“Dramatically Human History, Now and Then”

 

          

A two-semester course in drama survey:

Students examine plays from The Greeks to the present

 

 

Goal/Objective of Drama Survey (Sophomores)

·  Students will acquire an overview of theater history that connects purpose, acting style and plays performed throughout the ages. 

·  Students will be able to recognize the basic elements of dramatic action, including exposition, rising action, inciting incident, climax, falling action and denouement.

·  Students will read at least one play from Ancient Greece and Rome, Medieval Europe, The Golden Age of Spain, 17th century France, 18th century Germany and 19th century Russia and Scandinavia. Videos will be utilized to introduce the students to Japanese Theater, Peking Opera, American Musical Theater and Commedia dell’Arte.

·  Students will examine the moral, intellectual, and emotional choices that characters make.

 

Assessment:

 

·      Students will generate a class rubrics

·      Students will generate a description of an A student

·      Students will rehearse and perform key scenes for the class and for a formal grade

·      Students will write in class essays in lieu of exams

·      Students will write essays for homework

·      40% of the grade is based on classroom discussion

·      an outside group project will due in January

·      a culminating project will be due in June

·      projects are to relate to one play or author of the year projects may include things such as

1.designing sets or costumes

2.writing period appropriate music

3.writing a new ending

4.writing a short one act in the style of…

5.writing a research paper on an author

New York State Standards, Strands and Benchmarks

 

Theater Benchmark 12- Blue Print for the Arts

                                   “ Developing Theater Literacy”

      

·  Students develop a deep personal connection to theater and a realization of the meaning and messages in theater.

o      Students will be able to understand that theater fosters self-reflection by examining the world of the play and the moral, intellectual and emotional choices that characters make.

 

·  Students engage in research and analysis as dramaturges to distinguish similarities and differences in diverse theater forms.

o      Students will be able to identify the distinguishing characteristics of major periods in Western theatrical innovation.

o      Students will be able to recognize the distinguishing characteristics of theater from diverse cultures.

 

 

Theater Benchmark 12- Blue Print for the Arts

                                   “ Theater Making: Acting”

 

·      Students will be able to apply a knowledge of the characteristics of various genres, including:

o      tragedy, comedy, farce, melodrama, classical, experimental and musical theater

 

 

 

New York State Theater Standard 4:

 Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of The Arts

 

·      Students will read a variety of plays from different cultures.

·      Students will articulate the societal beliefs, issues, and events

·      Students will explain how drama/theater experiences relate to themselves and others.

 

 

 

New York State Theater Standard 3:

Responding To and Analyzing Works of Arts

 

·  Students will articulate an understanding, interpretation, and evaluation of a theater piece using appropriate critical vocabulary

 

 

Audience/Developmental Considerations

 

A two-semester course in drama survey offered to the sophomore drama class at a performing arts public school in New York. The following lesson plan is for the third class of the first semester.

The first class was a “meet and greet” with name games, followed by the class individually sharing what they did over the summer. The class was open, anxious to talk and share their thoughts. Class members seemed respectful of each other and shared the floor as well as their stories. The second class involved the students devising their own rubric and a list of qualities that would distinguish an A student from a B or C student. The class is made up of equal parts boys and girls, from a broad ethnic, religious and socio-economic background. The students had to audition to get into the school. Having overheard remarks made during the first session, the students would rather act the plays than read them. If they have to read a play, they would like to read plays that have a good part for them in it. This is my second semester at this school. I remember from last year that some students had great difficulty reading.

 

Previous Knowledge

 

Previous knowledge is varied with some students having read many plays and some students having read very few. They all have limited experience seeing live theater.  For the past two classes, all students participated in generating a rubrics and a description of an A student. They also assigned 40% of their grade to classroom participation.

 

Organization

 

A classroom with a blackboard and some chalk.

 

Materials

 

Copies of “Iphigenia at Aulis” by Euripides for 27 students.

 

Procedures for Lesson #3-  “The moment that tore me apart.”

A 45-minute class:

 

 

Objective:

a.    Students will contemplate what makes something tragic.  The class will share favorite tragic movies.

b.    To introduce some of Aristotle’s poetics and use some terminology (protagonist, antagonist, inciting incident)

c.To segue into “Iphigenia at Aulis”

From the contemporary film, Brad Pitt’s “Troy.”

 

Goal:

a.    to hook the students into exploring tragedy

                                                                          i.     specifically Greek tragedy

 

 

 

 

Warm up:  3 minutes

 

1.   Remembering Names- Throw the nerf ball

 

a.    Students throw a nerf ball at people sitting in their desks. You must make eye contact first, say their name, and what they did last summer. If there is someone who does not like to have the nerf ball thrown at them, they are encouraged to say so and the ball is handed to them.

b.    This exercise is for the teacher and the students. Students get to feel they break the rules by throwing things in a classroom. The teacher gets to be reminded of each student’s names. This particular class for me is one of three sophomore classes, totaling 80 students.

c.    The game also sets the tone for an “unstuffy” classroom. If the students are not looking forward to reading Greek tragedy and they think it is boring, this sets an unstuffy tone and adds a fun element.

 

 

 

       Main activity:  27 minutes

 

1.   Students are asked to throw the nerf ball at a student. That student has to say their favorite tragic movie and “the moment that tore them apart.” Students are encouraged to say their movie and moment in one brief sentence, otherwise not all of the 27 students will get a chance to share.

2.    Be prepared for the students to comment on everyone else’s choice and that they might need “cutting off.”

3.   The teacher acts as a vocal side coach during this activity.

“Yes. That moment tore me apart too.” “Yes, and it wasn’t even his fault.” “How could they do that? She was completely innocent?”  Hearing perfect examples, the teacher should also seize them as opportunities to subtly interject terminology.

·      For instance, when TITANIC is mentioned, when the ship hits the iceberg, that’s the moment that sets everything into motion. “Yup. It’s all downhill from there. That’s called the inciting incident.”

·       “What is the name of the hero or protagonist in your movie?”

·       “Sounds like that person is the villain or bad guy.  He’s “the antagonist.”

·      “Yes, “LION KING made me cry buckets, too. It definitely has tragic elements. However, how does it end up? Where is he standing? So, technically, he overcomes all of his tragic beginnings and not only survives, but becomes king. So, would that be a tragedy?”

·      The teacher should only take 5 to 10 seconds to get the terms in and then it’s right back to the students. It’s almost as if you are throwing the terms around as you throw the ball around.

 

 

Reflection/debriefing/assessment/homework   12 minutes

 

1.   What do you think the difference is between really sad and tragic?

2.   Were there any movies mentioned that you agreed with? There are tons of tragic movies, aren’t there?

3.   What were some of the terms I used?  Do you remember? (As the students mention them- write protagonist, antagonist, and inciting incident on the black board.) What do you think these mean?

 

4.   For next week, write me a one to two page paper on your favorite tragic movie. You may write on the movie you mentioned today or on another movie you love. Include why you think it is tragic, who the protagonist is, who the antagonist is, and what the inciting incident is. Make sure you also include the “moment that tore you apart” and why it tore you apart.

 

Where are we going?  3 minutes

 

a.    Brief Course outline for the month.

                                                            i.     Where we are going

                                                           ii.     and what we will be reading.

b.    Has anyone ever seen the movie TROY? What were some of the character’s names? Do you remember?  Who was Brad Pitt? Achilles? Who was Orlando Bloom? Paris? And who was Helen, Menelaus, Agamemnon?  What happened? “They were all sailing off to Troy, to get Helen back and ransack the city.  Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Troy. The wind suddenly disappeared and all of those boats had to dock in Aulis and wait for wind.  And that is where this story begins.”

c.    Pick up a copy of “Iphigenia at Aulis.”

d.    “Take a copy as you leave. The play is due in two weeks.

e.    What is due next week? The essay.

f.     What is due in two weeks? The play.”

 

 

Teacher Assessment

 

·  Did I get the students actively engaged?

·  Did I get the students thinking about what tragedy is?

·  Did they leave with a clear understanding about what the essay is to include?

·  Did they leave with a clear understanding of when the assignments are due?

·  Did everyone participate? Mark in grade book.