Theatre Class
The question you're answering.
Login to flag as inappropriate
I am teaching a theatre class at our private high school this year. I am beginning from "scratch". Anyone have ideas on curriculum, projects, etc. I am looking forward to your input.
6 Answers
Theatre classes ..awesome on really a great deal of work out here because job in a theatre school is areally tough one you have be particular to every fine detail of the art has to be explained it gives them the correct perspective of what they are learning and how they have to learn it, a good cirriculum is required indeed so that it becomes helpful for both the instructor and the learner.
Hi Rachel,
Here's a sample curriculum that I came up with. I also make sure to add Theatre Ettiquette, Theatre Safety, and Technical Theatre.
Drama/Acting I Semester
Sample Curriculum
Created by David Bell
Week 1
Lecture: History of Theatre; Greek Theatre (Dionysis, Thespis)
Ceremony/Tradition
Activities: Parts of the Stage/Theatre
Research Scene from Greek Tragedy
Week 2
Lecture: History; Middle/Dark Ages (Roman/Latin works,
introduction of a raised stage)
Activities: Storytelling, Pantomime
Week 3
Lecture: History; Passion Plays/Reformation, Elizabethan Period
Shakespeare
Activities: Vocal Technique and Movement and Emotion
Examples of Shakespeare’s influence on Modern Cinema
Week 4
Lecture: History; Shakespeare continued
Activities: Improvisation to convey emotion and idea
Week 5
Lecture: History; Reformation, (French-Moliere, Italian Comedia Del Arte)
Activities: Create masks and create a stock character to portray in a scene
Week 6
Lecture: History; 18th, & 19th Century Influences (Ibsen, Chekhov, Shaw)
Activities: Emotional Recall and Sample Scene
Week 7
Lecture: 20th Century & Musical Theatre (Zeigfield, Rogers/Hammerstein, Gilbert/Sullivan)
Activities: Reader’s Theatre Project Research
Week 8
Lecture: Blocking and Stage Direction
Activity: Reader’s Theatre Project
Week 9
Lecture: Text and Subtext
Activity: Text and Subtext Short Scene
Week 10
Lecture: Character Study and Development (Back-story)
Activity: Character Analysis
Week 11
Lecture: Technical Theatre/Stagecraft
Activities: Set/Scene Design Model Construction/Drawing
Short Monologue selection/preparation
Week 12
Lecture: Stage Lighting and Special FX
Activity: Lighting Collage and Instrument Identification
Monologue Preparation
Week 13
Lecture: Costume/make-up
Activities: Costume Plot, Make-up Demo
Monologue Performances
Week 14
Lecture: Scene Development arc
Activities: Scene Selection/Research
Week 15
Lecture: Individual Scene Staging and Prep
Activities: Scene Preparation
Weeks 16 and 17
Lecture/Activities: Scene Preparation/Rehearsal & Performance
Week 18
Lecture/Activities: Scene Performances/Semester Review & Exam
Rachel,
I'd love to chat about the cirriculum you have developed as well. I am working on creating a series of offstage "practicums" available to ages 12 and up. I am not as familiar with cirriculum for this age group since I have mostly worked with ages 3-13 in the past.
Stephanie, although my cirriculum has been for younger than highschool, I always teach material in a progressive manner. I broke each skill set down to its core and work with each age/learning level on their playing feild. This way, as the progress through the program, they are building on the simplicity of the skill set from the level below. I haven't yet has students reach the high school level, but within the next 2 years, will have students ready for the highschool levels. Perhaps we might be able to share ideas?
Let me know!
Rachel
If it's an Intro to Theatre kind of a class, you might want to try to give them a little taste of everything. Starts with the basics:
SETS, COSTUMES, LIGHTING, SOUND, DIRECTING, PLAYWRITING, STAGE MANAGEMENT, ACTING (pardon me if I left anything out)
With every project, have them learn sort of the essence of what these sections mean. Final project idea... have some write a 10 minute play and then get kids to act it out while someone directs them and other kids contribute to costumes/lighting/sets. I had a really good intro to poetry class that operated under the fundamentals of (Let's analyze this piece of work for 30 mins, and then the next 30 mins lets mimic the style they use and see how it works for you). Applying that to an intro to theater class would be something like (This is what a lighting designer does, let's see how applicable it would be to our fictional production of Oklahoma). While you teach the kids what a section is about, you can use show examples and expose them to that too..