Jane Orme
Director & Retired English Teacher
Jane Orme has been a resident of Winthrop, Washington for close to 40 years, having had a long teaching career at Liberty Bell High School from which she retired in 2013. Jane taught English, history, and various electives, including drama classes, each one culminating in a full stage production. She estimates that during those teaching years, she probably directed at least 35 junior high plays, at times directing 2 plays during the same school year. Jane also directed high school theater for 5 years, so by the time she retired, she had experience working with a large number of student actors in grades 7-12. Since her retirement, Jane has been a board member and directed adult and children’s theater at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp, Washington.
Part 1 – Introduction
Meet Jane Orme, a retired english teacher who also taught drama and directed a number of plays at the schools in Winthrop, Washington. Today, she directs many of the children’s plays for the Merc Playhouse in Twisp, Washington. In this video she also talks about how she got started in directing children’s theater productions.
Part 2 – Rehearsal Process
Jane talks about the rehearsal process and how she helps kids prepare for performances. She also discusses the different school subjects that are used in theater and acting.
Part 3 – Working with Children of All Ages
Jane talks about directing children ages 8-18 and the joys of working with younger children in theater and how the older kids can provide guidance for the young ones. She also discusses the school subjects that are used in theater.
Part 4 – Examples of Lessons to Teach
Jane explains how theater activities can be embedded into the lessons in your classroom. She also shares advice for incorporating art (including movement and theater) into the classroom.
Part 5 – Who influences your work?
Jane talks about Howard Gardener’s “7 Intelligences” and how it influenced her early in her career. She talks about how many students are kinesthetic learners and theater can really lend itself to that aspect of learning.
The NCESD Early Learning team has prepared a lesson plan for you to use in your classroom that was inspired by Jane’s work. You can view the document below or click the “pop out” button in the top right corner to open it in a new tab to download the PDF file.
