Museo de Vida

Exhibition Date: December 18th, 2014

High Tech High North County
Teacher(s): Chris Marshall, Charlene Parsons, Aleida Rivera, Vee Nguyen

1. Project Summary
Im sure weve all been to a museum. They are places where significant relics of
the human experience are displayed - art, artifacts, fossils, writings, etc. But how
often have you been to a museum where you actually felt like the experiences
were being actively presented to you? Often, you stare at a piece of art or a room
from a castle in Medieval times or a model of The Great Plains, and your
imagination has to create the rest. What if we could make a living museum? A
place where life from the past, art, theatre, politics, people, relationships,
conversations, stories, all come alive to the viewer? Well, we are going to do just
that. We are going to make history come alive!
The time period we will study will be a crazy one: The Spanish Civil War. Through
our study of one of Spains most famous playwrights, Federico Garcia Lorca, and
specifically his play Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre), we will seek to
understand how theatre and art come out of a specific time, culture, and in this
case, a bloody conflict. We will read the play, both in English and Spanish, create
fully designed theatrical scenes with lights and sound and sets and costumes
(with the help of professional designers) We will also study Lorcas relationships
to great artists of the time like Dali and Picasso, and how all of their work was
influenced by the world around them. Well look at Cubism, and at scientists who
were exiled to Mexico for their revolutionary work. This will be a full team project:
between now and December 18th we will immerse ourselves in this world and try
to understand as much as we can about it, so we can represent it as accurately as
possible to our patrons on Exhibition night.

2. Essential Question
How do theatre and art reflect real life, and real life reflect art? What can
we learn about our own society today and the conflicts we are
experiencing by studying this relationship in a time before us?

3. Products
color,
A Directing
Proposal that
discusses
their
of symbolism,
motif,
and knowledge
of Lorcas
Spain
forknowledge
a scene from
the play Blood
Wedding.
Aswatches
fully designed
scene from
the
play
Blood Wedding, with models,
design
and
palettes,
and
sound
cues.
A rehearsed
scene from
from the
the proposal
play, performed
like a rehearsal (with
director),
fullstatement
design
above.
An with
artists
about the
design
and design process.

4. Outside Experts
Who they are

What they could do

Matthew
Eckstein, Sound
Designer
Kristin Neu,
Lighting Designer
Patrice Amon,
Dramaturg

Introduce our students to

principles of theatrical design
Provide professional, theatrical
expertise
Teach students about how to
research design principles
Provide a historical and cultural
context through which to see the play
Make connections to their own
history, imagination, and knowledge of
current society to create an innovative
and professional design project

5. What students need to know in order to do

a good job, how they can learn it, and when
they need to know it
What

How

When

Study of the play, Blood Wedding

Read-alouds in class,
10/16 discussions, lessons on
10/22
symbolism, motif, character
arc

An understanding of how symbolism,

motif, character arc, and color are
represented in the play

Written artifact/Directing
Proposal that investigates
one scene through the lens
of symbolism, motif,
character arc, and color

10/23 11/7

Introduction to theatrical design:

Dramaturgy, Sound, Lighting,
Costumes

Presentations and small

group work by MFA
designers from UCI

11/3

Dramaturgical Research, Set and

Lighting Models, Sound design

Lessons, small group

research

11/4 11/17

Rehearsal technique for a theatrical

presentation, acting technique,
directing technique

Lesson, small group

12/4 advising, rehearsal, critique 12/17

6. Skills/Common Core State Standards, and

how they are Assessed

Skill/Standar How Assessed
d
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.910.2
Determine a theme or
central idea of a text and
analyze in detail its
development over the
course of the text,
including how it emerges
and is shaped and
refined by specific
details; provide an
objective summary of
the text.

Students will investigate themes and ideas in the

play, and be able to demonstrate their development,
as well as be able to provide an objective summary of
the play, through careful reading of the text and
discussion. They will also create a written
essay/directing proposal that demonstrates how these
themes and their development relate to a real life
theatrical design and production.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.910.4
Determine the meaning
of words and phrases as
they are used in the
text, including figurative
and connotative
meanings; analyze the
cumulative impact of
specific word choices on
meaning and tone (e.g.,
how the language
evokes a sense of time
and place; how it sets a
formal or informal tone).

Students will look at word choice in the play,

specifically related to color, symbolism, tone, mood,
and figurative meaning, to determine how to create a
sense of time and place, through a theatrical design.
This will be assessed through the written piece
described above, as well as critique and revision of a
theatrical design that demonstrates their
understanding of Lorcas language.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.910.6
Analyze a particular
point of view or cultural
experience reflected in a
work of literature from
outside the United
States, drawing on a
wide reading of world
literature.

Since Blood Wedding is a Spanish text, and will be

read in both English and Spanish, students will be
exposed to a work of literature from outside the
United States. Lorca is a renowned playwright and
scholar, who travelled extensively and collaborated
with some of the worlds best known artists, such as
Dali and Picasso. The cultural experience will be
reflected and assessed in students writing (see essay
above), as well as their research of the Spanish Civil
War and their final theatrical design.

7. Timeline/Milestones
Week

1
10/15 10/17

2
10/20 10/24

3
10/27,
10/28
(SLC
week)

4
11/3 11/7

5
11/12 11/14

6
11/17 -

Activities

Deliverables

Read play aloud

Discuss character
development, symbolism,
representations of color, tone, and
mood

Continue reading play aloud

Discuss character
development, symbolism,
representations of color, tone, and
mood

Reading
organizers for each
scene due in binder!

Finish Reading play aloud

Divide into design groups

Begin Mindmap/Proposal

Presentation by MFA
designers
Research on Spanish Civil
War
Create design project, in
groups
Work on Artists Statement

Mindmap/prop
osal due

Research on Spanish Civil

War
Create design project, in
groups
Work on Artists Statement

Research on Spanish Civil

War
Create design project, in

Draft 1 of
design project due,
11/17

11/21

groups
Work on Artists Statement
Design project revisions

Intro ideas for exhibits for

Museo de Vida
Work on pitch proposals for
Museo de Vida
Write/Rehearse/Design
exhibit
Write/Rehearse/Design
exhibit

12/1 12/5

8
12/8 12/12

9
12/15 12/17

Write/Rehearse/Design
exhibit
Final Dress/Tech Rehearsals

Final
Presentation of
Design Projects to
MFA Designers,
11/20, 11/21
Artists
Statement due 11/20
Pitch proposals
for Museo de Vida,
12/3

Exhibition,
12/18

8. Personalization
Each student will study Lorcas Blood Wedding in both English and Spanish. Each
student will study theatrical design and will write a Directing proposal/essay (as
described above) that demonstrates their knowledge of Lorcas language, tone, and
symbolism, as well as their knowledge of the culture, politics, and conflicts of that
time in history. Students will also study Cubism, the Spanish language, science in
Spain in the 1920s and 30s, and artists that were affiliated with or influenced by
Lorca or the events of the Spanish Civil War. Each student will have the opportunity
to present either a fully designed scene from the play (in rehearsal), or will be able
to write a short, semi-improvised scene that features other prominent figures from
that time period. With this option, they may be at work on a scientific breakthrough,
a piece of art, or discussing the politics of the time at an outdoor cafe. The study of
the text and the time period, along with the design research, will give students the
background they need to create real characters in real-life scenarios, complete with
sets, music, costumes, and lighting that bespeaks the time period we are studying.
They will get to choose what they represent on the night of Exhibition. In addition,
they may converse in English or Spanish.

9. Teacher Reflection
10. Images of students in action