DIRECTED BY
Ron OJ Parson
MARCH 7 – APRIL 2, 2023 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE
This Teacher Guide is designed to be used in the classroom along with Milwaukee Rep’s PlayGuide for Seven Guitars. This PlayGuide is available online at: www.MilwaukeeRep.com/SevenGuitars Seven Guitars Teacher Guide written by Lindsey Hoel-Neds
TE A C H I N G & TEA TOPICS FOR L E ARNI ARNIN NG:
Blues Music and Poetry Character Analysis Post-WWII Life for Black Veterans
EXPLORING THE BLUES
D I S C US USSI SIO ON Q UＥSTI STIO ONS
Teacher Resource: https://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom.html Blues music is a wide and varied genre, with roots in both urban and rural areas. Have students read the article about Blues in the PlayGuide for some brief background. Break students into groups and have each group select a style of Blues or a musician upon which to focus. As a group, the students should research their assigned style or artist and create one of the following: a playlist complete with curated commentary, liner notes for an album, a blog post or review of an album, or short video in a style of their choice. Share students’ learning through a Tribute to the Blues in class. If you’re feeling creative, you could set your classroom up as a Blues club and allow students to share food and fellowship along with the music. This special day could also be paired with exploration and sharing of Blues style poetry outlined below. Muddy Waters, 1976. Photo credit: Wikipedia.
1. What are your dreams? What are you willing to do to achieve those dreams? 2. When in your life have you experienced injustice or witnessed injustice? How does that injustice reflect on society? 3. Is it important to you or to people in your family to leave a legacy for future generations? What would you want your legacy to be? 4. What music do you like? How do you engage with music in your life? What meaning does music have for you? 5. What values are important to you in your relationship with others? How should someone treat you for you to be willing to connect with them? What is absolutely unacceptable or a “dealbreaker?”
Bessie Smith, 1936. Photo credit: Carl Van Vechten, Library of Congress.