Acting 101; Monday, First Period [01/07].

[not_a_bird]

"Hey, you guuuuys!" Sweet Dee greeted her tiny, tiny, tiny little class with a broad smile that was holding back an awful lot of disappointment in the fact that they'd actually shown up for the second week. "Good morning! Welcome back! I hope you're ready to get up here and have a lot of fun today, because what we're working on this week is..." Pause for effect. Dramatic reveal. "Improv!

"Now, improv, in a way, is kind of the opposite of what we did last week with monologues, which was reading from a set scene. With improv, you make everything up as you go along, sometimes with a prompt or a suggestion. It's a really popular method for comedic actors to really test their chops and get out there, too, and you have to think on your feet and really feel the room, your acting partners, the whole vibe. It's really dynamic and an important tool, even in more dramatic acting. Nothing worse than being in a live show and someone flubs their lines, but a good amount of improv training can help you recover the scene so that no one barely even notices. Believe me, I improv all the time, and it goes great."

It went awkwardly and embarrassingly for everyone involved, really.

"In a moment, I'm going to give you guys a few characters and scenarios and a starting line, and I want to see how you think on your feet and work with each other," her fingers did circles in the air as if connecting them, nodding her head with an eager smile to get them on board with this totally harmonious vibe she was building between them, "and improv your way through a scene. But there's one thing that's important to remember, and this is today's lesson for the day, and that thing is: Yes, and...! "Yes, and..." is the most important thing in improv. No matter what the other actor throws at you, you don't want to just say no and totally kill their vibe. You want to 'Yes, and...' "I'm going to the grocery story, do you need anything?' 'Yes, and!...could you pick up more eggs this time?' 'Yes, and I think they're on sale today!' See? Yes, and! keeps the conversation going, keeps it moving, brings more energy to the scene. I want to see all three of you Yes, and!ing all over this stage. Okay?

"Okay! If there aren't any questions, let's just get right to it. I've got three scenarios in mind, and, if we have enough time at the end of class, I want you guys to offer out a few for your fellow actors to pursue as well, really challenge each other, okay? You guys ready?"

Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 3]

[atreideslioness]

It was another Monday, the start of another semester, and Ghanima was sitting on a table as the students filed in, feet swinging slightly as she waited. As per what had become her usual standard, all desks had been banished from her classroom, in favor of divans, large cushions, and a variety of low tables with coffee and tea services scattered around.

The moment the bell rang, her eyes snapped from the door to the children seated around the room. "Good afternoon and welcome," she said in a clear voice that carried effortlessly. "This is Hubris from Revelation, and I am Lady Ghanima Atreides. Those of you have not taken one of my classes before may address me as Lady Ghanima, Miss Ghanima, or some variation thereof. Preferably not Lady Atreides as that is technically my grandmother, but I will answer to it if you are not comfortable with another title."

"I would apologize for missing last week, except I do not feel bad about it, because I was at home and I lost track of what days this world considers holiday or not."

"If you are in the wrong class, please feel free to leave at this time. For those of you whom I have had in class before," she smiled suddenly, looking far less severe. "Welcome back."

"First, we will start by defining religion, or at least attempting to," Ghanima said, grinning. "A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, God or gods, or ultimate truth. It may be expressed through prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality, the cosmos and/or human nature, which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience."

"For this class, will be be looking at some of the religions of this planet and time period, since trying to incorporate every religion of every universe is a bit daunting, even for me."

"Now, since most religions do believe in some sort of divine being, today we're putting your fate, and faith, in whatever god or gods you may worship," she said, returning to her desk and holding up a bronze bowl. "Those of you who would like to be a TA please put your name in here by the end of class today. But first, I see new faces."

"So why don't we do the usual first-day introductions? Thrilling, I know, but necessary for our new students. I would like your name, class, and what, if any, religion you follow and why. We don't need a theological lecture, even something as simple as 'I like it' would suffice just fine."

Civics - Art of Civil Disobedience Monday 4th Period

[biotic_psychotic]

[Link to last class here. Syllabus here.]

[CW TW OMG: Revolutionary War, Civil War, Slavery, Suffragist movement, Civil Rights movement, American Indian movement, Vietnam War and Stonewall riots all under the cut. Language for Stonewall terminology incredibly dumbed down and NOT meant to be reductive but may sound like that, please be kind to yourself before reading. Very long class.]

"Welcome back. Last class, I gave you a brief rundown on laws, justice, and social justice. Today, we're going to talk about what happens when they come in conflict. This planet has some doozies. I'm going to try to stick to the ones that happened in just this country because this country's laws are the ones that'll apply while you're here. It's a good idea for you to know how they came about. Most people here use Wikipedia as their primary information source. Here's what Wiki has to say about Civil Disobedience."

She clicked on the projector and then said, "Again, at the end of class, you'll get a packet with the slides so you can take home and review." Vette's copy was in Aurebesh. The slide clicked on.

Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government or occupying international power. Civil disobedience is sometimes defined as having to be nonviolent to be called civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is sometimes, therefore, equated with nonviolent resistance.

Jack gave them a minute or two to read it. She pulled out a laser pointer and highlighted the last two sentences. Her expression was grave and possibly a little annoyed. "That part right there? That's utter bullshit." She didn't even fine herself for that one. "While the protesters may start out nonviolent, no effective act of civil disobedience in this country has ever been nonviolent. Either the protesters became violent or violence was done on them but to whitewash it this way and make it sound like the only way a protest is valid is if it's not violent is utter crap written by mealy-mouthed tut-tutters who want people who protest to be ignorable."

She looked at the class, "If you feel strongly enough to protest something, you prepare for violence. History has shown that it's gonna happen on one side or the other. History has also shown that laws about social reform almost never change without violence and the ensuing outcry. Let me give you examples."

( Class )

"The takeaway from all of these is: Quiet, polite protests don't make history. If you want to change the future, you need to make history and that usually involves making an awful lot of noise. Sometimes it even involves breaking the law to change the law."

Make It Fashion- Tuesday- 1st period

[gobrookeyourself]

The students would be in their classroom today, where everyone got their own station and sewing machine. Their fabrics from last week were arranged by the rest of their stuff.

"Now you get to do fun stuff!" Brooke greeted them. "Today we're going to actually sew some stuff. Pick one of your cheaper fabrics, something you can practice on, and you can try out the machines for a while. And then you're going to try something simple to start: a tote bag. They're really handy, you're saving the environment, you might as well be fashionable about it. And if you're ambitious, maybe you can try to spice it up a little. So let's turn on our machines and make sure they work!"