British Columbia (2018)
GRADE 8 - ARTS - Reasoning and reflecting
View all Standards for British Columbia (2018)
Describe, interpret and evaluate how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to create and communicate ideas
UNIT
Part of the Drama Two Curriculum
Devising
by Corinna Rezzelle
While the Drama Two Curriculum has a focus on acting, it’s always important to include a unit on the technical theatre skills that are necessary to any production. Students will also be able to use what they’ve learned in this unit in their upcoming devising project.
Students will begin by exploring design for the stage by experimenting with line, shape, texture, size, and color. They will expand their understanding of stage properties and scenic flats. They will then apply their knowledge of these building blocks of design to create a high-concept design for a miniature “stage.”
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UNIT
Ancient Greek Theatre
by Lindsay Price
In studying Ancient Greece, we’re looking at the foundations of theatre as we know it today. Without the Ancient Greek Era, we do not get actors, theatres, plays, and the definitions of tragedy and comedy.
The issue with studying theatre history, or anything historical is that it can become an exercise in memorizing dates and reciting facts. When the truth of the matter is no one in the 21st century benefits from learning by rote. This is especially true when studying history in the framework of a drama classroom. We need exercises that bring history to life, instead of having students plot dates on a timeline.
To that end, this unit does not focus on dates and data. The essential question for the unit is how can we connect the past to the present and this question is explored through the theatricalization of information. Students will access all four 21st century skills, critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration and communication as they explore this amazing world.
Reflections, exit slips, and rubrics are included throughout the unit as well as a mid assignment evaluation for the culminating project.
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UNIT
Pantomime
by Angel Borths
Teacher Angel Borths developed this unit when she was looking for lessons to teach the basics of pantomime in the classroom.
This unit culminates in a finished product for performance, either for peers, or for theatre festivals. The rubrics and written work for this unit take planning and preparation for performance into account. The exercises can be pulled out and used independently, but work best when used to build toward a finished product. You can also pull the ground plan and stage directions lesson plans to use with playwriting or directing lessons.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
What is Theatre?
by Karen Loftus
Students will explore the question “What is theatre?” and contrast theatre to film. They will also begin their introduction to a couple of theatre roles.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Voice
by Karen Loftus
This unit focuses specifically on the technical aspects of vocal production. By understanding how voice is created, students will be more aware of how to improve their vocal production. Students will explore posture and breathing exercises, as well as how to use the diaphragm, projection, and articulation. The final project will test students’ ability to properly project and articulate a joke across a large space.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Ancient Greek Theatre
by Karen Loftus
This unit on Ancient Greek theatre focuses on the function of the chorus, the choral ode, and the details of the theatre space. It touches on plays and playwrights of the era, culminating in a final project of a modern version of Medea that includes a choral ode.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Improvisation
by Karen Loftus
Students sharpen their listening and reaction skills through improv games, exercises, and scenes. They will learn five specific guidelines to apply to their improvisation: accept the offer, bring information to the scene, make active choices, make your partner look good, and don’t force the humour.
There are so many different ways to approach a unit on improvisation. Keep in mind that you will have students who are really excited about this unit and some students who dread it. It’s best to start with low-risk games and exercises and then build up to higher-risk ones. Low-risk games in this situation mean partnered interactions that aren’t shared with the whole class.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Commedia Dell'Arte
by Karen Loftus
Students will discover, analyze, and explore the history, characters, and style of commedia dell’arte.
Commedia dell’arte is a theatre history unit mixed with improvisation, physicalization, and exploring specific characters. In this unit, we’re going to focus on three main aspects:
1. Causes and Effects of Commedia (History)
2. Stock Characters
3. Commedia Performance Practices
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Script Analysis: The Actor's Perspective
by Karen Loftus
How does an actor analyze a script? Students start with character analysis (how do we learn about a character in a script? what are the facts/inferences about a character?) and then explore the ideas of “objective,” “obstacle,” “stakes,” and “tactics.” The unit culminates with students applying learned script-analysis techniques on an assigned scene.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Elizabethan Theatre
by Karen Loftus
How do you introduce students to Shakespeare? This unit introduces the Bard through life in Elizabethan England and the playwrights, players, and playhouses. It also explores how to approach unfamiliar words and context clues in Shakespeare’s texts.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Japanese Theatre
by Karen Loftus
This unit will enable students to identify, compare, and contrast three different styles of Japanese theatre: Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki. There are three proposed projects in this unit: a research assignment where groups delve into further detail about one of the three styles; a performance project where students utilize what they’ve learned by enacting a scene from a Kyogen (comedic) play; and a Bunraku puppet play.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Scenic Design
by Karen Loftus
This unit will focus on the basics: what is scenic design? How do the scenic designer and director collaborate? What is the process that the scenic designer goes through? The unit will also explore basic drafting techniques, and rendering techniques.
Based on what they learn, students will create a ground plan and a rendering. Please refer to the Pacing Guide for more details and ways to supplement with other DTA materials.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama One Curriculum
Front of House
by Karen Loftus
This unit looks at theatre jobs in the business category: front of house, marketing, and box office. The aim of these jobs is to interact with the public. Students are able to identify what “front of house” refers to and understand the various roles of a theatre company’s front of house members.
Students will also explore how a show is marketed and demonstrate their knowledge of marketing by creating a simple marketing campaign for an original show.
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UNIT
Musical Theatre
by Anna Porter
Musical Theatre has two components that separate it from straight plays: song and dance. This unit gives students the opportunity to try out both. In musical theatre, music signifies heightened emotion. We can’t express ourselves with just words, we need music (and through extension, song and dance) to take it further.
This unit includes three lesson plans:
1. Acting the Song - “Musical Tactics”
2. Acting the Song - “Textual Analysis”
3. Introduction to Dance
A solo performance assignment is also included, and the unit includes assessment tools - rubrics, reflections, and self-evaluations.
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UNIT
Agatha Rex and Ancient Greek Theatre
by Angel Borths
Help…It’s all Greek to me! Join Angel Borths in this unit that uses a modern adaptation of the Ancient Greek play Antigone to introduce Middle School students to Ancient Greek Theatre.
Have your students read Percy Jackson and want to find out more about Ancient Greece? Then, this unit is for you. This unit is designed for middle and high school students and will take you through the basics of classical Greek theatre and pairs it with a modern adaptation of the story of Antigone called Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price. Students will learn vocabulary, design, and basic theory surrounding classical Greek theatre. Students will also enjoy the mask building component of this unit, as they learn to disappear into the character of a mask, like the first actors did on a Greek stage thousands of years ago.
The unit culminates in a scene performance with masks.
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UNIT
Pantomime
by Anna Porter
In this unit, students explore how to communicate with their body by exploring elements of physicality and Pantomime. Lesson one helps students explore body awareness as well as the use of the senses and details in pantomime performance. In lesson two, students explore body language and how it is used to communicate by examining the art of flirting. Lesson three helps students create a distinct physical characterization. Lesson four introduces students to the quality of Pantomime – Consistency. In lesson five, students explore the quality of exaggeration in pantomime. In the final lesson, students prepare a pantomime story for performance.
Through this six lesson series, students will use journals, participate in class discussions and practice the elements taught by performing for their peers and as a class. Assessment tools include both informal assessment as well as a final Pantomime performance.
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UNIT
Costuming
by Holly Beardsley
A costume designer and a costumer are two different things. A costume designer creates pieces from the drawing board to the stage, while a costumer pulls from already existing pieces to create fully realized characters. This means that the approach is different.
In this six lesson unit students will learn the tools of a successful costumer. They will start by reflecting on their own personal style and the choices that go into that style. They’ll move on to look at versatility and adapting costume staples, creating a costuming vision, period clothing as the costumer, how to use the colour wheel as a costuming tool and everything culminates in a final project (two options).
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UNIT
Part of the Drama Two Curriculum
Character Analysis - Part 1
by Matt Webster
The Drama Two Curriculum has been developed to expand and deepen students’ skills as artists. In this unit, students will explore character analysis, which is key to developing three-dimensional characters in monologues, scenes, and plays. In Part 1, they will start with Uta Hagen’s nine questions for character analysis.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama Two Curriculum
Monologues - Part 2
by Matt Webster
In Part 2 of the Monologue Unit (Monologue Project: Analysis, Writing, and Performance), students analyze an existing monologue to determine the criteria for a “good” monologue. They will then apply what they learned in Part 1 (Monologue Writing Made Easy), adding in the criteria for a “good” monologue, to write and perform an original monologue.
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UNIT
Part of the Drama Two Curriculum
Design
by Matt Webster
In this unit, students will explore and experiment with the basic building blocks of design: Line, Shape, and Color. Once students have a solid foundation of those concepts, they will move on to stage properties and scenic flats as additional building blocks of design. They will then apply their knowledge and skills to a series of assignments, so they can demonstrate their design knowledge and creativity.
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UNIT
Stage Management
by Karen Loftus
A unit on stage management is a great way to link technical theatre, acting, and even directing. We spend so much of our class time on performance-related projects and, when we do address technical theatre, we often do so by talking about design.
Why not introduce your students to a skill set that not only benefits your productions by ensuring a strong backstage crew and smooth production process, but also benefits the students individually? Through exploring stage management, students learn skills such as analytical thinking, organization, teamwork, and problem solving.
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UNIT
Part of the Production Classroom Units Curriculum
Part One - Pre-Production
by Karen Loftus
In Part One of The Production Classroom, you’ll take your students through a series of pre-production units designed to help students gain as much comprehension as possible about putting on a successful production.
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UNIT
Part of the Production Classroom Units Curriculum
Part Two - Rehearsal and Performance
by Karen Loftus
Part Two offers articles on each step in the process, samples and forms, a suggested pacing, role definitions and task checklists, an outline for a typical class, as well as performance duties. This section also outlines the assessment piece for The Production Classroom – the production binder.
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UNIT
Part of the Production Classroom Units Curriculum
Part Two - Documents
by Karen Loftus
This section provides samples and worksheets for actor forms, costume department, general binder, lighting and sound, marketing samples, scenic and prop samples, and stage management and production manager samples and forms.
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UNIT
Part of the Production Classroom Units Curriculum
Part Two - Documents
by Karen Loftus
This section provides samples and worksheets for actor forms, costume department, general binder, lighting and sound, marketing samples, scenic and prop samples, and stage management and production manager samples and forms.
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UNIT
Part of the Production Classroom Units Curriculum
Part Three - Reflection and Assessment
by Karen Loftus
Part Three provides a Post-Performance Reflection. Unpack the experience with students, reflect back on what went right and what could be changed for next time. A written Reflection is included as well as a Rubric for student production binders.
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UNIT
Elements of Costume Design *Hyperdoc
by Anna Porter
In this unit, students will explore and collaboratively take on the role of costume designers. Students will explore the elements of design, director’s concept, and the considerations for costume design. They will then apply this knowledge in a culminating project.
This unit has been designed to integrate technology into the curriculum. Students will utilize technology throughout via HyperDocs, internet research, and Google tools such as Google Drive, Google Forms, Google Slides, and Google Docs. A digital Learning Tools Introduction resource is provided for additional help in using the different tools and applications.
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UNIT
Introduction to Film Analysis: Mise en scène
by Lindsay Price
Lindsay Price has developed this Introduction to Film Analysis Unit: Mise en scène. In order to develop visual literacy, students have to be able to analyze what they see. In a film, the composition of everything you see on screen is called mise-en-scène. In this unit, students will explore the individual elements that make up mise-en-scène, be able to identify those elements in stills and film scenes, and apply their knowledge in a culminating analysis activity.
Heads up. You’re going to need some technology for this unit. Students need to be able to view, either as a class or 1:1 images, a google slide deck and selected film scenes.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Introduction to Theatre Production
by Karen Loftus
Students will explore the question of “what is theatre production?” They’ll be able to identify and describe each of the crafts of technical theatre as well as who does what in theatre production.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Elements of Design
by Karen Loftus
Students are exposed to select elements of design, and they explore the effect those elements of design have on storytelling.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Scenic Design
by Karen Loftus
Students will explore the creation of an environment through the art of scenic design. They will identify what scenic design is and how it helps to tell a story in theatre. Students will also identify and demonstrate some skills of a scenic designer as they analyze an excerpt of a script for scenic clues and demonstrate basic drafting and rendering.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Scenic Construction
by Karen Loftus
Students will be able to identify the various tools used in a set shop, identify appropropriate shop safety procedures, including personal protective equipment, and demonstrate how to build a flat.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Scenic Painting
by Holly Beardsley and Karen Loftus
UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Props
by Karen Loftus and Kerry Hishon
Students will identify categories of props and which people create or obtain props. They’ll analyze a script for needed props, use critical-thinking skills to problem solve prop issues, and create a prop.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Lighting
by Karen Loftus, Josh Hatt, and Kerry Hishon
Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of lighting effectiveness. They’ll also be able to identify, analyze, and evaluate how lighting is used in a theatre production.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Sound
by Karen Loftus and Josh Hatt
Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of sound effectiveness. How do we use sound to create a technically effective performance?
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Costume Design
by Holly Beardsley, Karen Loftus, and Josh Hatt
Students are exposed to research, concepts, and skill sets while they explore costume design and the different roles of the costume designer and the costumer. They will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of costume effectiveness.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Costume Construction
by Karen Loftus
Students identify vocabulary, techniques, and roles of costume construction. They demonstrate costume measurement and other construction techniques, including a basic stitch.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Make-Up Design
by Karen Loftus and Josh Hatt
Students will be able to explore the use of make-up as a theatrical tool and demonstrate their knowledge of make-up effectiveness.
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
What is a Stage Manager? (Extra Lesson)
by Karen Loftus
We have included a stage management “extra” lesson in this curriculum as an introduction to the stage manager role. Stage management is certainly an important role when it comes to the technical elements of a theatre production.
If you want to include a more realized stage management unit, we have you covered. DTA has an extensive Stage Management Unit in the curriculum section of the DTA website (see link below).
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UNIT
Part of the Stagecraft Without a Theatre Curriculum
Culminating Project
by Karen Loftus
Now it’s time for your students to take everything they’ve learned and creatively apply those skills. The goal is for students to take what they’ve been exposed to, explored, and researched about each of the arts and crafts of technical theatre and apply it to a project.
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UNIT
Aristotle's Elements
by Lea Marshall
Aristotle was a huge fan of the theatre. He philosophically believed in it and argued with other great thinkers at the time about the necessity and good results of theatrical pursuits. This makes him a great topic for a drama classroom unit.
Aristotle identified six elements that needed to be in a play for it to be worthy: plot, thought, character, diction, spectacle, and sound. This unit by Lea Marshall focuses on and offers exercises for each of Aristotle’s elements - from using fairy tales to examine plot, to re-imagining movie trailers to explore music.
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UNIT
Part of the Distance Learning Curriculum
What is Theatre?
by Lindsay Price and Karen Loftus
Students will establish a definition of theatre, know the difference between theatre and film, and start to explore who’s who in the theatre.
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UNIT
Part of the Distance Learning Curriculum
Improvisation
by Lindsay Price and Karen Loftus
Students sharpen their listening and reaction skills through improv games, exercises, and scenes. They will learn five specific guidelines to apply to their improvisation: accept the offer, bring information to the scene, make active choices, make your partner look good, and don’t force the humor.
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UNIT
Part of the Distance Learning Curriculum
Voice
by Lindsay Price and Karen Loftus
This unit focuses specifically on the technical aspects of vocal production. By understanding how voice is created, students will be more aware of how to improve their vocal production. Students will explore posture and breathing exercises, as well as how to use the diaphragm, projection, and articulation. The final project will test students’ abilities to properly project and articulate a joke at a distance from a microphone
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UNIT
Impowerment Improv
by Jennine Profeta
Taking risks, learning to see failure as a gift, finding courage when we don't feel it, and having the awareness that what we say has an impact are social and emotional skills students will take beyond the classroom. These are skills that can be built through improv exercises.
The exercises in this unit are designed to create a safe environment in which students can go beyond their old patterns to take risks, embrace failure, and be more confident and aware of the effects of their word choices. Improv gives you the opportunity to draw attention to these important concepts and to talk about them.
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UNIT
Tech Theatre Unit: Costuming When You Don't Sew
by Drama Teacher Academy
In this unit, students will take on the role of the costumer, which is different from a costume designer. It introduces costuming concepts in order to execute a costume. No complicated sewing is required, which is great if you don’t have the background, the access, or the resources to have a class of students create costumes.
Instead of making costumes from scratch, as a designer would, students will create costumes from stock, borrowed items, or low-cost finds. They will take finished products and adapt them into what they need to create the right atmosphere.
In order to help with their adaptations, students will try different distressing techniques and learn three SIMPLE stitches that they’ll be able to use over and over again. It’s a valuable tech theatre skill to teach students how to execute on costumes when you (and they) don’t sew!
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UNIT
Scene Staging
by Lindsay Price
The goal for this unit is to give students a process to work primarily on their own to create a staged scene with specific, dynamic blocking and three-dimensional characters. This unit would work well as a culminating project for a semester. In this unit, students will work independently to analyze, block, build character, experiment, and rehearse a scene. Their performance can count as a summative assessment for the class.
Material: This unit requires that students have access to scenes from plays. Ideally, students should work in pairs and prepare duet scenes.
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UNIT
Introduction to Mask
by Allison Williams
This unit focuses on having students gain an understanding of basic physical acting and learn some specific tools to use in mask work. Instructor Allison Williams has developed this unit, and explains "What I love most about mask work is how, by having students cover their faces, they are able to find freedom to express themselves physically. They often make bigger choices than we’re normally used to seeing them make in class."
In this unit, students will work step by step from identifying shapes in the mask to using those shapes to creating a character zero to learning how to move in the mask utilizing the qualities of movement to applying everything they’ve learned in short scenes. The unit will culminate with students working in pairs to create original mask scenes.
You will need masks to complete the unit. And while mask-making can be a lot of fun, it’s a lengthy and messy project. A list is provided in the Overview of where you may be able to buy or rent masks for use in your classroom.
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UNIT
Introduction to Mask
by Allison Williams
This unit focuses on having students gain an understanding of basic physical acting and learn some specific tools to use in mask work. Instructor Allison Williams has developed this unit, and explains "What I love most about mask work is how, by having students cover their faces, they are able to find freedom to express themselves physically. They often make bigger choices than we’re normally used to seeing them make in class."
In this unit, students will work step by step from identifying shapes in the mask to using those shapes to creating a character zero to learning how to move in the mask utilizing the qualities of movement to applying everything they’ve learned in short scenes. The unit will culminate with students working in pairs to create original mask scenes.
You will need masks to complete the unit. And while mask-making can be a lot of fun, it’s a lengthy and messy project. A list is provided in the Overview of where you may be able to buy or rent masks for use in your classroom.
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UNIT
Introduction to Mask
by Allison Williams
This unit focuses on having students gain an understanding of basic physical acting and learn some specific tools to use in mask work. Instructor Allison Williams has developed this unit, and explains "What I love most about mask work is how, by having students cover their faces, they are able to find freedom to express themselves physically. They often make bigger choices than we’re normally used to seeing them make in class."
In this unit, students will work step by step from identifying shapes in the mask to using those shapes to creating a character zero to learning how to move in the mask utilizing the qualities of movement to applying everything they’ve learned in short scenes. The unit will culminate with students working in pairs to create original mask scenes.
You will need masks to complete the unit. And while mask-making can be a lot of fun, it’s a lengthy and messy project. A list is provided in the Overview of where you may be able to buy or rent masks for use in your classroom.
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PD COURSE
Introduction to Teaching Mask
by Allison Williams
In Introduction to Teaching Mask, Allison Williams gives you a toolkit of mask and movement exercises to teach students to make big, confident physical choices, to work in their bodies, and play different characters - masked and unmasked.
Access to masks is required, but previous experience with masks is not.
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PD COURSE
From Audition to Curtain Call: Directing Youth Theatre
by Steven Stack
Directing youth theatre can be one of the most thrilling, rewarding, and exhausting jobs there is – because it’s not just about staging a play. It’s about creating an environment that fosters hard work, dedication, trust, and the willingness to take chances, to “play without fear.”
As a writer/teacher/director of youth theatre for over 15 years, I have developed tools and strategies that enable my students and me to focus on the process of creating theatre while fostering an environment that leads to creative freedom and a cohesive groups that doesn't act as individual “stars,” but as a community of one.
In this course, I will share with you these tips and strategies, along with the ways to implement them in your theatre environment.
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PD COURSE
Friendly Shakespeare
by Todd Espeland
Friendly Shakespeare teaches a simple and effective method of script analysis for Shakespeare. It uses punctuation and keywords in the text to help students understand the characters' needs, make specific acting choices, and get them on their feet immediately.
This is not dry, sitting in a classroom discussion. It’s physicalizing the text, focusing on the character’s needs and tactics (something every drama student should know full well) and bringing Shakespeare to life.
At the end of the class you will be able to demystify Shakespeare's text and understand how to help your actors make clear, active and emotionally connected choices in Shakespeare's plays.
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PD COURSE
The Top Ten Playwriting Exercises
by Lindsay Price
The Top Ten Playwriting Exercises Course not only gives you ten great exercises to ease your students into the playwriting waters, it's also going to give you the confidence to teach playwriting to your students.
Each exercise comes with instruction, why the exercise is important, how to assess the exercise and something specific for you to try.
Many of the modules include assignments and rubrics so you will be fully prepared to comprehend, apply and teach every these exercises.
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PD COURSE
Strong Ensemble = Strong Play
by Craig Mason
This mini-course will give you a toolkit to bring your shows to the next level by having an engaged, active, ensemble.
The ensemble is a critical part of a large cast show. But you can't leave them to fend for themselves. They need structure. They need exercises and activities.
In Strong Ensemble = Strong Play, you'll be given ensemble-building exercises. You'll also discover specific activities that will help your ensemble become three-dimensional characters who have something to do and something to play in every moment they are on stage.
We'll look at case studies that take the exercises learned in the course and apply them to specific shows.
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PD COURSE
Big Picture Blocking: Staging Your Play Outside-In
by Todd Espeland
Working in educational theatre I know how easy it is to get bogged down in actor coaching and away from the bigger picture storytelling when directing a show. I saw a need for a method of text analysis and physical staging tools that help the director stay focused on the bigger picture of telling the story of the play.
This class is in two parts: The first consists of the text analysis tools P.A.S.T.O and Major Dramatic Question. From these tools you will brainstorm keywords to define your vision of the story.
In the second part of the class you will focus on taking the information generated in the text analysis and crafting the ideas into vibrant physical pictures through an exercise called Starburst.
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PD COURSE
The Do-it-All Director's Introduction to Costuming
by Holly Beardsley
Do you know the difference between a bustle and a buckram frame? Or what works best as an emergency hem? Some directors are blessed with a big budget and a full support staff—a choreographer, a set designer, and a costumer. But the drama teacher often becomes director, choreographer, set designer, and costumer all in one.
And a budget? What’s a budget? The Do-It-All Director’s Introduction to Costuming will give you, the director, who must do it all, the confidence and skills to costume and direct, no matter your experience or budget. This course will teach you costuming basics, budget tricks, organization, and most importantly, the art of costuming as a director.
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PD COURSE
Breath Control and Projection
by Elisabeth Oppelt
In this course, you will learn what breath control and projection are, how to breathe from your diaphragm and speak loudly without yelling, and how to teach these skills to your students. Led by teacher and singer Elisabeth Oppelt, this course will be helpful both in your teaching practices and in creating material to teach your students. This course also includes both formal and informal assessments for you to use in your classroom.
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PD COURSE
Introduction to Stage Management Part One
by Karen Loftus
In this course, instructor Karen Loftus explores the responsibilities of a stage manager. You'll learn exercises that will help you demonstrate those responsibilities and the necessary skills of a stage manager to your students. You'll learn how to train your students to serve as stage managers for your school’s productions.
The course takes you through what a stage manager does prior to rehearsal and throughout the rehearsal and performance process to have a smooth-running backstage. It includes learning about the paperwork required, including prompt scripts, rehearsal preparations, notating blocking, and a stage manager’s kit and checklist to wrap it all together.
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PD COURSE
Google Drive in the Drama Classroom
by Josh Hatt
Instructor Joshua Hatt has taught drama students all over the world. He is passionate about the power of drama to connect people and the importance of reflection and journaling to build creative, critical thinkers.
He started using Google Drive as a response to the frustration of having his students lose curriculum booklets time and time again. His work developed into a powerful online home whereby students and teachers can communicate, contribute, collaborate, edit, and house all their documents online.
In this course, Josh will show you how to use Google Drive and Slides in your drama classroom. He's included step-by-step guided instruction, as well as activities to help you solidify your knowledge. Your drama classroom will be forever transformed!
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PD COURSE
The Do-it-All Director's Introduction to Set Design
by Holly Beardsley
Holly Beardsley is a do-it-all director. She started directing middle and high school students in her early college years and since then has written over ten shows and directed twice as many.
Do-it-all directors are responsible for everything it seems – the direction, the costuming, the choreography and of course, the set too. And though directors are ready to direct, to costume and even dance, there is something intimidating about designing and building a set.
The Do-it-All Director’s Introduction to Set Design will give you the director, who must do-it-all, the confidence and skills to not only direct but build your own set as well - no matter your experience or budget. This course will teach you set design basics, construction tips, budget tricks, and how to tackle your precious performance space armed with a hammer, and most importantly, without fear.
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PD COURSE
The Production Classroom
by Karen Loftus
In The Production Classroom, instructor Karen Loftus will show you how to explore ways that you can produce shows during your regular class time. The course gives you a series of exercises and reflections that help you determine everything, from the type of show you may want to do, to the way you can divide up your class and responsibilities, to specific assignments that will keep your students engaged and focused.
The Production Classroom is the ultimate in project-based learning. Students learn to work collaboratively while setting goals and working towards a successful finished project. The course includes exercises and strategies to use with students to help assure their success in the production. Multiple examples and anecdotes help you to envision what the production classroom could look like in your room, performance space or theatre.
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PD COURSE
21st Century Skills Through Devising
by Allison Williams
Allison Williams leads the course: 21st Century Skills Through Devising. This course covers what devising is, why to do it, how to do it, and how your students can master the 21st Century Skills of collaborations and cooperation, critical thinking, creative thinking through devising.
High school is a great place to try devising with your students. But it’s not something you want to throw at your students without any preparation. Framework is important and this course takes you through a number of exercises you can take into the classroom tomorrow to help build a place of physical safety, a place where students work at making a lot of choices instead of waiting for the perfect choice, and a place where students feel comfortable making creative choices. The material also reviews the process of putting together a show from the idea/research stage to editing, to giving feedback.
Your students have what it takes to create their own material, collaborate with each other, and have a unique theatrical experience!
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PD COURSE
Introduction to Teaching Mask: 2nd Edition
by Allison Williams
In Introduction to Teaching Mask: 2nd Edition, Allison Williams gives you a toolkit of mask and movement exercises to teach students to make big, confident physical choices, to work in their bodies, and play different characters - masked and unmasked.
By working through the exercises in this course, you, the teacher, will also gain an understanding of basic physical acting and learn some easy specific tools to coach your students – not just in mask, but in all their performance work.
Access to masks is required, but previous experience with masks is not.
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