Meeting Kristen Dabrowski

"HI! I'm here!" This bubbly greeting was my first introduction to Kristen Dabrowski, one of the authors of the My First Acting Series. The energy and excitement she clearly communicates in her series was there in her enthusiastic hello.

Teachers looking for great ideas for their classrooms picked up the My First Acting Series, the Teacher's Guide and the Acting Technique book as Kristen talked with endless animation about how effective this series is in action. The AATE/ATHE conference sponsored the author's book signing and it drew crowds of teachers to the Smith & Kraus booth.

One educator teaches autistic children and she purchased an entire series, complete with Teachers Guide. "The My First Acting Series is full of great ideas. I can't wait to use it!"

It is easy to see why the series is so effective with such an imaginative author like Kristen Dabrowski, who is opening her own school of drama, SPOTLIGHT, and using her imaginative series in the curriculum!

Check back next week for more information about a summer program that used the My First Acting Series.

Make sure you click on the link for Smith & Kraus Publishers at the top of this page to see what exciting new offers are available to teachers on their website!

Smith & Kraus at the AATE Conference

Meet Kristen Dabrowski, author of the My First Acting Series. Purchase the entire series and get an autographed copy. All twelve books are now available at a record breaking discount.
Award-Winning Playwright, Theater Educator, and Columnist, Maureen Brady Johnson will represent Smith & Kraus at the 2009 AATE Conference. Learn more about S&K's popular new series My First Acting Series. Scheduled events include author signings, raffle drawings,and upcoming title information. Don't miss visiting Booth #215!

Positive reviews for the My First Acting Series!
Here's what critics are saying about other titles within the My First Acting Series,

Both (My Second Monologue and My Third Monologue) books are good additions as they suggest well-rounded activities for students to practice reading, writing, speaking, and both critical and imaginative thinking. ----School Library Journal

Monologue books for older students saturate the market, but Dabrowski offers 100 short, children-driven monologues that encompass a child's known universe (organized into games, families, food, friends, wishes). ----Midwest

Of My First Monologue Book...Gr 2-6,
.... While there are other monologue titles for elementary children...the selections in My First Monologue are much shorter and easier to memorize or analyze. ----School Library Journal

My First Acting Series in ACTION

At Lakewood Catholic Academy, students are up on their feet learning self confidence, fluency, public speaking and drama skills. Using monologues from the “Fun and Games” and “I wish, I want” chapters in the My First Monologue Book, students partnered up for peer critiquing, concentrating on their delivery.

“Use facial expression, body language and tone of voice to communicate what your character has to say to your audience,” said Ms. Sullivan, their teacher. The students were up out of their seats practicing with their partners. There was movement all over the classroom! These kids knew practice makes perfect.

“Everyone in their seats, please,” said Ms. Sullivan and she reinforced the critique rubric once again. “What are we looking for in these performances?” she asked and the class said, “Facial expression, body language and tone of voice”

Dozens of hands shot up in the air. They all wanted to perform. Then, showing concentration, and a wide variety of facial and vocal expression, the students played characters named Austin, Greta, Andrew and Kevin.

After each student performed in front of the class, Ms. Sullivan took the lesson one step further and created two columns on the board; Personality and Emotion.

“What kind of a person is Austin?” she asked.

“He’s a braggart,” said one student.

“And what feelings does he have in this monologue?”

“He’s brave because he thinks he can defeat the monster!”

The lists grew after each student performed. Using class discussion, the students were also learning to differentiate between personality traits and emotions. At the end of class it was suggested that it would be fun to chose one word from each column and make up a new character, writing a short monologue of their own.

Principal, Maureen Arbeznik, dropped in to see the series in action. “Look at the enthusiasm for learning that these youngsters demonstrate with these monologue performances. It’s wonderful to use this approach to reach every student and give them the confidence they need to continue their success in other areas of learning.”

Ms. Sullivan said. “I hope to use the My First Acting Series again after Easter break. The students really enjoy being active and up on their feet while learning!”

Total transformation! “My First Acting Series” helps students read with expression, understanding and fluency.

Kamaron’s dramatic expressions exploded on his face and in his voice. I couldn’t believe this quiet young boy, so polite and soft-spoken, was the same student creating the lively character of Joel from “My Second Monologue Book: Famous and Historical People”.

But it happened again and AGAIN during my visit to The Lighthouse Academy!

Malik was next and as he introduced himself, I could hardly hear his voice. But when he began to read the part of Mack in the “My First Monologue Book”, he used gestures and voice inflection to turn the monologue into high comedy! “I like comedy,” he said with a smile when he finished.

Karra was the last to read. She, too, had a shy smile as she was introduced as one of the top readers in the classroom. Her face and voice grew lively as she read the monologue of Pete in “My Third Monologue Book: Places Near and Far.” I told her, “Facial expression is an acting skill!” Karra told me that she wanted to read the monologue again. “This time, it will be better!”

“My students have been practicing a lot over the weekend,”said Ms. Wickham. “Soon they’ll have them memorized and present them to the class. After that, everyone will be clamoring to perform! I’ll definitely need more books.”

My visit to this classroom, like all the other classrooms I’ve seen, was filled with students who were excited about using the "My First Acting Series”. They transformed into enthusiastic learners, developing a wide variety of dramatic, reading, and social skills. The teachers I’ve observed have used the books and the Teacher’s Guide in imaginative ways. Teachers and students alike share an overwhelming enthusiasm for incorporating drama into their learning. Theater made the lesson come to life. The “My First Acting Series” is where life meets theater.

Innovative Ohio Teacher Uses the My First Acting Series for Small Group Work, Parent Conferences

The possibilities are endless with the My First Acting Series! Mrs. Parrish, a third grade teacher at Lake Ridge Academy using My Second Monologue Book: Famous and Historical People, took the monologue series to a whole new level.

Using Part One: People You Know, she introduced the lesson with some questions about how students can visualize characters. She partnered the students up and gave them each a monologue and the following instructions:

“Read the monologue quietly to yourself. Then read them out loud to each other. Listen carefully to your partner as they read and visualize the character who is speaking. Who is this person? What are they doing? When, Where and Why are they doing it? After you’ve shared your monologue aloud several times, get your art supplies and draw a picture of your partner’s character.”

Students split up and went to their small group areas and got to work. Silent reading led to some energetic exchanges and expressive performances. Partners shared monologues such as, BOB, ANALISA, JOE and DEBBIE. A youngster was delighted when she realized that she had the part of a female plumber! Another student tried to grapple with the idea that he was playing the part of a teacher!

Mrs. Parrish moved around the room, asking questions and guiding the third graders. Then the drawing began.

Students visualized the character. Using markers and colored pencils they created pictures using the Five W” – Who, What, When, Where and Why.

Mrs. Parrish collected the drawings as the students finished – promising her class she would pin them up on a large bulletin board in the room. As I circulated around the room, the youngsters, with much animation, told me how much they liked using the monologues in class.

“I just have to tell you what success we had sharing monologues as part of our student-led conferences. The kids were really proud to take on the role of another child - use a different voice, tone, attitude, and present their reading. Parents loved hearing their kids read with great expression and fluency. The surprising piece was how much parents enjoyed listening to the kids explain what the monologues were and why their children picked the 'role' they played.”

The pictures taken on my visit to Mrs. Parrish’s classroom show how engaged the students became when using the My First Acting Series. Mrs. Parrish adds, “The possibilities are endless!”

Florida teacher uses the series to teach inferences

Mrs. Poole's classroom is busy using the My First Acting Series in a variety of ways.

"I LOVE book two (Famous and Historical People Monologues) and use it to teach how stories make inferences. I read the story out loud and ask my students to listen carefully to the clues the speaker gives. Then they guess who the person is. We have had so much fun doing this exercise! The children really look forward to it. Inference, a difficult concept to teach, is now understandable for all the students."

When asked if he liked the series, Michael said,
"I LOVE it!"

Michael (grade one), Callie (grade three), and Allysa (Kindergarten) wanted to read their own!

Mrs. Poole plans to use the series during the fourth quarter to teach Character Education.

"This series will be fun to use and the questions in the books will help the students understand compassion, respect, responsibility, being trustworthy, and honest. I hope to have some great discussions! My team has already asked if they can use the My First Acting Series, too. I think by the end of the year, these books will get a real workout."

An Interview with Kristen Dabrowski

1. What do you think makes this series different from all the other monologue and scene books?
This series has strong educational and interactive components. I’ve mixed in these elements with a few other books and series I’ve written (like the 10+ series), but never to such an extent. And I’m really excited about adding a Teacher’s Guide with exercises, ideas, lesson plans, etc. Drama, acting, and the arts are such vibrant components to add to lessons; if a student has a felt experience in class, he/she is so much more likely to remember and love the lesson. Some side effects include: Increased confidence, creativity, self-expression . . . I could go on for days! I’ve seen absolutely amazing transformations in the classroom.

I think it’s important to note that My First Acting Series is not didactic. Independent thinking is very much encouraged. I really want students to draw their own conclusions. So characters are not always nice and answers are sometimes ambiguous. This opens up real opportunities to instigate discussions in the classroom (and at home). If I can make a kid think and laugh, well, that’s the best. That is what this series aims to do. It’s ambitious on many levels.

2. What did you LOVE about writing this series?
I’m very in touch with my inner 7-8 year old. I’m a goofball. Writing this series allowed me to wallow in my ideal young self---the one who isn’t as afraid or shy as I actually was in my elementary years. Plus, this series has something for everyone. A great number of topics are touched upon, a score of different kinds of characters and personalities are shown . . . it’s extensive. As a writer and actor, it’s a joy to jump into a myriad of situations and ages. As a teacher, my biggest problem in writing this series (and my greatest joy) was the huge number of ideas that emerged. It was almost overwhelming at times!

3. What are a couple of things you can tell teachers to help them understand how great My First Acting Series can be in helping their students understand themselves and others?
Wow. That’s a big question. One of my favorite things about acting is that you are forced to get inside another person’s skin, taking on their personality and viewpoints. This is a tremendous lesson in empathy. It’s one thing to think from the outside that you understand how others think, feel, and live. It’s another thing to feel another person’s experience from the inside. So that’s one way students can understand others (both their contemporaries and people from other places and times) through this series.

I am absolutely in love with My First Scene Book because it focuses in a very non-judgmental, fun way on manners, morals, and ethical dilemmas. In each scene, a situation is presented that often has some kind of twist---it doesn’t turn out “right” and/or characters behave in unexpected ways. But it does bring up issues big and small from table manners to bullying and prejudices. By approaching these subjects in unusual ways, students are emotionally and mentally engaged. The scenes incite a reaction. Often even quiet students are drawn into discussions despite themselves. Students are provoked into really examining their beliefs, why rules exist, etc. This is one way students can understand themselves better by exploring this series.

4. Is there one person who inspires you to pursue theatre and dramatic writing? How does this person affect your life?
There are touches of just about everyone I’ve met or imagined in my writing. But a lot of my inspiration comes from my family. My mother has a wacky sense of humor, much like me, and that inspires me to have the courage to express myself in general. The girl who gets gum stuck in her hair? That’s my little sister, Adrienne. Some of characters and situations in My First Monologue Book are not even thinly veiled. Walt on page 51 is my dad, Walter. Oh, and I should probably mention Julie Andrews. I so wanted to be her (complete with British accent) all through elementary school. Only I would never have kissed Christopher Plummer. Too bossy!

5. Can you share the moment when you told yourself, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life: Theatre!"
When I was in school, we didn’t have acting class, but we music class. And I loved to sing. It was a chance for me to express myself, be loud, and take risks. And I was a huge daydreamer and reader, so the chance to be someone else or be whisked away to another land was something I always jumped at, too, though it sometimes got me into trouble!

The closest thing I can remember to an “a-ha” moment was when I auditioned for a part in the school musical in fifth grade. The teacher told me to go onstage. I was given one short line to say. I’m pretty sure it was, “Eating with the pigs? Yuck!” I slowly walked up the stairs to the stage (both a very long trip and a trip not quite long enough), trying not to shake. When I got at last to the middle of the stage, I said the line as confidently and with as much attitude as I could muster. And everyone broke out in laughter---the kindergartners, the fifth graders, even that dyspeptic-looking fourth grader who was so wafer-slim I wondered how her guts fit into her body. After a second or two, it registered that I had not embarrassed myself, but I was truly funny! They were laughing for real. It felt like the acting coup of the century. The rest is history, Maureen!