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High
School Assembly / Jerry Finnegan's Sister
Downloadable Production Guide (.pdf)
Back
to Jerry Finnegan's Sister Intro
Sample Activities
1. In the play, Brian Dowd struggles to communicate
his feelings to Beth Finnegan, partly because he has a hard time accepting how they’ve each grown and changed since childhood.
Stereotypes are hard to overcome, especially for students who have grown up together. Have the students each write
out five interesting things about themselves, without listing physical characteristics. At the bottom of the page
have each student write “Who am I?” Have the students take turns reading their classmates’ papers out load and
encourage them to guess who each student is.
Students may discover that they share a common interest with a peer outside of their own clique. A great catalyst
for conversation, this exercise will reveal to the students just how much they’ve grown and changed since grade
school.
2. Actions and emotions are often contradictory. Throughout the play, Brian Dowd makes fun of Beth’s boyfriends
when in actuality he is jealous of them. Brian tells Beth that he just happened to be up late when in actuality
he was waiting for her to return home from her date. Why do we act differently from how we feel?
Fear of rejection is a common anxiety. Brian puts Beth on a pedestal, making it difficult for him to muster the confidence
to ask her out. Fear of change is another common anxiety, particularly amongst teenagers. Brian teases Beth because he
finds comfort in the existing routine.
Encourage the students to share their personal experiences; focus on the differences between actions and emotions. Have
the students pinpoint what they were feeling versus how they behaved in the situation.
Engage in this discussion to emphasize the importance of communication in relation to how we are perceived by others.
NYS Learning Standards
Performance
ARTS 1: Creating Performing, and Participating in the Arts – THEATRE
ARTS 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources – THEATRE
Production
Guide
ART 1:1 – Creating, Performing and Participating in
the Arts - THEATRE
ELA 1:1 – Language for Information and Understanding
- Listening and Reading
ELA 1:2 – Language for Information and Understanding
- Speaking and Writing
ELA 2:2 – Language for Literary Response and Expression
- Speaking and Writing
ELA 3:1 – Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
- Listening and Reading
ELA 3:2 – Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
- Speaking and Writing
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