Melissa Kate

Poetry & Music / Theater & Scene development/ Creative Writing

Poet’s Intensive – 2nd Grade-High School
Using combinations of writing & theater exercises, students are introduced to new ways of brainstorming, drawing connections & creating vivid, rich & imaginative images through poetry. Students are challenged to their highest possible level, all the while experiencing enthusiastic support for their efforts. After writing, students read aloud using theater techniques & music to engage their voices as expressive tools for communicating the meaning of their poems.
NYS Learning Standards: ARTS 1, ELA 1, 2, 4

What Really Happened is….
Students are coached in basic improvisation games & theater techniques, including public speaking, character development, physical attributes & emotional cues. Using social studies history, or current literary study, they develop short scenes & recreate what “really happened.” The use of writing partners, & scene work helps students use critical-thinking to draw connections between characters in literature & history with real life situations. Students will publish &/or record &/or perform these scenes for their peers. Historical/literary sources & activities will be selected for individual classrooms, age-appropriate learning & curriculum needs.  NYS Learning Standards: ARTS 1, 2, ELA 1, 2, 4, SS 1, 2

The Sherlock Holmes Method of Creative Writing, 4th Grade-7Th Grade
At the age of 10, the brain decides which thinking muscles it wants to keep. The creative side is underused.  This engaging, funny & nonjudgmental approach to creative writing unleashes students’ abilities to write. The “Sherlock Holmes” method of analysis is used for creative writing: students use their observational prowess, their hunger for facts, & their natural ability to dramatize. This series of writing exercises can be tied into each classroom’s literature or history studies. It can also stand alone as a critical thinking skill-building unit. Fresh approaches, using theater, word games, movement, writing prompts & storytelling, let students know that it is their ideas that count.   NYS Learning Standards: ARTS 1, ELA 1, 4

The Artist:
Melissa Kate is an international jazz & R&B singer, songwriter, stage & voice actress, poet & teaching artist. She is the US Managing Director of the global organization Artfully AWARE. She has released two original albums, performs voiceovers locally & nationally, & has produced several original plays on the East Coast. She is in the process of writing a book & two one-woman plays. BFA in Musical Theater, SUNY Fredonia.