Wednesday April 17th, South High Spanish students were offered the opportunity to attend a bilingual production of Julia Alvarez’s “In The Time of Butterflies.” The show was put on by the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.

“We don’t go every year, it really depends on the novel,” said Spanish teacher Sheila Willette, “but this was a really manageable storyline to follow and there was high interest.” Usually, classes attend the production of a novel they’ve read, but because of the multitude of levels this was not possible.

“We try if we find one that is appropriate and of high interest,” Willette commented.

For junior Vivi Grieco, the experience was new and a different way to challenge listening skills. “It was the first play field trip that I remember going to. I really like the Mixed Blood Theatre…it was really interesting because it was a bilingual play. That was really fun for me because I was able to understand it very well.”

Choosing a bilingual show for students offered the opportunity to understand more opportunities to understand than had it been exclusively in Spanish. Taking students to a play is a great way to incorporate the arts into learning. It also provides an alternative way to enhance listening abilities and pushes students to see what they know, “It’s a very engaging way to practice listening skills,” reported Grieco.

Hopefully using the feedback from students, more language classes will consider looking into opportunities to involve the arts in their curriculums.