On Thursday, March 21, the Pasadena Waldorf School (PWS) eighth grade class presented their version of the classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” with repeat performances the next day. There were two shows on both days, allowing multiple student players the opportunity to explore various roles. All performances held in the Eurythmy Room played to capacity crowds.
Class performances are an integral part of the curriculum at Pasadena Waldorf School. Each class participates in staged productions that reflect or enhance the academics of their program. On March 13, the first grade class presented a short play as part of their Japanese program. Hiromi Koyanagi, the school’s Japanese instructor, taught the children to recite a traditional story about a family’s attempt to pick a turnip while several of the students acted out the roles in the story. The simple production was an opportunity to immerse the children in the language they are learning.
Concurrent to the eighth grade production, the second grade also presented its own production to family and friends as an extension of their language arts block. The second graders performed an adaptation of the Irish folktale, “The King of Ireland’s Son,” which had been translated from the Gaelic by Padraic Colum in 1916. The students supplemented their dramatic work with an illustrated reader to accompany the tale.
Second grade teacher Wendy Campbell elaborated on the use of drama in the curriculum. “The storylines of all our plays throughout the grades involve striving and elements of struggle, internal reflection, and action springing out of bravery, faith, and goodness,” Campbell said.
