POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES HOW DOES A PLAYWRIGHT STRUCTURE TIME TO EXPRESS IDEAS? (Common Core Code: CCSS. W11-12.3B)


After watching Time and the Conways, students explore the playwriting process with attention to time structure in storytelling. DISCUSS


Discuss how J.B. Priestley handles time in the play. What impact do the shifts in time (from 1919-1937- 1919) have? Why do you think he chose to structure time this way? How do we perceive the Conways differently, by moving forward and back in time? What do you think J.B. Priestley is saying about how people change over time? (You may read or refer to the article on Disrupted Time on page 7 of this Upstage Guide)


WRITE


Work individually or in groups to write a pair of scenes using a disrupted time structure. Choose a group of 3-5 characters (i.e., a family, co-workers, school friends, etc.) in a single setting. Create a situation for these characters in the present time, and write a short scene that explores their relationship today. Then, write a second scene that shows the same characters returning to the same setting 10 years in the future and reveals how their lives and relationships have changed.


PERFORM REFLECT


Allow a few groups to read their scenes to the class. Between scenes, you may ask the class to make predictions about what will happen to the characters in 10 years, before they hear the scene as written.


What is challenging about telling a story this way? What are some other films, plays, or TV shows you’ve seen that use disrupted time structures? Why do audiences enjoy stories that use disrupted time structures?


HOW DOES COSTUME DESIGN REVEAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ACROSS TIME IN A PLAY? (Common Core Code: CCSS RL 9-10.3)


Students reflect on the impact of costume design to support storytelling and character development in the production they saw, then design their own costumes for different time periods.


MATERIALS REQUIRED: • Production images of costume examples from Time and the Conways. • Download/copy PDFs of costume design templates. (2 per student) • Colored pencils, pens, and/or crayons.


(Note: If you have your class do the above playwriting post-show activity, they can design for the characters they’ve created.) DISCUSS


Ask students their observations about how costumes provided information about the characters in the play. Students may use the production images throughout the guide and the costume renderings found on page 19 to compare how a character changed over time. What do the clothes tell you about the character? How did this character change over time, and how did the costume help us understand this change?


DESIGN


Use the costumes templates HERE to design two costumes for a single character whose story spans multiple decades. (These can be original characters, characters from a book or play, or historical periods the class has studied.) Each costume should clearly be from a different time period, and the two costumes should show how this character changes over time. (For historical accuracy, you may have students research fashions over the decades.)


GALLERY WALK


Have students mount both of their completed designs on the wall, and allow students to view them all. Select a couple of designs and ask students what changes they observe between the two time periods, and what inferences they could make about the character’s development across time, based on the costumes.


TIME AND THE CONWAYS UPSTAGE GUIDE 21


FOR EDUCATORS


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