really get an idea of what they’re communicating on stage and it isn’t always what they thought they were communication. So, that, I think, was a huge thing that I did not do in my first year that I definitely do now.
And, in that assessment time, I offer some suggestions, I offer some questions, as well as sort of them filling out this sheet. I also partner them up with a peer where they do peer assessments of each other and on the things that we’re looking for, you know, at each of those grade levels and I find that that also helps them where they realize they’re accountable to themselves, they’re accountable to the group as a whole, and they’re accountable to this one peer. I didn’t do that in the first year either.
The other thing just to make my own life easier is, if we have any props, this year I’ve started using – behind the stage – a prop table where, for each of the scenes, there are all of the props that need to be in that scene. The last couple of years, I’ve sort of had this bucket and things got lost and kids couldn’t find things and I always felt like we were cleaning up afterwards. And so, just that little bit of organization helps the rehearsals run smoother and it lowers their stress level when it’s performance time because they know it’s going to be there, and that, eventually, helps with the end product.
Lindsay: And then, what about in the classroom? If you’re talking to someone who was in the same boat as you, five years ago, just starting out, not a lot of experience, what are the three things you would say to that junior high teaching who is walking into a drama program for the first time?
Alana: I would work a lot of team building and trust building sort of exercises at the beginning of our classes and at the beginning, probably, of my year. We do a lot of that now. And then, I explain why we’re doing that. Like, I think there is a plethora of fantastic drama game books out online and out in bookstores.
Lindsay: Do you have a favorite exercise or book?
Alana: For trust building games and things? Sure, yeah. I think even the very simple catch-me – you know, you’re partnered up with one person and you just fall back and they catch you and you slowly build up this idea of trusting that person and where people realize how little they really do trust each other. That’s one thing that is very simple where you don’t need anything and you can build that idea of trust with one person up.
Lindsay: Have you ever been in a situation where they didn’t catch them?
Alana: Not with one-on-one. But then, the next step, we sort of go into small groups where there’s a person in the center who has, you know, their arms crossed and then a circle of six or seven people around them just sort of supporting them as they move them around the circle and push them back and forth. And so, we’ve talked about and there have been a couple of times where people haven’t filled in those holes, I guess, and we’ve talked about how, if we do fail then, if we’ve made a mistake and we haven’t been there, how are we going to rebuild that? What do we need to do?
And one thing I hadn’t done previously is I would play all these fantastic drama games and I knew why I was playing them and why we were including them in our class, but the students just thought they were fun and, this year in particular, I’ve made a point of explaining why are we doing this – because it ties into this aspect of, you know, what we want to do better now in the second half of the year – and really explaining to the kids the connection, I guess.
Lindsay: Awesome. Okay. So, you’re here, you’ve been doing it for five years. What’s the funnest part of teaching this age and teaching drama for you?
Alana: Oh. I guess when the students realize they can do something. You know, a lot of them come in and they have so many… The majority of students in junior high that I teach have no experience with drama and they are worried about memorization, they’re worried about being up in front of other students, they’re worried about looking silly.
And, when they realize that they can actually do it – they were able to memorize something, they were able to get up and perform and be someone different on stage, or some of the students are able to learn that they can project their voice – and that’s a really big thing for them because, you know, in the rest of life, they’re sort of passed by because they’re such quiet people. It just fills me with a great deal of pride for their accomplishments – not so much for what I’m doing but for what they are actually working towards in their own life.
Lindsay: And what do you find now that is missing? Or something that you still want to continue working on for yourself?
Alana: Well, I really shy away from improv because I still haven’t jumped into that arena and I’m intimidated by improve so we don’t do a lot of it with my classes which is, you know, not great for them. I don’t think they realize that they’re missing a lot of it. But that would be something I would love to work on. I’m trying to develop myself.
Vignette plays work really well with junior high students and I’ve just started this year trying to get into more of the one-act, you know, more play-based. Like, we’re doing Alice right now and the vignette plays work really well with junior highs and I think I’d like to see about getting some more vignettes in our repertoire.
Lindsay: So, when you’re doing the one-act, do you find that it’s a challenge that you’re welcoming? Or is it something that’s like, “Yeah, I’ve tried this and now I’m going to go back to vignettes”?
Alana: You know what? I think that the one-acts are great for us learning to really expand how we’re putting the shows on and what other elements we can add into our production. But the vignette plays work really well just because I’m working with a class. And so, my classes are 25 to 31 students, and the plays in themselves – unless they’re vignette plays – don’t really offer all of the students a large speaking role.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Alana: And most of the kids want that which makes it a bit challenging to try and balance everyone out. There are a couple of kids who kind of want to, you know, be on the sidelines and have a minor speaking role. But the majority of them, by grade eight, if they’ve come back to drama, really want to be up there on stage. And so, the vignette plays are wonderful for that. Everyone can have a role. So, I think balancing out how many vignette versus, you know, one-act plays I do in order to allow the students to have a variety of roles that they’ve tried.
Lindsay: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for spending time out. I know this is your lunch hour, right? This is the middle of the day that you’ve taken away from and allowed us to just sort of pick your brain a little bit about what it’s like teaching at this level. I think that theatre in middle school and junior high is a pretty wonderful thing and it’s a pretty, as you said, chaos is never far away sometimes.
Alana: That’s right.
Lindsay: And I really appreciate that you’ve talked to me today.
Alana: You’re welcome. No problem.
You know, just before we close, there’s one thing I was just remembering that I didn’t do in my first year that I do now every year that I think is awesome. At the beginning, or near the beginning, probably at the beginning of the second month of our classes, each of the students has to do a monologue and I find that, regardless of the grade – whether it’s seven, eight, or nine – it’s a very risky thing for them to do, but we want them to sort of take on this idea of taking risks for themselves and on stage and in their lives.
And it also, I have found, really builds an empathy for the rest of the class in that they realize how difficult it is to get up in front of your peers and perform a small but perform a monologue on your own and that is something that I really truly believe has helped my program out in that, you know, the kids all now are coming from a common ground. It’s not that you’ve never had a performance before. Everyone has this monologue that they can relate to.
Lindsay: And they can say that they have got up and they did something.
Alana: Exactly, exactly, yeah.
Lindsay: Awesome! Oh, thanks for sharing that. I think that’s really great.
Okay. Have a great rest of your day!
Alana: Thank you! You, too, Lindsay! Buh-bye!
Thank you, Alana!
Make sure you check out those show notes for this episode at theatrefolk.com/episode85.
Now, before we go, let’s do some THEATREFOLK NEWS.
This week, we are in Florida and I can’t say that I am sad about that. It’s the Florida State Thespian Festival – one of the, if not the biggest, high school thespian festival out there. Thousands and thousands of drama students descend on downtown Tampa to perform and to compete and to see shows. Theatrefolk will be there with our bright smiling faces. If you’re there, come on down and say hi. I’m very excited. I get to see one of my plays and one of my duets. They are going to be showcased in the opening ceremonies which is really, really awesome.
Finally, where, oh, where can you find this podcast? We post new episodes every Wednesday at theatrefolk.com and on our Facebook page and Twitter. You can find us on YouTube.com/Theatrefolk. You can find us on the Stitcher app and you can subscribe to TFP on iTunes. Go over there and search on the word “Theatrefolk.”
And that’s where we’re going to end. Take care, my friends. Take care.
Music credit:”Ave” by Alex (feat. Morusque)is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
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