Workshops
The Historical Portrayal As Activism: Participants learn the techniques of developing a portrayal and look at the personal and societal circumstances motivating the character's action: attitudes, morals, and obstacles faced by the character; and the effects of the action taken by the character. A portrayal, like the character's actions, is capable of inspiring the potential activism within each person in the audience.
A Rum-Soaked Nation Produces A Feminist Movement: This workshop shows how the Temperance movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s opened the door for the first organized feminist movement: the Women's Christian Temperance Union. The WCTU brought women out of the home and taught them skills such as typing, writing, and public speaking while giving them a meeting place and forum to discuss issues, grievances, and how to win the vote.
Creating Your Own Historical Portrayal: This workshop, suitable for children from third grade - middle school, offers tips and exercises helpful in becoming a good storyteller and creating lively historical portrayals. Participants practice gestures and voice intonations to express and emphasize different emotions. We talk about details you must know in order to tell a character's story. These include how people dressed in the character's time, what their houses were like, the transportation available to them, how they were expected to behave, and what may have happened in their own lives that led them on the path to make history.
Progress: Helpful or A Hindrance? This workshop focuses on the concept of progress, what the word means, and how scientific progress has been and continues to be viewed as it creates controversy, debate, and the need for rules and regulations supervising the ultimate outcome. Have the lessons learned from Rachel Carson's experience and her book Silent Spring helped to create a safer approach when new inventions and discoveries are made? What might Carson suggest regarding, for example, genetic engineering of food, the burying of uranium and other nuclear waste, greenhouse emissions? The workshop will offer fact and open the floor to discussion about what we can do to help preserve our planet while progressing scientifically in line with what Silent Spring has taught us.
Here's to the Women: Through story, song, and literature this workshop demonstrates the discontent, struggles, and accomplishments of women that led to the 1960s women's revolution known as the Women's Liberation Movement. With examples from our foremothers who dared to speak out to persuade reluctant men that women should vote, union maids who risked life and limb for decent working conditions, to those who both set an example and fought to bring women out of the cocoons of their suburban homes and into the workplace as scientists, pilots, doctors, lawyers, professors and more, this workshop reflects the spirit of the 1960s: a turning point in society for women and all who have followed.
WORKSHOPS FOR TEACHERS Include:
HiSTORY - HerSTORY: Turning “Then Into Now” Through Storytelling
For Teachers Grades 4-12
Curriculum: History and Language Arts
Rapidly changing times and technology bring instant excitement, and make history seem obsolete. Glamorous celebrities and sports stars make the likes of Benjamin Franklin appear an old bore, while a generation, both black and white, who were born after the Civil Rights Movement must be taught about it in school. As a result, students often view history as a subject lacking immediacy and one that is required, not desired. Ironically, the ancient art of storytelling can change this attitude and bring history to life. In this workshop, participants will learn techniques to tell stories of the past. Portraying historical characters in first person and reenacting historical events can make history jump off the written page and computer screen to become living, breathing happenings. Examples of historical people and topics, plus the dress, housing, work, food, transportation, etc., of their times, serve as springboards to demonstrate how students can read, research, write, and then tell the stories of the past in vignettes, plays, and monologues that turn "then" into “now.”
A TUNE, A RHYME, & TONGUE-TWISTING TIME: Lessons In Cadence and Song
For Teachers Grades 3-8
Curriculum: Language Arts, and, depending upon the subject used for the activity, Science, Math, Social Studies, Geography and more.
This workshop demonstrates how to take the content from a lesson in any subject from history to math, science to geography and put it into song, rhyme, rap, or Tongue Twister. It shows how to gather facts about a particular topic or subject segment and then put this information into a catchy and memorable verbal and/or musical form that will reinforce the lesson and make the information an indelible part of memory. We all tend to remember things that capture our imaginations and can be recited in a concise, catching way. For example: What do we mean by metamorphosis, metamorphosis, metamorphosis/ A certain kind of change is what it is/ When it's a metamorphosis. Putting lessons into cadence or song can become as addictive as doing crossword puzzles, and calls upon listening, rhyming, speaking, and vocabulary skills to be accomplished. Participants will go through the process of creating a piece during the workshop.
WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS Include:
YOUR LIFE IN WORDS ALIVE: This workshop helps to bring out, speak out, and sort out life stories to tell, write, and record to pass down to grandchildren and generations to come. Judy Gail can record participants as they tell the stories and put them onto CD. Helpful hints, creative ideas and fun-filled projects are also suggested including ones for long-distance grandparents to keep relationships with grandchildren close and active and the generations communicating.
JUDY'S SPEECHES FOR SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES Include:
- Heroes and Heroines shows that real heroism is not marked by money and fame. It inspires action by showing that it is possible for each of us to make a difference.
- This Little Light of Mine reflects how each person has his or her own unique skills and personality. It encourages each individual to respect and share this “light” with others.
- Sticks and Stones is a powerful inspirational speech that demonstrates how words alone can harm and demolish self-esteem. It creates awareness and insights for positive communication.
JUDY'S SPEECHES FOR ADULT VENUES Include:
- This Little Light of Mine emphasizes the value of the individual employee working in the lower tiers and encourages each one to respect his or her own skills and "let them shine."
- Women Who Have Made A Difference offers historic portrayals in which the women themselves are the message as their courage and convictions still serve to inspire us today.
- Hallelujah I'm A Bum: Stories and Songs of Work and Labor brings the history and accomplishments of labor to life and shows what must be done to create a humane future in the workplace.
- The Troubadour As Troublemaker suggests how storytellers, singers, stories, myths and songs, past and present, inspire positive action, understanding, and kindness to reflect and shape an ethos by which to live and work.