WGHS DRAMA YEAR 8 HANDBOOK Student Handbook Name:……………………………………………………………… Form:………………………………………………………………. 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.