Drama Class and ECLC Test their Thespian Skills on Stage
April 15, 2005

Mr. Romano’s drama class invited the graduating class of the Early Childhood Learning Center of Chatham (ECLC) to participate in an hour of improvisational skits dealing with the workplace. Four scenarios were developed which depicted difficult situations that can be found at a job. The scenes were “Inappropriate Behavior in the Workplace,” “Taking Responsibility for Your New Job,” “Following the Rules at Work,,” and “You Can’t Always Do What You Want to Do When You Want to Do It.” A fifth scene was developed on the spot as discussion about understanding directions ensued and ideas came up as to how to handle frustration when not understanding a task. As the Pingry drama students acted out the scenes, Mr. Romano would stop the action at key points in the dialogue to ask the audience how the situation should be resolved. While often there were several solutions, the audience would discuss each until they decided upon the one that was most appropriate. The ECLC Class of 2005 then took to the stage and offered their interpretation of the scenarios. Again, suggestions were offered to conclude the scenes, prompting lively discussion as to how each should be resolved. The students also had the opportunity to exercise their sense of humor on stage, much to the delight of the audience. The purpose of the class is to allow all the students to test different solutions to often-times difficult work situations. While this is the first time ECLC has been on the Pingry stage, the relationship between the two schools goes back many years. © 2005 The Pingry School