DRAMA SKILLS = SKILLS for LIFE
"Arts education learnings are recursive and interconnected, and promote authentic, transformative, and lifelong learning. Arts learnings focus on artistic and creative processes, critical reflection, the significance and purpose of the arts for individuals and groups, as well as disciplinary skills, knowledge, and competencies." - from Manitoba's Dramatic Arts Curriculum FAQ
Course Descriptions
To learn drama skills is to learn life skills: public speaking, empathy, improvisation, communication, and collaboration, to name a few. In this "On-stage" class, the main course outcomes are for students to engage in self-discovery and unleash creativity through reflection and play, develop personal agency and independence and foster collegial connections through shared artistic experiences, display a fluency in the language and practices of the Dramatic Arts, and demonstrate an acquired foundation of knowledge upon which further skills can be built in the area of Dramatic Arts beyond the high school program.
Drama class is where work and play come together... and belonging is built.
The full performance-based Dramatic Arts program at Shaftesbury is taught over a four-year period. Subject matter fundamentals are taught recursively with increasing complexity, breadth, and depth according to the grade level of study. Students in 10S start their Dramatic Arts journey with instruction on theatre basics, progressing to 30S and 40S where they are instructed in leadership and mentoring skills in the areas of theatrical design, direction, dramaturgy, and production. While subsequent courses build upon the previous year's learnings, no prior experience is required to take part at any level.
As students progress through the program, they receive instruction on mask work, mime and space work, stage movement and blocking, the physical expression of emotion, personality, intention, and ideas, the use of voice and diction in a theatrical context, scene work, classical and modern monologues, dramatic and comedic writing, dramatic analysis, character development, stage combat, puppet work, pantomime, clowning, radio play, spoken word, chorus work, short and long-form improvisation, as well as fundamental technical areas of theatre that directly impact the actor such as hair styling, makeup, costumes, lighting, sound, staging, and props. Students shall also receive instruction on audition techniques, personal preparation, adherence to safety, organizational structures, rehearsal etiquette, and appropriate collegial behaviour within the theatrical setting.
Additionally, theatre history, styles, places, and practices shall be examined through the contexts of culture, diversity, social justice, and accessibility.
Daily drama classes shall involve elements of play and movement, as well as explicit theoretical and practical instruction directed toward unit and term goals. At the end of each term, classes will culminate in the performance of a one-act play or performance of scenes according to the interests and creative products of the students. Assessment is based on written and practical assignments tailored to students' grade level of enrollment.
Shaftesbury’s Theatre Production course consists of two major areas of study: Performance and Production. The course outcomes allow students to prepare and perform a musical or play as a culmination of the course work. Students taking this course will participate in either the Performance or Production component, according to their personal areas of skill and interest. Placement auditions (Performance) and interviews (Production) will take place early in the school year.
All who complete placement auditions or interviews will have a designated role in the selected musical or play.
Students in the Performance area will be instructed on performance techniques focusing on all aspects of “Onstage” work: sung and spoken vocal technique, movement and choreography, and the craft of acting, character development, improvisation, and stage work. Students in the area of Production will receive instruction that focuses on all aspects of “backstage” work: stage and house management, assistant direction, sets, sound, lighting, costumes, make up, hair, props, stage crew, pit band, ticket sales and marketing. This class occurs outside of the regular school timetable. Attendance at production performance dates is mandatory for all enrolled students. Assessment is based on written and practical assignments tailored to students' grade level of enrollment.