Today was drama tests for my first year students. It’s simple: They get into groups of their own choosing, write or adapt or copy a drama of their choice, then act it. I give the group a grade. That’s it.
Well, one stuck out in particular, one that I’ll call L’Impromptu de BeiGongDa, a drama that had me remembering stuff from all those French literature courses all those years ago.
All right, have to make this quick, running out of time, we’re supposed to be meeting the other foreign teachers on my programme for a Christmas party (very well planned, the other foreign teachers, those not on our programme, are having a party of their own, to which we were invited… oh well):
So these three lads got up, one sitting by the classroom computer pretending to play WoW or CS or whatever, one sitting slumped over a desk on the other side of the “stage” sleeping, one standing in between looking all agitated. The one in the middle did his best to get his mates to drag themselves away from their favourite leisure activities and help him write the drama. And they did it brilliantly. Not up to professional standards, not by any means, of course, but really very, very good. Brilliant.
