The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice is an unscreened public high school that immerses students in a rigorous college-preparatory program.
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The Challenge: |
Additionally, once we were engaged to partner with SLJ, the nature of SLJ’s mission provided some complications to picking a play. Because SLJ is unscreened, the new ninth graders – while talented and motivated – arrived with a variety of different reading levels and academic backgrounds. Our script would have to be accessible to all. Finally, SLJ’s particular focus on law and justice meant that their first school play needed to incorporate these themes.
Our work at SLJ:
We chose Sophocles’s Antigone because of its relevancy. Antigone is similar in age to the students, and the play explores major questions of social justice, civic duty and natural law. We began by having the students read the play together, debate the main issues of it, and read complimentary texts, including “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Then the students began creating their own modern translation of the play. They discussed what might happen if the story took place in 
We videotaped as the students acted out these characters - improvising, giving mock interviews and engaging in debates. The video tapes were transcribed, culled and the script was created. Students rehearsed intensely, and six weeks after we began, the students had created their own production of Antigone. The following Spring, the play was performed at The Ohio Theater in
The Results:
“What a performance! You did something really special for these kids, showing them the power they have when they put their minds and hearts into something. Many of them have never worked so hard on something like this in their entire lives and this experience will propel them forward in all they do. More than that, you did something special for the entire school. As a new school, every success helps us build credibility, with our students and with the outside world. Antigone sent a clear message to the entire SLJ community - we are a first class school.
Thank you for choosing such an ambitious script and making it accessible. Thank you for your endless patience. Thank you for your generosity and your creativity.” - Elana Karopkin, Founding Principal, The Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice
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“Our kids are not so different from the Greeks: stubborn, dynamic, justice-obsessed, calamity-prone. Yet, in a few hard-won weeks, you turned them into one hell of a company. I’ve seen productions by college seniors who can’t touch our kids. There are so many reasons to be impressed: high school freshmen, in their fall semester no less, staging this kind of production. But I’d say what impressed me the most was your inexhaustible patience, particularly in working with first-time actors who weren’t always receptive to guidance. And brilliance! What brilliance! Especially in transforming a public school auditorium. I’m stunned. And you should know that we don’t impress easily. When we saw the play, we had to pick ourselves up off the floor. Thank you!
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“When I first came to drama, I thought it would be easy because I am always watching TV. It turns out to be something more. Drama was something I learned from and will always remember. I am grateful you taught me to act and perform on a stage” - - Stacey Ann, Class of 2008, The Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice
“This drama experience has been mesmerizing. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. When I didn’t get the part of Antigone, I thought I would be crushed. Then you talked with me about it and I actually felt better about it. I think I’m better at acting than I ever thought I would be. I also feel I’m better as a person. Thank you for everything!” - - Niya, Class of 2008, The Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice
