Drama I/II

Drama I/II focuses on the dramatic skills required for both solo and group work on stage. Students will have an opportunity to hone their acting skills and their directorial vision.

The student will realize performance possibilities from text and stimuli. Dramatic forms and structures will be understood, while acting skills will be adopted both as a solo performer and within a group. The process taken that leads to a performance will be understood and the ability to evaluate that progression will be experienced.

Students will be able to read text, devise from stimuli and perform in a mixture of forms and genres. The ability to assess their own work and the rest of the group is essential.

These skills are assessed:

❖ adapting text and stimuli for the stage

❖ devising from text stimuli

❖ performance skills

To monitor their practical work in adaptation, devising or performing the students keep an online drama journal. There will also be written research projects and theatre reviews. A range of assessments is completed over the year. Use of photo and video enable both staff and student to: identify weakness, suggest alternative skills or build on perceived strengths.

In Drama I/II is a mixed Grade Level class - units alternate in years between Year A and Year B:

Year A

Unit DI-II.A1 In One’s Element – The Elements of Drama, an exploration of what makes drama

or

Unit DI-II.A1 Up Staging! - The fundamentals of Technical Theatre: lighting, sound, set design etc

Unit DI-II.A2 The Real Thing – Realism and Non Realism, an exploration of Stanislavsky’s realistic approach to characterisation and a comparison with Melodrama and non realism.

Unit DI-II.A3 Page to Stage – a complete production unit, in which students audition, plan, design, rehearse and perform a short one act play (about ten minutes) taking on different roles either on or backstage. Students also explore technical theatre too: lighting, make-up, prop making and set design. Those students who are in Drama II will have an opportunity to direct one of these short plays.

Year B

Unit DI-II.B1 Shaping Scenes – Devising & Forum Theatre; devising from stimuli and developing performances based on global issues

Unit DI-II.B2 Inner Voices – Monologues; an exploration of characterisation and staging for a solo performance

Unit DI-II.B3 A Director’s Eye – Directing for the Stage; creating a directorial vision and experimenting with staging a series of scenes

An overview of Drama in Grades 6-12 is available HERE.

The Drama I/II program builds a solid foundation for exploration of the creative arts in Grade 11-12.