West Side Story

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Let’s Create a Musical”

Students will write song lyrics for an imaginary musical to learn how songs convey the emotional subtext of a scene.

• After splitting into groups, each group will write down responses to these improv-style prompts:
• Name an emotion
• Describe a relationship between two people
• Describe a problem that needs to be solved
• Name an occupation
• Name a location

Combine your answers to create the skeleton of a scene involving two people.

• Then as a group, spontaneously develop dialogue for the two characters, with one person writing it down.
• Once your group has written 8-10 lines of dialogue, each member should write song lyrics that convey the meaning or emotion behind the conversation. Note: The lyrics should say what the characters are unwilling or unable to say out loud. It might help to put the lyrics to the tune of a familiar song.

Discussion after the activity might explore the connection to scenes in West Side Story that also communicate subtext through lyrics and musical numbers.

Teaching Suggestion: It might help some students understand the function of song and dance in musical theater by discussing whether musical numbers are meant to be taken at face value (i.e., performance within the play) or are meant to convey the emotions of the character and function as a temporary break from reality.

Differentiation Suggestion: Instead of writing song lyrics, some students might benefit from kinesthetic thinking in creating a simple choreographed dance based on dialogue, using rudimentary dance notation. Some students might benefit from sketching costumes for each of the two characters and explaining how their designs reflect the characters’ emotions.