Acts of Poetry

Actors perform students’ plays during Write to the Spotlight 2012

Our Write to the Spotlight outreach program is coming to a close for this year. For four weeks, our teaching artists were integrated into several second grade classrooms in Arlington Heights School District 25. Our teaching artists worked on adapting poems into original plays through the study of character, story, setting and emotion. Now, to wrap up the program, the students are coming to Metropolis to see their plays performed live on our stage by professional actors.

It’s time for a sneak peek of the brilliant work that comes from Write to the Spotlight’s second graders! Here’s a portion of one play, inspired by Smart by Shel Silverstein.

GRANDMOTHER: Don’t you know that $1 is more than 5 cents?

KID: Well, no I didn’t.

GRANDMOTHER: Aren’t you in second grade?

KID: I forgot about that.

GRANDMOTHER: I thought you were smart.

KID: I was…

GRANDMOTHER: You will have to make up for it.

KID: How am I going to do that?

GRANDMOTHER: You can start with making all the beds, putting the dishes on the counter, watering the plants, dusting, finding everybody’s icky underwear, putting the underwear in the laundry, taking the underwear out of the dryer, folding the underwear and putting the underwear away.

KID: Wish I could trade the underwear for 5 cents.