| English teacher experiences theatre in London (4/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Tamara Purpura and Angela Ngai | |
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New English teacher Bree Benkovich, who currently teaches Expository Writing, 9th grade English 2 and Drivers Ed, has a passion for theater.
During a 2002 exchange program in London she participated in while attending Penn State University, Benkovich’s reading drama and theater class assignment was to attend three or four plays a week. “We would pick a magazine or buy a book and choose which theatre to go to,” Benkovich said. “Then we would discuss plays we’d seen in class, and homework was writing a critical analysis of the plays. What made it really interesting was that everybody had seen something different.” One particular play she saw during her stay in London was very different, done by an unknown theater group at the Bethnal Green district. It was staged under a train bridge, and a special knock and a peephole interrogation were required to gain access into the makeshift theatre. Once inside, the audience members were given name tags and assigned roles as diplomats of foreign countries. “The plot involved political espionage and a breach of secrecy, and everything got really wild,” Benkovich said. Although it was hard to distinguish actor from spectator because the audience was included, the play progressed and the audience drifted to the side while the actors took over. “It was kind of trippy,” she said. Actors appeared out of flaming pit holes and scene changes involved going through tunnels under a bridge and onto another bizarre stage. Trippy indeed. Benkovich also attended Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, which was the first Shakespearean play she had ever seen performed before visiting London. “People think Shakespeare’s plays are old and boring because the language can get in the way,” she said. “But seeing it is completely different. You understand the jokes and actions.” By the end of the exchange program, Benkovich had attended about 20 plays in a variety of genres, from Shakespearean to Elizabethan to modern theater. Some were two-man productions while others had casts of 15 or more. Benkovich’s overall experience was memorable. “London has such a different culture and you live right in the middle of it,” she said. “You walk a couple blocks or hop on the underground and you’re there. It was very fun.” Being in London also enabled Benkovich to travel to other parts of Europe, including France, Italy and Greece. Benkovich went to Penn State for her undergraduate degree and moved to California in June 2007 after finishing a masters program at Dequensne University. “I moved to California because I wanted a change,” she said. After eight months Benkovich still feels new to the city. Benkovich is enjoying teaching at Lowell. “I like that I am teaching a writing class because there are usually no opportunities to do so,” she said. Benkovich worked at De Anza high school in Richmond for one semester before transferring to Lowell at the beginning of the ’08 spring semester. |
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to listen.
