With this new adaptation comes new lesson plans! Peter Royston’s 3 Lesson Plans were created specifically for his adaptation of A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle. These lessons will round out an ensemble’s experience rehearsing this play or help students get solid grasp of the script when analyzing in class. And best of all, they’re absolutely free to download and use.
I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Peter Royston not only as an actor for his virtual reading of A Wind in the Door, but also teaching in his virtual theatre summer camps with the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York. Peter doesn’t let a little thing like a pandemic stop him from being innovative, creative, and prolific. As an actor and teaching artist, I have been inspired by his energy, even if we’re connecting through Zoom.
Not only did Peter Royston adapt a beautiful play from Madeleine L’Engle’s classic book A Wind in the Door, he shares three dynamic lessons written specifically to enhance the ensemble’s experience. Each lesson looks at the play through a different lens; the Director, the Costume Designer, the Set Designer. Even though many of your students may be actors, these lessons will help deepen their understanding of their characters and the play.
Whether you are meeting with your students in-person or thru a virtual platform, Peter’s lessons are malleable and can be adjusted to suit any format. If working with student designers, these lessons can serve as a productive starting point. He is able to engage the different types of learners that we all have in our classes and casts. Whether our students are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners, there is a little something for everyone in each of these lessons.
We are so excited to share Peter Royston’s exercises and activities with you and hope you will share your students work with us. Download the lessons for free inspiration! Consider A Wind in the Door for your next production and read it all for free here. Break a leg!
About the Play:
A Wind in the Door
Adapted by Peter Royston
From the novel by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry, the fierce and fiery heroine of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel A Wrinkle in Time, is back in this ground-breaking sequel! In A Wrinkle In Time, Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace journeyed to outer space to save the universe, but in A Wind In The Door, their destination is inner space! With the assistance of the cherubim Proginoskes, the wizard teacher Blajeny and the unlikely hero of the elementary school principal Mr. Jenkins, Meg and Calvin struggle to save Charles Wallace's life by shrinking down to explore the universe between his cells and atoms! There they meet Sporos, a spoiled and arrogant microscopic creature, and confront the evil spreading across the universe. A breathtaking science fiction adventure story, A Wind In The Door speaks to the growing separations between US and THEM and how we can bridge the gap between people. Themes of anti-bullying and inclusion combine with cosmic adventure to make this a great choice for all ages, on stage and in the audience!
65-70 minutes. 12-40 actors possible.
Maria McConville has been a NYC Public School teaching artist since 2005. In the past she has worked with the Theatre Development Fund, LeAP! Onstage, and Periwinkle Theater for Youth, and as a Shakespeare and Playwriting teaching artist with Theatre For A New Audience. Her students have performed and adapted the work of Shakespeare, written their own plays, devised ensemble performance pieces, sang and danced in musical productions, and performed their peers work on a Broadway stage. Maria is also the playwright of #Censored and #Viral (Stage Partners) and other plays.
