Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Class
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Devise drama inspired by the work of the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021
Devise drama inspired by the work of the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021
Student drama resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 7 to 10 drama
What will I learn?
What will I learn?
In this class you will create a short devised piece of work that you can use to tell a story through physical movement.
Shake it off and get ready to enter the wonderful world of devising drama with the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021!
You will:
explore the recording of the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021 performance of 'Insight'
engage in physical warm ups
perform stories in groups and in pairs using dramatic techniques and theatrical conventions
reflect on the filmed performance and hone your critical writing skills.
Before you begin
Before you begin
You will need:
a clear space to move in safely
your logbook to record ideas and take notes
a device so that you can record your final performance.
Introduction
Introduction
The Arts Unit runs weekly drama ensembles to enable students to develop their confidence and extend their skills in devising and performing drama. Ensembles are taught by experienced drama tutors and invited industry guests.
'Insight' was developed and performed by the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble as their work for 2021.
Their performance looks at the difference in social expectations between males and females. A brother and sister can exist in the same space and have vastly different experiences based on their gender.
This story is told through vignettes of engaging chorus work, movement, mime and elements of song and magical realism.
Watch the performance
Watch the performance
Watch the following video of the NSW Public Schools Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021 performance of 'Insight'.
Year 9 Drama Ensemble 2021 - Insight - performance
Duration: 11:18Warm up
Warm up
Task: Walking intentions
Task: Walking intentions
Find a space in the room
Walk with energy to another space in the room making sure not to connect to the people around you. Find the gaps.
Energise your walk using your imagination. Use the following intentions or 'as ifs':
you haven’t a care in the world
someone has made a comment about your outfit
you are walking alone at night
thinking about someone who you have a crush on
you are meeting a large group of new people
you are being followed
you are trying to cross a crowded train carriage.
Photo credit - Anna Warr
Reflect
Reflect
Note in your logbook:
How was your body language and manner of walking impacted by the different intentions?
Were there any particular attitudes that you found easier to do and why?
Perform in a group
Perform in a group
In the performance of 'Insight' the brother and sister characters (Jarryd and Heather) are bombarded by advertising via their phones on their way to school.
The following activity is designed to be performed in groups; however can still be completed if you are performing in a solo capacity or engaging in classwork remotely.
Gendered marketing
Gendered marketing
Watch the video Gendered Marketing | The Check out.
As you watch the video think about advertisements that are targeted towards you and the types targeted towards someone of a different gender.
This could either be on your social media pages, television, or out in the world ( for example: sides of buses, billboards).
Make a list of at least 3 of these advertisements
Gendered Marketing | The Check out
Duration: 07:25Targeted advertising
Targeted advertising
Find a group to work with either in person of via remote video conferencing.
Using your ideas from the work above, choose 2 contrasting advertisements and bring them to life. For example: one might be advertising a skincare brand, whilst another might be a tableaux to represent a poster or billboard.
Consider using different styles such as:
tableaux
TEDx talk
news reporting
glossy TV commercial
reality TV show product endorsement.
Consider how the following performance elements could enhance your piece:
song
mime
direct address to the audience.
Perform your advertisements side-by-side. You may wish to record these.
Perform in pairs
Perform in pairs
Behind the scenes: Creation of the 'documentary brain' vignette
Within this performance, students were guided through activities that helped create movement sequences. They individually wrote their own 5 minute monologues about the human brain. Working in groups of 4 they pieced together a script using sections from each other’s monologues.
Students combined these monologues and the movement material to create a sequence with spoken word and movement.
Try the following activity in pairs.
Before you begin, make sure you have a discussion with your partner to agree on the parts of the body that you both feel safe to use for moments of touch in this exercise.
Task: Push hands
Task: Push hands
Working in pairs stand opposite your partner:
Person 1 put your hand on top of person 2
Person 2 push up with your hand into the hand of person 1
Person 1 move your hand around
Person 2 keep contact
Person 1 controls the directions of the hand
Person 2 follows the directions by keeping contact and resistance through their hand to person 1.
Communication is happening through touch.
Swap roles
Person 2 put your hand on top of person 1
Person 1 push up with your hand into the hand of person 2
Person 2 move your hand around
Person 1 keep contact.
Move your partner around the room, extend your movements.
Post-exercise:
Extend your actions by repeating the movements/choreography with a moment of script work or using lines you've written about your gender experiences.
Chair Duets
Chair Duets
Watch the video Chair Duets Step-by-Step Instructions to extend on your work with 'Push hands'.
Chair Duets Step-by-Step Intructions
Duration: 03:22Extension activity
Extension activity
Watch the video of the genesis of a moment of theatre - What is theatre capable of?' by Simon Stone at TEDx Sydney.
What is theatre capable of? Simon Stone at TEDxSydney
Duration: 09:44Try applying the following to your chair duets.
Play with the speed/tempo of the movement. How does it change when really fast or really slow?
Change the genre of performance. How does it change when you play different kinds of music?
Change the imagined location in which you are performing. How does it feel different performing in a crowd as opposed to just two of you?
Record your performance variations.
Reflect
In your logbook answer:
How did these varitations change the meaning of your original piece?
Explore and create
Explore and create
Task: Replay theatre
Task: Replay theatre
Working in a group, create a 1 minute 'model scene' inspired by a moment from the performance of 'Insight'. You might like to explore:
an interaction between a parent and children
the introduction of someone new to a group of friends
an interaction on a train between strangers
one character asking another out on a date.
Rehearse your short scene until you feel very familiar with it.
Now that you have your scene set up, start playing with the status of your characters.
Replay the scene with these alternate statuses:
children have a higher status than the parents
new friend has higher status than the regular group
from the bystanders point of view
gender dynamics in who asks whom on a date.
Record your variations.
Reflect
In your logbook answer the following questions:
How did the variations affect the original performance?
What new perspectives were brought into focus with replaying the scene?
Behind the scenes: Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed
Behind the scenes: Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed
When playbuilding to create 'Insight', the Year 9 ensemble used elements of Augusto Boal's 'Forum Theatre' to explore different perspectives of a situation and the alternate reactions characters might have. In this particular piece of theatre, this activity was able to highlight for the students how a character's thoughts might be different from their actions.
Extension activity
Extension activity
Research Augusto Boal.
Write down 3 key points about this theatre practitioner.
Explain Forum Theatre in your own words.
How would you apply this style of theatre to the work you created in the activity 'Replay theatre'?
Augusto Boal
Review and reflect
Review and reflect
Now that you’ve watched ‘Insight’ and completed the activities it's time to reflect on your learning and apply a critical review.
Watch the performance video again and list the ways the group explored gender in ways that made it safe, entertaining, enlightening and critical.
Imagine this video was part of your TED talk on gender studies and speak to its effectiveness to communicate this issue.
Congratulations!
You have completed this Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Class.
Further resources
Further resources
You might like to explore our other Creative classes inspired by the works of NSW Public Schools Drama Ensembles 2021.
Third-party content attributions
Third-party content attributions
Year 9 Drama Ensemble rehearsal images 1-5, photographer: Anna Warr.
augusto-boal11 by Tio Palhaço Ribeirinho is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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