First off was a relatively early start, part of the project to find me more activities, with two lessons devoted to Spoken English, delivered to a pair of classes in SPA’s more advanced undergraduate program. Both classes were to be taught in the Seminar Room; somewhat ironically, just when there lessons that could have been delivered in a classroom, I had the luxury of space. But it did allow me to set things up a little differently, arranging the chairs in advance in a circle, thus creating a space where we could all see and be seen, and even more importantly heard, equally.
I taught effectively the same lesson twice: an introduction to me, to why theatre skills were important in the outside world, and then a summary of how we learn language, any language: by listening, by watching, by copying… and at a far more distant stage by writing. (If I am fair, this was a slight riposte to Manoj, their teacher, who had suggested beginning with writing, as this would be “starting from the basics.”)
Class one began extremely uncertainly, even with saying, good morning and saying their name, but it was also clear that most made noticeable improvement during the lesson. Most notable was one girl, who, having pronounced herself “unable to speak English” (though I pointed out that she just had) visibly blossomed, helped by dollops of praise and encouragement.
The content of the lesson was buying and selling (appropriate for a Business class), but in a very simple format: one customer in a greengrocers, asking for some fruit. I asked for some variety – a lot of them wanted apples (with shades here of Val’s class in Lebanon) – and introduced some additional questions: how many, which colour, this one or that one, etc. They were very, very quiet, with an obvious lack of confidence (though I did have to remind myself that they were not having to reach an audience, just the person they were speaking to.) And most struggled even more when I tried to make the encounter slightly more complex by having the customer make a complaint.
But this did produce the highlight of the first lesson when I was performing a scene to all of them with one of the slightly more confident boys, where I complained that the potatoes I had bought the day before had been mouldy. “No,” he declared, “that must have been from a different shop. I was old, I must have forgotten.” They fell about laughing.
The second class was smaller in number, a little more confident in their English, and were immediately able to be more complex – lists of vegetables, the concept of value for money – “That is very dear” – a more relaxed introduction, even the appropriateness of the greeting depending on the relationship, one shopkeeper using “bro” as a greeting, which I pointed ut could be exactly right… or very wrong, depending.
I had enjoyed the lessons; even more important, I am sure they had too, even just as a change of routine. But I am pretty sure (nothing is ever clear) that these lessons were one-offs, that they could not afford the time in their course for an aspect which would not be examined. Which illustrates the general point, that only in the extra-curricular area can I make a regular contribution; the students have full programs of study, their teachers have exam syllabuses to deliver, no-one can afford to give their classes over to me for more than just the one lesson (and even then with some reluctance.)
My next appointment was in the video studio, where I had pushed to have a second video recorded, to be posted on the college facebook page. I had hoped to deliver two separate, though linked, messages: to talk about the play, what it was really about, how we were approaching it; and then a justification of why it was a good idea for students to be engaged in such a project, how it enhanced, not hindered, their learning. But Star, the guy in charge of the unit, made it quite clear that I could only have two minutes, that people would quickly switch off otherwise, so I had to choose one or the other.
There was no choice to be made. The first was publicising the show; the second really jusdt getting something off my chest (especially when the casting session was almost done.) My bit went alright, with a slight verbal mis-step or two, which I was assured would be fine… and making it all the clearer that, carefully thought-through though my speech had been, it was now in the hands of the editor, and out of my control.
Afterwars, Star and I chatted pleasantly, and he invited me to his family home for lunch. We went out there – it was near the department store – in a tuk tuk, and it was an excellent meal. Too big for me, as ever, but I made a pretty fair go at it (I am enjoying the food far more now) and we came back, not in a tuk tuk, but on Star’s motorbike. There was no helmet for me, of course; though most riders wear them, their passengers never do. He did try to tell me that the pillion passenger did not need one, but I pointed out what nonsense this was (in a pleasant and jokey way.) And he offered me his helmet, while he would do without, but I was not going to have that either; I would already stick out, I did not want to make myself a figure of ridicule. And he assured me he was a safe driver; I told him I had no doubt of it, it was the other idiots I was concerned about.
But it was, of course, a most pleasant ride. The pillion seat was higher, allowing me air and a view, and I sat, as instructed, with my hands resting lightly on his shoulders. He was, as he had promised, very careful with potential hazards, and I enjoyed it a great deal.
The day’s work concluded with our first group rehearsal (actually a continuation of the audition process, as I need to get to see some of them more before making a decision.) Plus, it also gave some the opportunity to decide this was not for them. I hoped this would not be too great a number, but I was quite relaxed with losing a few.
We started with a pep talk, about reliability, punctuality, self-discipline, had a quick warm-up, then all got into a circle to work on Dhangardhi’s circle dance, part of their local culture. I had invited Mr Indra, one of the teachers, to lead this, as I had seen him doing this a couple of times. I was a little surprised that only a few were pretty comfortable with it, that most needed to be taught. But it really is pretty simple; even I can do the step. And actually it looked, and sounded – there is a call and response format between the boys and the girls – pretty good, even with such a short time on it. It made for a good warm-up, but is also going to be a central part of the play, being danced at the Capulet’s feast.
Time was getting on, and I needed to see some more acting, so they got into pairs, and I gave a simple task: two friends meeting, joking, they get into an argument… and then they calm down again. All of these were fine, some were good, a couple were excellent. Encouragingly, virtually all were able to turn their volume controls up (one of my earlier key concerns.) And in general, there was a really positive vibe; all had had a good time, and I was able to make some more key decisions.
So why did I feel so down about it at the end? There had been some key absences – Deepak, Pranita, Reetu. Some key roles were still unfilled – the equivalents of the Prince, Friar Laurence. And people were telling me key exams were next week, and then there would be the holiday… I do have to tell myself to relax, to trust that is the usual process. Heaven knows I have been through it enough times in the past.
