CPR Assignment

From the moment Daniel walked up, it truly felt like he was addressing his mother, and family. He began with humorous jokes while giving a toast to his mom's birthday. Instead of preaching the lessons his mother taught him, he explained how the simple everyday moments taught him deep lessons. He was a picky eater, but that taught him to be tough. He did not like the cats his mom had, but that taught him to take the time to get to know someone and find out what they are really like. He also learned that it is not about what happens, but rather how you react to what happens that is important.

Daniel's speech made me feel as if I was there.
As if I knew his mother.
As if I had grown up right beside him.
The simple stories gave way to meaningful messages,
That deepened the relationship.

Moments of effectiveness were the lessons through the stories. It makes us realize that our everyday actions are more meaningful than we believe, and we should slow down in life to learn. Daniel did a great job of engaging the audience, even by telling his "uncle" to be quiet. The light hearted nature was also effective in that it was easy to follow and understand. Explaining the cultural aspects was also very helpful, for not everyone knew what they were. Moments of distraction were when you were not making eye contact, because then the audience did not have something to connect with. The audience could also tell when you were reading off your paper, versus when it was not scripted, there should be a balance and fluidity between the two.

Alexander advocates using a poetic or artistic response to evaluate student performances because it is more life like and has more meaning than just your average evaluation. The personal and educational levels are intertwined which means both form and function are evaluated. This method is more engaging for students in a reflexive process of their own work and their peers'. They can also use this technique to prepare for a performance.

CPR Homework Assignment/Reading Guide

Link to article: http://0-muse.jhu.edu.bianca.penlib.du.edu/journals/theatre_topics/v009/9.2alexander.html 

Alexander’s Poetic Critical Response

• Consideration of the speech as a whole as well as a consideration of its parts
• Pedagogy, pedagogical = of or relating to teaching
• Poetics - Aristotle versus Bakhtin, outcome versus intention
• Aristotle - poetic art produces psychological effects in its audience (outcome)
• Bakhtin - poetic art is used to produce certain psychological effects in the audience (intention)
• Aesthetic acts - acts that can be evaluated/judged/interpreted based on subjective response, the evoking of emotions or perceptions of beauty (so, depending on how you look at it, almost anything!)
• Alexander’s CPR:
• What: “the use of gesture, focus, voice; the construction and articulation of thought; the setting, scene, and environmental conditions established by the student for the reception of this performance; the intention behind the performance (ideological critique, argument, publication, etc.);”
• Immediate, Descriptive Responses: “...use description to recreate the performance from the moment that the student entered the scene.”
• Evaluative: “...cite moments of particular effectiveness, contrast them with moments of distraction”
• How: “How effective were these choices? How clear were the arguments, characters, and interpretations? How did I respond to the aesthetic communication of the performance as a whole?”
  

  -In greater detail - successes: “memorable gestures, phrases, emphases, pauses, characterization details.  

  
  

  -In greater detail - problems: “character slippage, lack of familiarity with the text, nervousness, vagueness in interpretation or argument”

Assignment: Please create and post to the blog a CPR for your partner's speech and answer the below online discussion question. Extra participation points will be given to those who comment on fellow students' posts.

Structure of the CPR:

1.) The what of the speech - Immediate Descriptive Response: 1-3 sentences of description to recreate the speech from the moment the speaker entered the scene.

2.) Creative Poetic Response - use creative prose or poetry to describe your subjective feelings and reactions to the speech

3.) The how of the speech - Evaluative descriptions:

• Think about the speech as a whole:
• What were the moments of effectiveness?
• What were the moments of distraction?

*Discussion Question: Why does Alexander advocate for using a poetic/artistic response to evaluate student performances?

Prompts for Peer Critique Notes 4.14 and 4.16

When your partner is presenting, please be sure to write down AT LEAST one of each:

• Content - WHAT the speaker is talking about
1. What about the content is effective
2. What about the content could be improved
• Delivery - HOW the speaker presents the content
1. What about the delivery is effective
2. What about the delivery could be improved