Reading Life Without Me

Learning intention

In the next couple of lessons, you will read sections of the play Life Without Me by Daniel Keene. Your goal is to not only understand the words on the page, but to experiment with staging, apply cross-cultural understanding, and use acting choices and elements of drama to create a deep understanding of the script and the experiences of the characters.

Instructions

You will work more closely with particular scenes once you have read the play. For now, use the suggestions below to negotiate with your teacher how you can approach your first reading.

• Read and discuss the play as a class in a circle.

  • Form a circle with your copies of the play.

  • Take turns moving into the circle and improvising physical choices as you read the characters' lines. 

  • Pause and discuss these choices if there are complex moments or moments that require consent between actors.

  • To build confidence – start by just using your voice and reading the parts in the circle before you move into the centre.

• Read for homework.

  • You may not have time to read every part as a class. If so, your class or teacher might decide which scenes to read for homework.

  • When reading a script by yourself, still try to read the lines out loud and even act them out in front of the mirror. Practising these acting decisions as a form of emotional understanding can help us consider how actors tell these important stories to audiences.

• Considering preliminary design for a scene.

  • • Set – sketch out or block how set change and elements would look in a space.

    • Costume and props – use placeholder costume and props and make acting decisions with them in your reading.

    • Sound – consider sound manipulation and staging for the play (including voiceover).

    • Lighting – experiment with lighting. Hint: you don't need a lighting rig to try this; consider how torches, light switches and curtains might be used to effect.

    • Space – play with space and audience layout. For example, how might theatre in the round staging change the decisions and meaning of the play?

• Read a sequence of scenes in small groups, then report back.

  • Read a scene or sequence of scenes in a smaller group.

  • Reconvene as a class and discuss the scene within the wider context of the play.

  • You may wish to focus your discussion on the Australian Drama and Theatre (Core Study) rubric, particularly the 'various ways in which artistic, cultural, social, political and personal issues and concerns are reflected in different contexts' (NESA, 2023).

• Read, reflect and write about a scene.

  • After reading a scene, take the time to write down your learning as experiential evidence. This knowledge will be useful to you when completing longer responses and drama essays on the play (for example, in written examinations). You could:

    • describe the key moment of performance using a quotation from the script or your own words. (1 to 2 sentences)

    • explain what was the same, and what was different, about the way you read and performed the scene. In your explanation, incorporate the elements of drama and production to explore different aspects of your performance. (3 to 4 sentences)

    • reflect on the audience (or your own) reaction to your performance of the scene. Did you engage the audience? Did you communicate the important message of the characters' experiences in the moment? Why or why not? (1 to 2 sentences)

  • You may wish to focus your reflective writing on the Australian Drama and Theatre (Core Study) rubric, particularly the 'various ways in which artistic, cultural, social, political and personal issues and concerns are reflected in different contexts' (NESA, 2023).