WGHS DRAMA
YEAR 8 HANDBOOK Student Handbook
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EST [email protected] Year 8 Scheme of Work
You will spend the year working practically in class and at the same time working through this handbook. You will be assessed on the performances that you give throughout the course. These will test your acting skills and understanding of how drama works. You will also be tested on your knowledge of Drama in the summer exam. Unit of Work Name of Scheme Method of Assessment 1 Commedia dell’Arte Group Performance + Summer Exam 2 Sound and Music Summer Exam 3 Improvisation Skills Pair Performance + Summer Exam 4 Creating Tension Group Performance + Summer Exam 5 Documentary Theatre Group Performance + Summer Exam
Year 8 Drama Keywords Commedia dell’Arte Foley Lazzi Echo Scenario Reverb Improvisation Distortion Stock Character Filter Pantalone Cue Il Dottore Underscore Arlecchino Motif Il Capitano Instrumentation Isabella Orchestration Ottavio Accepting Columbina Blocking Pulcinella Advancing Brighella Objective Vecchi Corpsing Zanni Suspense Innamorati Tension Soundscape Sympathetic Suspense Sound effect Dramatic Irony SFX Suspense of Ignorance Recorded Sound Performance Suspense Live Sound Conflict Diegetic Rising Tension Non-Diegetic Climax Volume Anti-Climax Fade Documentary Theatre Crossfade Docudrama Verbatim Theatre Living Newspaper
Drama Skills and Levels
CREATING PERFORMING EVALUATING Level
I work as part of a group and can I remember some lines and co-operate I can discuss the plot of a play. I can co-operate with others. I can create with others on stage. I can show a write/talk in simple statements about a simple character and develop simple role through speech, movement my practical work and identify some some speech in role. I can focus and gesture. I sometimes face the targets for improvement. 3 for some of the time in rehearsal. audience.
I listen to and co-operate with I remember most of my part and stay in I can identify features of good others, sometimes suggesting role for most of my performance. I can performance work. I can write/talk in ideas to develop my own role. I can speak in role and show some support full sentences about my strengths and create a character who is different for others on stage. I am aware of what weaknesses and identify targets for from myself. I can stay focused for I want to communicate to an audience. improvement. 4 most of the time in rehearsal.
I can stay focused throughout I can speak clearly and use movement I can identify strengths and rehearsal and suggest some ideas and gesture to show a character. I can weaknesses in both my work and that to develop the work and roles. I stay in role on stage and provide of others. I can write/talk thoughtfully can create a well-developed reasonable support for others in about the skills and processes of character with a viewpoint different performance. I can convey ideas to an drama. My writing shows a 5 from my own and shape work into audience through my stage work. reasonable level of literacy. a satisfactory dramatic structure.
I suggest lots of ideas to develop work and roles, helping others I have good voice and movement skills I can compare drama interpretations, sensitively in rehearsal. I can and can convey well- sustained and approaches and styles. My create drama in a variety of styles convincing characters with confidence evaluations show a high level of and devise a range of well- and some originality. I support others understanding of the skills and developed characters with well on stage. I can convey complex processes of drama through extended 6 extended roles. I can use some ideas to an audience through my stage writing/speaking and a good level of exploratory drama techniques. work. literacy.
I can lead others sensitively, I have excellent control over all aspects I can analyse and evaluate keeping a positive working of stage performance, showing playscripts, styles and genres atmosphere and making confidence, originality and commitment perceptively. I write/talk analytically contributions which significantly in role. I provide sensitive support for and in depth about drama skills, improve the effectiveness of the others on stage, and my performance processes and techniques using 7 work. I can develop a variety of has a major contribution in conveying drama terminology and show a high characters and create and explore the play’s intentions to an audience. level of literacy. drama for a range of purposes.
I work with total commitment and I have complete control over all aspects I show an excellent understanding of sensitivity in a group, leading and of stage performance and can display drama genres, styles, conventions inspiring others. I experiment originality and create impact within a and techniques. My evaluation is creatively with drama conventions range of acting styles. I support other perceptive, analytical and detailed, and techniques, using my own performers superbly and demonstrate a showing original insight. I use drama 8 initiative to develop work with a very high level of audience awareness. terminology with accuracy and display high degree of originality. excellent literacy skills.
Performance Report Levels and Scores
LEVEL WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE Score GRADE
89- A1 6 or I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills, 100 above working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience. Exceptional. 76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills, working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience. Excellent. 63-75 A3 4/5 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills, working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience. Very good. 50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills, working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience. Good. 39-50 B2 3/4 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience. Reasonable.
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills, contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience. Satisfactory.
13-25 D 3 or I show restricted use of acting skills, offering little in below the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience. Restricted.
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills, offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience. Little.
Unit 1: Commedia dell’Arte Exercise 1.1: The Background to Commedia dell’Arte
Commedia dell’Arte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century. The phrase means literally Links to Commedia Resources “The Comedy of Art” but can also be translated as “The https://youtu.be/SNWlW-pABQs Professional Theatre”. http://www.factionoffools.org/includes/Curriculu m%20Guide%202011.pdf It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s0j8t including Shakespeare, pantomime, silent movies and sit-coms! http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zpfk6sg/ Commedia uses masks, physical comedy, improvisation and revision/5 character types that are seen again and again. These are called stock characters. http://libguides.tts.edu.sg/c.php?g=48365&p=30 9148
The three types of main characters: Vecchi – Old Men and masters
Innamorati – young lovers, usually the sons and daughters of masters Zanni – servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas, such as plazas. The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario – a well-known story that had been agreed before the show. Many of the actors were skilled at dancing, acrobatics and music. As part of the show, many actors would have set comic routines, called lazzi – (Italian for ‘joke, comic routine). These could be sometimes quite rude! Unlike Shakespeare, Commedia became famous for employing female actresses, including Vincenza Armani, who is the fest documented female actor in theatre history, performing in 1566. We get the term primadonna, which means ‘first lady’ from female actors in Commedia. Look at the images on the previous page. Can you tell anything about the style of performance? Imagine you were describing how a Commedia performance looks in real life. Write a description below:
Choose three of the characters listed below. Researching each character on the internet, find out as much as you can about their appearance, movement and character type. Draw and describe in the space below: Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Unit 1.2: Lazzi and Thinking Funny!
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances. Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing. The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time!
Examples of Lazzi:
Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies, each more stupid than the last. Optionally, the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty.
Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor, and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients.
Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner. He continually seasons the dish, then tastes it, then adds more seasoning, tastes again, and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot.
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die. Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs.
Imagine a scene, where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly ‘boo!’ This is the lazzo of surprise. The comedy comes from how different characters respond. Pantalone could, for example, clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor. In response, zanni could leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe, causing Pantalone to bend over in agony. And so on.. What reactions could you have from other character? A servant girl, a young lady, another servant… Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time:
Unit 2: Sound and Music Exercise 2.1: The Uses of Sound in Drama
Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance. They can help create atmosphere or mood. Sound can be used to suggest location or actions. Music can also suggest themes or character. Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded
Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies, or with small props This is sometimes called foley. When lots of actors create a sound, it can be called a soundscape.
Sound can also be produced using technology, with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system.
With technology, you can add effects to sound such as reverb, echo or distortion. You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier. You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving.
Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects. You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension:
Scene: A city school playground in the summer
MAISIE: Hey Jo! Hey!
JO: What?
MAISIE: Take your headphones out! I can hear your music, it’s so loud!
JO: Wait a minute, let me turn it off. What is it?
MAISIE: Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday?
JO: I wasn’t there.
MAISIE: I know. Guess which supercute boy I was talking to.
JO: Who? Not Cameron?
MAISIE: It’s too noisy out here. Let’s go inside.
They dash to the nearby gymnasium.
JO: What happened?
MAISIE: Your name might have been mentioned.
JO: What? You have to tell me what he said.
MAISIE: Wait! What was that?
JO: It’s nothing. For God’s sake, tell me now!
Exercise 2.2: Foley Sound Effects and Creativity
Foley Artists work in movies and TV, adding or dubbing sound. They do this to add sounds that don’t get picked up when the original sound was being recorded.
Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound. Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds.
For example:
The sound of punching – can be made by headbutting a lettuce! An egg hatching – can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone! Bones crunching – can be made by twisting a celery stick! Footsteps in the wood – can be made by crunching potato crisps!
Look at the pictures below. Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating. Be imaginative!:
Exercise 2.3 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape. They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application. You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together.
When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place, like the playground in the previous exercise, this is called a diegetic sound, meaning it actually is in the world of the drama. Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters don’t actually hear the sound – it’s not in the world of the drama.
For each of these locations, suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape. The first one has been done for you:
A busy newspaper office. London. 9am Keyboard tapping Telephones ringing Distant sound of double decker bus Coffee machine An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales.
A busy family kitchen before the school run. Bradford.
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded. Midnight. Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3: Improvisation Skills Exercise 3:1 The Basics of Good Improvisation
Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along. Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else!
It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience, e.g. great characters, conflict, imaginative storytelling, working with others.
The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking. The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation.
If we block a suggestion from our partner, we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on.
If, on the other hand we accept the idea, we can begin to build on it.
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesn’t have to do all the work.
The most useful phrase to remember is “Yes, and…”!
It forces us to make statements.
This helps advance the improvisation!
Note that even though the reply starts with the question, the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because we’re in hell). Imagine you are on stage with your partner. They start the scene with the following statements. Without trying to think too much, imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea.
There’s nothing in the bag.
I’ve already told them that you are here.
I think that the picture should go there.
Stop that at once!
I’m really, really happy.
Just hit the undo button.
Well, look what the cat dragged in.
I’m your number one fan.
I think your mum is great.
Unit 4: How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 4.1: Suspense is the Key to Tension
We have all watched that TV show, seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense. Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens. Too little tension makes drama boring, just as too much makes it unbearable.
Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension.
There are three main types of suspense:
Sympathetic Suspense Suspense of Ignorance Performance Suspense
Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony. It is where the audience knows something that a character does not.
For example, in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter. Hearing her daughter come in through the front door, she hides the letter. Her daughter breezes in confidently, asking if the letter has arrived. Her mother lies and says it hasn’t. The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for. She starts looking on the university website at accommodation.
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen, when it’s going to happen, or why it is happening.
It is the suspense behind all mystery. Every time a question is asked, the audience will need to have that question answered. When you lose your keys, the question is “Where are my keys?” and you feel that tension of mystery.
Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door. We see them go towards the door and both viewer and character suffer the same tension. What’s behind the closed door?
Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous. Will the trapeze artist make the final jump? Will the sword swallower be OK? Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage?
Audience will watch, often holding their breath, and some will not be able to watch. The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger.
Look at the following situations. For each one, write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense, suspense of ignorance, performance suspense. Be careful, some examples may have two types of suspense involved:
In a crime thriller, we see some bank robbers take Type/s: members of the public hostage. As our hero police officer arrives, one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield. Our hero Reason: decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber. Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target. If she is off by an inch, she will wound the hostage. She holds her breath and gently squeezes the trigger…
In a rom com, the male lead tells his friend that Type/s: after months of not being able to work up the nerve, he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date. The movie cuts to the female lead Reason: talking to her friend, who asks her what she thinks about the male lead. The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand, saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend, or a brother. The movie cuts back to the male lead, confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gift…
In a spy film, the lead comes back to his apartment Type/s: and discovers that it has been ransacked. The floor is littered with papers and furniture, someone has obviously been searching frantically for something. Reason: Suddenly he hears a noise in the bathroom….
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII. We Type/s: see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend. “I’m so happy. I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Reason: Queen for ever.”
In a TV detective show, the programme opens on a Type/s: beautiful mansion at night. We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool. The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool Reason: pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution. Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume. The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing. The background music sounds ominous.
Exercise 4.2: Creating Rising Tension and Climax
Once tension has been created, it’s the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension.
Whichever way the tension is released, the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax.
For example, think about a disaster movie. There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in. As the water level rises, the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes. As the water hits the ceiling, there are several options for the writer:
They die! The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad. There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them: e.g. they escape through a window, Superman rescues them. The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy. The water levels go slowly down again. The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy.
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience:
Timing – how long will the audience endure this climax. Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension. Music – The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger. Lighting – Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour, like red, can make the audience feel more danger. Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense. Silence – sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension. Distraction – sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story, leaving the audience wanting to know what happening.
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie. The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her. Unarmed, she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end. Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension. Describe each shot in seconds.
Exercise 4.3: Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension
All drama needs conflict to create tension. The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective.
Character Complication Conflict objective or Obstacle
There are about seven types of conflict. Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films, books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict:
Conflict Type Description Example from film, TV, literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other. Who will gain the upper hand?
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality. They may have may have competing desires, one good and one evil.
Person vs Fate / Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else. They seem to have little freedom.
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature, perhaps for survival.
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them. To get what they what they have to rebel in some way.
Person vs Unknown / A character has to struggle against Supernatural an alien or unexplained phenomenon.
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesn’t appear to be sympathetic to humans.
Unit 5: Documentary Theatre Exercise 5.1: Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts. The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues.
The earliest forms of Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s.
In those days, they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays.
When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama. Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this.
When you see on a movie poster: “Based on a true story” you can refer to it as docudrama!
Make a list below of TV shows, movies, books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events.
Exercise 5.2 Documentary Theatre Techniques
When working on Documentary Theatre, there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well:
Choose a good factual event! A good factual event often has an interesting build up, which adds dramatic tension. Show the drama from different perspectives / viewpoints Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event Base your drama on the facts, not your opinions. Build a clear timeline of what happened. This can help create scene ideas. If you jump from location to location, or back and forward in time, make sure it’s clear to the audience. Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text, speeches, testimony by witnesses). This is called verbatim, when you use the original text word for word.
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with. Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia), include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on, and outline three potential scene ideas.
Name of Event and Date:
Useful web pages for research: a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints / Character ideas: a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas: a)
b)
c)
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future:
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future:
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future:
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future:
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future:
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment: Unit of Assessment:
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you did well in terms of your acting skills?:
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook, look at the Creating and Performing sections. What do you think that you could have improved on?:
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Teacher Performing Teacher Evaluation Teacher Report Level Level Level Level
My targets for improving my performance for the future: