Theatre Arts 5
Description
The fifth grade theatre arts course teaches students how to stage group performance pieces from American contemporary plays, children’s stories, poetry, or original theatrical works. Through this process students study and discuss the different components of stage production: writers, producers, directors, designers, stage managers, technicians, backstage crew, and performers. They learn how to strengthen group performance skills with lessons that develop physical centeredness, relaxation, emotional concentration, stage presence, strong vocalization, clear articulation, and dynamic vocal inflections. This is all accomplished through class acting improvisations, group exercises, partnered scene work, and a rigorous rehearsal process. By the end of the course, students will have studied the fundamental components of theatre arts; stage voice and speech; and basic acting/directing terms needed to support their end-of-the-quarter studio performance.
Objectives
- to develop introductory level theatre arts vocabulary
- to gain confidence using one’s own individual voice and body on stage
- to share openly creative ideas in a group setting
- to feel a part of a group project working towards a common goal
- to trust the creative process and the role of the director in building the artistic vision for the final performance project
- to study and interpret a piece of theatre with the goal of educating, entertaining, or inspiring an audience
Theatre Arts 6
Description
The sixth grade theatre arts course teaches students how to read, study, interpret, and stage selected scenes from a contemporary or classical piece of dramatic literature. Through this process students acquire more advanced theatre arts terminology; stage voice and speech techniques; and acting/directing skills. Students present research projects on the playwright, the play’s production history, and the play’s contribution to dramatic literature. The research is then incorporated into the rehearsal process to support historical references in the play, storyline discussions, character development, directorial analysis, staging choices, and acting styles appropriate to the play selection. By the end of the course, students will have a significant acting role performing either by themselves or in a group scene.
Objectives
- to learn how to read, research, and study dramatic literature as a performance piece
- to develop a broader theatre arts vocabulary
- to recognize the importance of maintaining an organized script throughout the rehearsal process
- to apply stage directions, blocking techniques, and stage movement
- to understand the actor as an artist whose craft is illuminating human behavior
- to learn why the actor’s voice and body are the primary instruments of study
- to understand the who, where, when, and what of a play to learn how to work together as a small theatre production company to trust each other’s performance as a significant part of the whole company to create a simple costume and prop design appropriate for the production
Theatre Arts 7
Description
The seventh grade theatre arts curriculum teaches students how to adapt a children’s story for the school’s annual winter ceremony. The students are introduced to storytelling vocal techniques, staging children’s theatre, musical numbers, and visual storybook production values. Then they help explore and define the choreography and blocking sequences that stage the story. Students are also expected to design and contribute to the program artwork, props, costumes, and set pieces. This course continues to develop advance performance techniques and a broader theatre arts vocabulary. Throughout the rehearsal process, students will study the differences between presentational acting and representational acting and their influence on acting styles and directorial choices.
Objectives
- to appreciate the traditional elements behind an annual production
- to understand the elements involved when staging an annual production
- to develop a children’s story with music and dance
- to learn children’s theatre blocking and staging techniques
- to develop character voices appropriate for children’s theatre
- to illustrate a children’s story for audiences of all ages
- to create, design, and build costumes and props
- to submit artwork for the winter program playbill
- to learn how theatre arts illuminates human behavior either by presentational acting or representational acting
- to understand different theatrical styles and how the actor applies physical and vocal choices based on style
Theatre Arts 8
Description
The eighth grade theatre arts course gives students the opportunity to produce a full-length staged production of a contemporary play, classical play, or original script. Students choose to direct, co-direct, work as the production stage manager, assist with dramaturgical research, or perform. Student directors and stage managers are responsible for steering the overall production, incorporating research, organizing rehearsals, creating design concepts, and mounting the production. Performers are responsible for presenting individual character analysis and script analysis during the rehearsal process. These are combined with an in-depth understanding of the rehearsal process, rehearsal objectives, rehearsal etiquette, and performance etiquette. By the end of the quarter, students gain a cumulative awareness and respect for the “world of theatre” and why the arts are a primary source of personal and social education.
Objectives
- to stage and perform selections from a piece of dramatic literature with an appreciation and understanding of how theatre arts weave all communities together
- to have opportunities for directing, managing, researching, or performing
- to learn advanced blocking and staging techniques appropriate to the “world of the play”
- to learn advanced character and script analysis appropriate to the “world of the play”
- to study the physical and psychological demands of different styles
- to understand how an actor adjusts to different styles
- to value and appreciate the cumulative theatrical process involved in mounting a full- length production
- to understand how each role in the production process is an integral part of a shared theatrical experience