Theatre - Drama Curriculum Guide

Description

Middle School Drama is a trimester elective course meeting every other day for 40-minute sessions, open to students in grades 5-8. The curriculum consists of two student-centered units designed around the artistic processes of creating, performing, responding, and connecting to works of art. Unit 1 focuses on character development, dramatic essentials, and collaborative playmaking, culminating in a play festival. Unit 2 examines world theatre traditions and comedy, with emphasis on Commedia Dell'Arte and improvisational performance. Throughout the year, students develop skills in acting, improvisation, collaboration, and design while working in a safe and supportive environment that builds confidence and communication abilities.

Big Ideas

• Theatre is a product of many skilled artists coming together whose collaboration is essential to create unity and harmony on stage.
• Character creation includes a writer's dialogue and action combined with an actor's physical, vocal, and emotional choices.
• Rehearsal and reflection are necessary for actors and other skilled artists to improve their craft.
• Theatrical spaces reveal the values of their audiences and both are constantly evolving over time.
• Stock characters create opportunities for comedy when performers exaggerate physical and vocal choices.

Essential Questions

• How does a play become a play, and who contributes to that process?
• What are the fundamental tools that actors and writers have to create characters?
• Why do performers rehearse, and what is the value of reflection in the rehearsal process?
• How do theatres themselves reflect a culture, and how has theatre changed over time and space?
• How do improvisors work together to create comedy when their characters are in conflict?