Drama Teacher with over 10 years experience. A range of accessible and detailed resources to make Drama and Theatre teaching fun, inspiring and awesome. Any questions please ask!
Drama Teacher with over 10 years experience. A range of accessible and detailed resources to make Drama and Theatre teaching fun, inspiring and awesome. Any questions please ask!
A note from the author:
Included here are a selection of Contentless Scenes for use in lessons. Contentless Scenes (sometimes known as ‘Open’ or ‘Ambiguous’ scenes) are scenes that have very little detail on character or narrative plot leaving it open for the actors or directors to use their creativity and imagination to add detail to the scene with endless possibilities.
I use these to explore:
Character Creation
Character Motivation
Character Relationships
Character Interactions
Narrative Structures
Subtext
Themes & Issues
Naturalistic Acting / Stanislavski
They are so useful and I use them with each year for different reasons. I have written 35 scenes here that are all different and useful for a variety of reasons. I tend to photocopy them on different coloured pages and split them between different years so that as we use the scenes for different reasons as the students move up through the school they always have fresh stimuli.
Included:
20 Duologue Contentless Scenes (ranging from half a page to a full page)
10 Quick-fire Contentless Scenes (suitable for 2 or three actors each) Four are very short (2/3 lines), 6 are longer (4/6 lines)
5 Contentless Scenes for Three Actors (full pages)
It works out as less than 29p per scene!
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!
A note from the author:
I use this scheme of work with my Year 8 class, as not only does it offer a historical perspective on theatre, but it also allows for complex exploration into characters, ensemble work and strong emotions. The students seem to want to get fully involved in all aspects and I have developed this scheme over four years of teaching it. It involves a rich variety of activities, and supports the development of ensemble unison (both vocal and physical) and promotes positive working relationships in my students.
Objective Overview of Greek Theatre
§ Students to explore Greek Theatre elements such as chorus, characters comedy & tragedy, masks, depictions of gods, exaggerated acting.
§ Students to develop skills in unison movement, choral voice, non-verbal communication, tragic/comic characters, mask work, script exploration, and gestures.
§ Students to gain an introductory knowledge of Greek Theatre playwrights, Theatre practitioners (Complicitie, Jacques Lecoq), mythological characters, classical history and performance conditions.
§ Students to explore The Trojan Women in depth, as well as examples from The Frogs and The Clouds.
Overview of The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women follows Queen Hecuba, her daughter Cassandra, her daughter-in-law Andromache and her grandson Astyanax, as they learn of their fates to the conquering Greek army. Talthybius, a herald of the Greeks, shows great compassion for the Trojans but must deliver terrible news (the death of Astyanax, the burning of Troy, the separation of Cassandra and Andromache from Hecuba). Menelaus considers slaughtering his ex-wife Helen (of Helen of Troy fame, the face that launched 1000 ships) however he is won over by her charm and decides to delay her killing. Is Helen responsible for the whole Trojan War? The gods Poseidon and Athene start the play discussing how to kill the Greek Army after they offended Athene at her temple. This leads to the messages and themes of the futile nature of war, fate, free will and feminism. The play occurs at the same time as Euripides’ other play Hecuba.
Included:
In-depth Scheme of Work
Lesson Resources (Images, Worksheets, Handouts)
Scripts (a few chorus example scripts, self-written gesture scripts)
Assessment Instructions
Please note:
You may want to purchase ‘The Trojan Women’ by Euripides, and The Frogs and The Clouds by Aristophanes - however I have included two extracts from the plays plus some example chorus sections. The Trojan Women is the main resource for this SOW.
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!
A note from the author:
Included here are a selection of resources for the exploration of Theatre Practitioner Constantin Stanislavski. I use his methods in many units with my students, and have created a plethora of resources for them to use.
Included:
Role on the Wall Worksheet - Stanislavski Given Circumstances
Role on the Wall Comparison Sheet
Hot Seating Assessment
Year 8 Example Lesson
Assessment of KS3 Unit on Stanislavskian Techniques
Constantin Stanislavski Techniques Document - Detailed analysis of techniques
Units, Objectives & Super Objectives - My own created Diagram plus information on these elements.
Information on the theatre styles: Realism and Naturalism
Quotes from ‘An Actor Prepares’
A good script to use for exploration is Love & Information by Caryl Churchill or any of the Naturalism playwrights (Ibsen, Checkhov, Strindberg, O’Casey, Shaw etc.)
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!
A note from the author:
This is one of my favourite plays. I studied it at KS5 and love exploring the complex themes and characters with my students. I have adapted and honed this SOW over the past two years, and it not only includes a detailed SOW, but also lots of handmade worksheets and other useful resources. The only other thing you will need are copies of the text itself! Enjoy…
SOW Overview
A scheme of work spread over 24 lessons focusing on an in-depth study of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. These resources not only cover analysis of the text, but also a practical exploration of how students can bring the text to life as an actor, director and designer.
There are also Stanislavskian techniques used throughout the exploration to grasp the style of naturalism, and other practitioner’s methods are explored as well such as Cecily Berry, Jacques Lecoq.
This scheme of work is primarily for A Level students but could work well with high ability GCSE students.
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!
A note from the author:
I use this scheme of work with my Year 7 class, as not only does it offer exciting and creative opportunities, but it also allows for complex exploration into issues around migration and strong emotions. The students seem to want to get fully involved in all aspects and I have developed this scheme over four years of teaching it. It involves a rich variety of activities, and supports the development of empathetic and sympathetic social qualities in my students.
1/10/20 - This resource has been updated with key extracts of the script for you to use.
Objective Overview of The Arrival
§ Students to create a devised performance on The Arrival, based on the stimuli provided (theme of migration, text extracts, pictures) and explorative rehearsal techniques.
§ Students to develop skills in unison movement, puppetry, non-verbal communication, still images, thought tracking and transitions.
§ Students to gain an introductory knowledge of Stanislavski Techniques.
Overview of The Arrival
‘The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope.’
Included:
In-depth Scheme of Work
Lesson Resources (Images, Worksheets on Migration Reasons, Dove Origami Puppet Sheet)
Assessment Instructions & Abridged Assessment Instructions
Script Extracts
Please note:
You may want to purchase ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan - picture book to accompany this SOW, however I have included all necessary image resources.
You may also want to get a copy of ‘The Arrival’, a play by Kristine Landon-Smith & Sita Brahmachari, based on the picture book, to accompany the assessments for this unit. However you can complete the assessment with the ‘abridged’ format without having a copy of the script.
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!
A note from the author:
I love physical theatre and have compiled this SOW to be adaptable and useful for all Drama teachers as an accessible way into physical theatre. I have noted down different techniques from a range of companies/practitioners. Your students will surely love playing around with these lessons.
SOW Overview:
A detailed 18 page, nine lesson (70 minute lesson) SOW for students to experiment and play around creatively with Physical Theatre components.
Lesson One: Introduction to Physical Theatre
Lesson Two: Complicite - Collaborative Ensemble Physicality (Information, Games & Activities)
Lessons Three & Four: Frantic Assembly - Choreography for Non Dancers & Devising Theatre (Information, Exercises and Activities) - Could be split into two lessons.
Lesson Five: Merce Cunningham - Chance Choreography (Information and Activities)
Lesson Six: Peter Darling (Information and Activities)
Lesson Seven: Anne Bogart - Viewpoints (Information and Activities)
Lessons Eight & Nine: Assessment Lessons - Could be split over a number of extra lessons to tie together everything they have learnt from the SOW.
Recently Updated: (Dec 2016)
Extra information on Anne Bogart
Frantic Assembly split over two lessons
Please do comment on my resources so that I can continue to update and expand them. If you need any more information/clarification please comment and I will update my resources ASAP!