CLEVELAND, Ohio – Just outside the doors of Almira Elementary School’s gymnasium, Zoey and Mary turn to face each other and take a deep breath, before the doors open and they walk inside.
They’ve been anxiously awaiting this afternoon, when they’ll finally perform the folklores their class has spent two weeks preparing in the program called “Artist in Residence – a folklore is more than a story.”
The program was created in the late 1990s by professional actor, writer and director Hassan Rogers. For three decades, he has been bringing language and theater arts programming to local schools, where the students know him as Mr. Hassan.
The two-week program started at Almira with a week-long writing phase which began by defining a folktale – a fictional story without a happy ending that uses nature characters and includes elements of choice, consequence and lessons. Then, each student embarks upon writing an original piece.
Two reporters from cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer have spent the past two school years embedded at Almira Elementary School on Cleveland’s West side, documenting the many challenges of teaching kids whose lives are complicated by poverty and the creative ways Cleveland educators overcome them.
Zoey’s folklore explored why cats don’t like water, introducing a cat named Oreo, who loves water and swimming. However, his mom told him he’s forbidden from swimming in a nearby river. One day at school, Oreo saw someone reading a book about rivers and he became curious. He ran into a friend that afternoon and they skipped school together. Oreo’s friend warned him not to go in the river, but Oreo didn’t listen.
“Oreo ran ahead. When his friend caught up with him, it was too late. Oreo had already jumped into the river and was drowning because it was too deep,” the folklore reads. “Just then, Oreo bumped into a rock. Well, he thought it was a rock, but it really was a crocodile! The crocodile opened its mouth and ate Oreo! From that day on, cats don’t like water.”
The second week of the program kicked off by selecting folklores to turn into scripts, assigning acting roles and rehearsing. Through that process, students learn about critical text analysis, staging a scene, theater terminology, dynamic movement and principles of acting.
Although Zoey’s folklore wasn’t turned into a script, she told Mr. Hassan that she was interested in acting. He assigned her as the primary actor in multiple pieces. During rehearsals, she relied on feedback from Mr. Hassan to refine her skills and progress as an actor.
“Zoey was not only able to take reproach, but to apply the directive in real time and move on, which not only takes humility, but a lot of strength,” Mr. Hassan said. “It’s clear, this year, she’s matured and discovered she could lead by excellence. I’m so proud of her, and all of them for that matter.”
This afternoon, the students will be performing eight different folklores that explore topics such as why dogs don’t like squirrels, why birds can fly, why giraffes and lions aren’t friends and why snakes don’t have arms or legs.
The event begins with an introduction from Mr. Hassan before the group moves into the main show.
In one act, the students perform the story of why kangaroos hop, centered around a kangaroo who loves to play hopscotch so much that she ignores her mom when she tells her to stop.
One day, the kangaroo plays hopscotch until dark and doesn’t realize how tired she is. She bends down to pick up a rock and breaks her legs. Because of the break, she can no longer walk or stand up straight, which is why kangaroos hop to this day.
After another folklore, it’s time for the story about why you should listen to your parents. In the folklore, Baby Bull, played by Zac, and Panda, played by Zoey, are best friends. They are hanging out at Baby Bull’s house when his mom reminds him of three rules – don’t open the door, don’t leave the house and most importantly, don’t go into the forest.
That afternoon, Panda says the house is boring and that they should go into the backyard to play. Baby Bull reluctantly agrees. Once outside, Panda says the backyard is boring too, and suggests they go to the forest. Baby Bull hesitates, but finally agrees when Panda mocks him for being scared.
Once in the forest, they start to play, and Panda runs away from Baby Bull, who yells for her to slow down. But Panda doesn’t. They run so far that they get lost and start arguing over who is at fault. They are arguing so loudly that they don’t hear a bear approaching. The bear chases them both and catches Panda.
When Baby Bull makes it home, his mom asks where Panda is and he explains what happened. His mom is angry and calls 911.
“The police searched for Panda but they never found her,” Mr. Hassan narrates to the audience. “And from that day to this, all the other animals learned, when parents give you a direction, especially not opening the door, they learned to follow the directions.”
The remaining folklores are performed and the student actors gather together for a group bow and photo as the audience claps and whistles. Zoey and Mary leave the gymnasium arm-in-arm and return to their classroom to grab their backpacks and head home for the weekend.
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For this innovative series, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District gave two reporters unprecedented access to a classroom at Almira Elementary School to show readers the challenges of educating children in poverty and what the school district is doing to overcome them. Students’ names have been changed to protect their identity. Read more about this project here.