Unit 1 — Characters - Dramatic Essentials
Description
This opening unit focuses on the fundamental roles of the theatrical process. Students gain experience as actors, writers, designers, and directors while developing a short theatrical production. The unit begins with character development, where students embody circumstances and wants through vocal and physical choices. Students then move into writing, imagining how circumstances and wants create conflict in storytelling. Collaborative playmaking includes time devoted to theatrical design, with students making choices about costumes, props, and sets. The unit culminates in a play festival where students celebrate completed work and reflect on the process of dramatic development.
Essential Questions
- How does a play become a play? What are the steps to making a play happen? Who contributes to that process?
- What are the fundamental tools that actors and writers have to create characters?
- Why do performers rehearse? What is the value of reflection in the rehearsal process?
Learning Objectives
- Build trust and establish group norms.
- Make choices to embody truthful choices in performance.
- Analyze the fundamental elements of story structure.
- Use empathy to understand characters' emotional circumstances.
- Develop and resolve conflicts in storytelling.
- Reflect on the individual's role in the process of developing a play.
- Analyze how design elements enhance truth in performance.
Supplemental Resources
- Markers and chart paper for blocking techniques and character development planning.
- Index cards for character background and motivation notes.
- Lined journals for scene writing and reflection.
- Sticky notes for peer feedback on performances and character choices.
- Blank booklets for student publishing of original scenes.
Visual Arts - Creating
Visual Arts - Presenting
Students write and perform original scenes and monologues, developing narrative techniques and dialogue that support character development and story structure. Students engage in collaborative discussion, peer review, and reflection on dramatic work.
Students examine theatrical spaces and traditions from different cultures and historical periods, analyzing how cultural perspectives influence theatrical work and understanding the historical context of performance traditions such as Commedia Dell'Arte.
Formative Assessments
- Improvisation: participate in group games and individual improvisation scenario practice in preparation for performance.
- Scene writing: write and perform original scenes created collaboratively in small groups.
- Monologues: read aloud informal monologues and other public speaking in response to informal topics in preparation for writing.
- Peer reviews and informal observations of student work.
- Quick writes and self-assessment reflections.
Summative Assessment
Monologue performances read aloud following specific elements outlined in the established monologue rubric; theatrical performance in a play festival in which students celebrate the class' work and reflect on the process of dramatic development.
Benchmark Assessment
A short improvisation or scene performance task in which students demonstrate understanding of character wants, circumstances, and truthful choices. Students perform a brief scenario and explain the character decisions they made, assessing mastery of fundamental character development and story structure elements covered in Unit 1.
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate character development understanding through guided discussion with a teacher or small group, using visual character trait cards or role-playing prompts to show vocal and physical choices. Written or drawn character profiles with sentence frames may replace written scene analysis.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
During character development and improvisation work, provide visual or written prompts that outline the key elements of a scene (character, want, obstacle) to help students organize their thinking before performing. Students who find extended writing challenging may benefit from dictating or verbally rehearsing scene ideas with a partner or scribe before drafting collaboratively. For the monologue performance, allow students to hold a printed copy of their text and offer additional rehearsal time so that the focus remains on expressive delivery rather than memorization. Break the playmaking process into clearly sequenced steps with checklists so students can track their progress across the unit.
Section 504
Provide preferential seating during ensemble discussions and audience feedback moments to minimize distraction and support focus. Allow extended time for written components such as scene drafts, quick writes, and self-assessment reflections. During the monologue performance and play festival, ensure the performance space is arranged to reduce sensory overwhelm where possible, and give students advance notice of transitions between activities.
ELL / MLL
Introduce and display key drama vocabulary — such as character, conflict, circumstance, want, and obstacle — with visual supports and brief examples throughout the unit so students can reference terms during both creative and reflective tasks. Use demonstration and modeling to convey the expectations for improvisation and scene work, reducing reliance on verbal-only directions. When students are developing characters and writing scenes collaboratively, allow them to brainstorm and discuss ideas in their home language before sharing or drafting in English. Simplified written prompts and sentence starters can support participation in quick writes and self-assessment reflections.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect the unit's character and storytelling work to students' own experiences and interests so that the creative entry points feel personally meaningful and achievable. Pair students strategically during collaborative scene writing so that peer support is built into the process, and check in early and often to provide feedback before minor confusion grows into frustration. Reduce the complexity of written scene drafts where needed — a brief outline or spoken walkthrough of the scene can serve as a scaffold toward a fuller draft. Emphasize verbal and physical performance strengths throughout the unit, since the dramatic context naturally allows students to demonstrate understanding in nontraditional ways.
Gifted & Talented
Challenge students to analyze how a character's circumstances and wants reflect broader social or cultural contexts, pushing beyond surface-level character choices toward more nuanced and empathetic performance decisions. In the scene writing phase, encourage students to experiment with non-linear narrative structures or multiple perspectives to deepen their understanding of story architecture. Students who are ready for greater complexity can take on expanded roles in the collaborative playmaking process — such as serving as a dramaturg who supports peers' design and storytelling choices — or develop a more sophisticated original piece that intentionally layers conflict and subtext. Reflection prompts for these students can be extended to include analysis of how theatrical design choices communicate meaning beyond dialogue.