POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES


HOW DOES A PLAYWRIGHT EXPLORE HOW HUMANS USE MOVIES AND ENTERTAINMENT AS ESCAPISM? (Common Core Code: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3)


In Amy and the Orphans, we meet a character who uses movies as a way of coping with the struggles of daily human life. This activity has students write their own monologues using quotes that they hold close to their experience.


READ DISCUSS Read Amy’s ending monologue in which she quotes different classic films.


Talk with the students about the way we use television and movies to escape our own lives. Is there a healthy way to do this? Is there an unhealthy way to do this? How can the entertainment industry garner empathy, and how does empathizing with a character change our own experience?


WRITE SHARE


Write your own monologue using quotes from your favorite movies. Think about why you chose these specific quotes and how they relate back to your own life.


Students act out their monologues for the class. Discuss the writer’s intention behind the monologue and how it resonated for other individuals.


HOW DOES A GRAPHIC DESIGNER CREATE AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY POSTER? (Common Core Code: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5)


After seeing Amy and the Orphans, students create a poster that clearly advocates for one aspect of the National Down Syndrome Society’s Legislative Agenda.


RESEARCH


Today, people Down syndrome are self-advocates, working with their families and communities to lead the conversation about the programs and laws that affect them. Study the National Down Syndrome Society’s legislative agenda (or one segment of the agenda), [found HERE] and ask students to choose one priority they feel strongly about.


CREATE


Distribute 11x17 sheets of white paper and the art supplies of your choice. Ask students, working alone or in small groups, to design a poster for use on a march advocating for individuals with Down syndrome. Their poster should advocate for just one point of the NDSS legislative agenda and should quickly and clearly communicate its message. (If desired, study images from recent marches and generate a list of effective visual characteristics.)


SHARE


Hang posters on one wall of the classroom. Gather students in the far end of the room and take one minute to study the posters at a distance. Have class turn their backs on the posters and discuss: Which posters best communicate their message? How? What made them memorable? Which principles of design are used?


AMY AND THE ORPHANS UPSTAGE GUIDE


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FOR EDUCATORS


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