Lesson Plan-Theatre Role Definitions PDF

WHAT IS THEATRE LESSON 2 OBJECTIVE To explore who’s who in the theatre DESCRIPTION In this lesson, students will learn in action about three theatre roles: the playwright, the director, and the actor...

WHAT IS THEATRE LESSON 2 OBJECTIVE To explore who’s who in the theatre DESCRIPTION In this lesson, students will learn in action about three theatre roles: the playwright, the director, and the actor. They will take a story and present it using those three roles. TIME MANAGEMENT This lesson is scheduled for one class period. A class period is defined as 75 minutes. If your classes are longer or shorter, adjust accordingly. Additional ensemble-building exercises are included at the end of the lesson if needed. MATERIALS Lesson 2 Slide Deck ○ The slide deck covers all instruction and exercises for the lesson if you want both visual and verbal instruction. Exit Slip INTRODUCTION 1. Entry Prompt (5 minutes) a. Students enter class and respond to the following in their journals. If you don’t use journals, have students write on a separate sheet of paper, or use the prompt as a discussion starter. i. Write about trying to convince a friend to go to a stage show instead of a movie. 2. Follow-up Discussion (10 minutes) a. Have students share the benefits of live theatre versus a film. i. Some examples: 1. You get to be in the presence of the actors instead of just seeing them on screen. 2. Each performance happens that way only one time. 3. You might be supporting your friends and community members. Drama Teacher 1 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY  b. Ask students: What it is like to have a role in stage versus film. What do you think is the difference? What would you prefer and why? c. Ask them which roles people in a theatre production have. You can also extend the conversation to see what positions are similar in theatre and film—writer (play/screen), director, actor, etc. 3. Warm-up: Group “Up” (10 minutes) Repeat this warm-up from Lesson 1. By repeating games, students will become familiar with them and the games eventually become part of their routine. You could start keeping a tally of how many times the group can work together to keep the balloon in the air. Give them a prize for reaching a certain number (e.g., five minutes of phone time at the end of a class). Or use one of the ensemble-building additional activities at the end of this lesson. a. Have students stand in a circle. b. Use a non-helium-filled balloon. c. Tell students that they are going to work together as a group to keep the balloon from hitting the ground. They are working as an ensemble (a group working together to achieve a goal). d. Count the number of students and tell them that they are going to have to keep the balloon from hitting the ground for that number of hits (or you can double it). For example, you have 24 students. Okay, everyone. Your goal is to keep the balloon from hitting the ground, and you have to keep the balloon floating by tapping it 24 (or 48) times. e. Let them know that each student can only tap the balloon one time and then they have to kneel or sit down on the ground. (This causes a type of obstacle course, so remind students to watch their hands and feet since others might be moving.) f. If the balloon hits the ground, the game starts back at zero. g. Side coaching tip: Remind students not to get mad at each other or themselves; watch for students not following the one-tap rule (if you double the number, each student gets to tap two times). Enjoy the cheer that goes up when they complete the task. h. NOTE: Try to use a non-latex balloon in case students have a latex allergy. 4. Warm-up: Yes (5 minutes) NOTE: During this game, introduce the vocabulary word cue during your explanation. A cue is a word or signal for something to happen. a. Have students stand in a circle. b. Select a student to start. c. Student A points to someone across the circle and says their name (student B), d. That is Student B’s cue to respond by saying “yes.” e. When student B says “yes,” that is student A’s cue to leave their spot and walk toward student B to take their spot. f. Student B then points across the circle to another student (student C) and says their name. g. Student C responds by saying “yes” and student B then leaves their spot to walk to and take Student C’s spot. Drama Teacher 2 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY  h. Keep in mind that the student who points and says the name is not allowed to leave their spot until they hear the cue “yes” which allows them to leave. i. This warm-up sounds deceptively simple, but you’ll see students leaving their spot early so remind them to stay still until they hear “yes.” j. The goal is to move so quickly that the walking person never gets to the next person’s spot before they leave. 5. Exercise: Playwright, Director, Actor (30 minutes) a. Have students get into groups of three. b. Have each student share a story that involves only two people. It can be something that happened to them and a friend, two people they know, or two people they’ve heard about. Encourage them to not use a story that is from TV or film. c. Once they’ve all shared their stories, let them know that they’re going to work together to act out one of the stories. They should agree on which story was the most interesting and would be easiest to stage d. The person who told the selected story will direct the other two. It’s important to have students rehearse in their groups all at once so there’s a “low risk” environment for those who are a little shy. e. Once you’ve given them time to rehearse, ask for volunteers to come up in front of the class to present their scenes. Be sure that only those who are ready to perform in front of the class this early in the year are the ones who present. 6. Follow-up Discussion (5 minutes) a. After the exercise, have a discussion about “who’s who in theatre.” b. Identify the following: i. Coming up with the story is the playwright’s role. A playwright writes the play. ii. Directing the story is the director’s role. A director oversees the production. Their job is to unify all aspects from acting to staging pictures. They must also define a vision for stage lighting, sound, set, and costumes that all crew members and actors must follow. Sometimes the playwright and the director are the same person, but most often, they are not. iii. Acting in the story is the actor’s role. An actor meshes the words of the playwright and the direction of the director to bring a character to life. c. You only need to address the playwright, director, and actor from this lesson. Your “who’s who” can grow throughout the school year. 7. Who’s Who in Theatre Wall (5 minutes) a. Create a “who’s who in the theatre” poster for your wall. One way to do it is to introduce categories for who’s who, like Artistic, Production, and Business. After this unit, go ahead and add: Playwright, Director, and Actor under the Artistic category. Drama Teacher 3 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY  8. Exit Slip (5 minutes) a. Have students complete their exit slip and hand it in at the end of class. i. In your own words, write definitions of the playwright, director, and actor. ASSESSMENT SUGGESTIONS You do not have to use all of these. Nor should you! Feel free to adjust or add in alternative assessment methods through observation, questions, and even written assessments. Exit Slips ○ Pass/Fail. Give an A for a submitted, complete exit slip and an F for failure to submit or an incomplete submission. ○ OR GIve a mark of 10 for a submitted, complete exit slip. Journals: Are the responses in full sentences with attention to grammar and punctuation? Is the entry a surface or in-depth answer? ○ Pass/Fail. Give an A for a complete journal entry that follows the above criteria and an F for a missing or incomplete entry. ○ OR give a mark of 10 for a complete journal entry that follows the above criteria (or the criteria that you set out as part of your procedures). SEL Assessment ○ Check the SEL document for Unit 1 for SEL connections as possible assessments. For example, how do students demonstrate active listening in the class discussions? Discussions and Exercises ○ Observe students for their effort and engagement. We have also included an Effort and Engagement Rubric with the unit. ADDITIONAL ENSEMBLE-BUILDING EXERCISES If you find the tasks in this lesson don’t fill up your class period, you can never go wrong with additional ensemble-building exercises. Examples: Knots Everyone stands in a circle and joins hands. Explain that it’s important to the game that they hold hands throughout. Mix up the group. Choose one person to step forward (who is still holding hands with the people on either side) and get them to duck under the joined arms of another pair across the circle. Choose another person to step over the joined arms of another pair. Keep mixing them up until nobody could possibly make another move. The result should be a total tangled mess. Tell the group they have two minutes to unscramble themselves. Encourage students to talk to one another and to collectively decide what move to make next. Drama Teacher 4 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY  It doesn’t really matter if they restore the circle within the time limit. What does matter is that they learn to make choices together, trust one another, and communicate effectively with one another. You can also do this with smaller ensemble circles. Bean Bag/Object/Tennis Ball Toss Stand in a circle. Start by tossing one bean bag across the circle. Establish a rhythm of catching and tossing. When you have the rhythm down, add in a tennis ball. When that is stable, throw in a different type of ball. Keep adding in objects until it’s impossible to keep them all in the air. If one drops, start over. Unit Vocabulary You could also take time to review the unit vocabulary. Can everyone define the terms in their own words? Theatre Playwright Director Actor Cue Drama Teacher 5 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY  WHAT IS THEATRE EXIT SLIP Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________ In your own words, write definitions of the playwright, director, and actor. Drama Teacher 6 © 2016, 2023 Karen Loftus ACADEMY