Drama: Class Playmaking (Elective)
“Thinking cannot be clear till it has had expression. We must write, or speak, or act our thoughts, or they will remain in a half torpid form. Our feelings must have expression, or they will be as clouds, which, till they descend as rain, will never bring up fruit or flower. So it is with the inward feelings; expression gives them development.” Henry Ward Beecher
Overview
This course focuses on the development of a play using the stimulus of the Secondary Performance Dinner theme and juxtaposing it with the zeitgeists of the class. Upon completion of the class written and directing either their own or another’s 5 -15 minute skit, it is performed at the SPD.
Aims
At the end of this course, students will enhance their:
- Communication skills & Social co-operation
- Confidence and self esteem
- Commitment and co-operation
- Understanding of styles, forms and conventions of dramatic presentations
- Ability to use their experiences and concentration to effectively create different characters
Topics Include
- Choices and goals: Using a character’s motivation in order to successfully portray them
- Monologues, Speeches & Poetry: Developing solo work to improve confidence and application of skill
- Blocking: A crash course in stage movement
- The Senses: Using experiences and sense memory to recreate expressions in performance
- The Magic If: Using hypothesis to create a visual reality
- Improvisation: Thinking on one’s feet in order to improve instinctual responses
Time Allocation
- 5 periods per cycle for Semester 1 circle
Prerequisites
Requirements
Assessment
- Individual participation in class activities
- Group participation on set class tasks
- Performance: Monologue (solo), Dialogue (small group), Ensemble (large group)
- Written Journal and research tasks: including class summaries, theatre reviews and presentations on a variety of theatrical styles.
“No-one ever spoke the way this man does.” John 7:4
