Spanish Class Adapts and Performs Play for ESOL Students

In the first week of March, Dr. Karina Vazquez's students in SPA 312 (Advanced Conversation I) adapted the script of jorge y su conciencia for presentation to Ms. Jacole Mahoney's ESOL class at Edison.

The students of SPA312 Advanced Conversation I adapted the script to fit contemporary situations and worked on the stage, the introduction, and the role play at the end. This play is part of the Service Learning component of Dr. Vazquez's course. Dr. Vazquez says that "the idea of performing a play for ESOL kids came from my students, who at the beginning of the semester answered a survey on Service Learning and the Community of St. Joseph." The students involved were Joshua Kalin, Spencer Moss, Pamela Covarrubias, Julie Filley, Matthew Starr, Daniel Sanders, Kali Connard, Susan Brock, Brean Riley, Dawn Pokora, Jonathan Burdford, Allison Jones, Laura Bilecki, Caley Mazurkiewycz, Carlos Fernández-Devaul, and Samantha Mikus.

The play "jorge y su conciencia" was writen by argentine poet, writer, and feminist Alfonsina Storni. It is included in the Series "Teatro Infantil", published in 1930. The play focuses on gender roles distributions from a perspective of a child and his conscience.

"I talked to the kids today," Ms. Mahoney told Dr. Vazquez, "and asked them about their favorite parts. They thought the play was funny, and they liked the props and animated actions. They mentioned the cat, the boy sleeping, the McDonald's sack, etc. They said they like it when people talk to them in Spanish."

The next script adaptation will be presented in April at Humboldt School.