Margaret Copland - ' no one does heritage stories better ...' ... a one-woman show at your time and place |
Te Puna Ora Storytelling and the Secondary Curriculum
Margaret Copland is a Master storyteller with International Experience Her Stories are designed for adult audiences The stories are based on extensive research into New Zealand History They have serious and authentic New Zealand content They have high interest and entertainment value They are Heritage Stories with direct relevance to: NCEA standards in History, Drama, English, Geography and Social Studies History Most of the stories are models of gathering, organising, interpreting and communicating historical resources and information. They are all about Social Change
|
Social Studies
Change in Society, the participation of ordinary people, values positions ....
The characters tell their own stories in the first person, with appropriate accent, dress, manners, opinions and prejudices. In England they are coping with underemployment, riots, the poor house, education or the lack of it, religious and cultural - racial persecution. In Ireland Winifred escapes from a grim future as the rain persists and the potatoes rot. It's all part of the industrial revolution but they tell it from an individual perspective.
Some of the stories are almost Dickensian: For example: Joseph Masters is thrown into poverty when his father dies in a debtor's prison, runs away from a cruel teacher, is set to work in a silk mill, becomes an apprentice cooper, a soldier, a porter, a turnkey ..... he finally becomes the founder of Masterton. And it is all researched fact ....
Polish Rosalia Gierszewski watches her new husband marched off to serve in the Prussian army, her children must speak German at school, her faith, her culture and her claim to land and livlihood are all at risk in the New German Empire. They are on their way to America when the New Zealand agent talks them into going to New Zealand instead. The settled on Marshland Road, the first a score of Polish families who settled in Marshland.
English and Drama
Margaret is an International performer. Her unique blend of history and performance storytelling has been acclaimed by thousands in the U.S.A. and New Zealand. She is recognised as a top New Zealand storyteller.
English and Drama students will enjoy the creation of characters, the way the stories unfold and the performance aspects. They will appreciate the subtle humour.
They will be interested in the relationship between audience and performer
Storytelling has much in common with the play and the short story but it has it's own narrative styles and conventions. Drama students will appreciate the application of research to create a solo performance.
The dramatic presentation and the local content motivate students to listen intently
These stories are models of:
Devising a dramatic text for presentation
Creation and presentation of a performance piece for a specific audience
Development of skills in scriptwriting for live theatre
Geography
"Bessie" tells the story of the Hutt Valley. The violence of the riots and the poor law in England is exchanged for the violence of war and natural events like earthquakes and floods.
All the Immigrant stories, especially "Winifred" are about population and resources.
"Tarawera" is a story that is of interest to geography students.
Comments From Teachers
"They (year 9 and 10 students) all thoroughly enjoyed seeing history come alive as you told your stories.
It was relevant to their Social Studies work and also to the storytelling unit they do in Drama.
Your storytelling relates to a Year 11 task called, 'Shared Stories' and even more directly to a task my Year 13, Level 3 Drama students do called 'In Their Footsteps.'
They have to research a local historical character and devise a solo performance based on that character. It is an exciting Achievement Standard that the students enjoy and find very satisfying.
The work you do models many of the components they must include in their work - including the research, processing and problem-solving to get to the staged performance. Hopefully, you will be in the area again ... "
(Bev Anderson, Drama Teacher, Dunstan High School)
"The students found the assembly to be of great interest ... Your characters engaged the students and added dimension to immigration; your varied dialects fascinated the students and encouraged (and rewarded!) strong listening skills; your costumes and pictures added a strong element of reality, as well as being visually entertaining.
Overall, your presentation was a valuable, enjoyable experience."
(Carla Stanford, The University School of Milwaukee, Middle School Assembly Coordinator)
REFERENCES:
Bertha Tobias: Tutor of Storytelling unit, Canterbury College of Education, Christchurch.
About Margaret Primary Schools Tour Groups Immigrant Stories Women & Politics Dissent & Disaster Te Puna Ora Workshops Audio Contact
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.