Course Profile Dramatic Arts, Grade 10,
Open, Public
Unit 2: Finding Truth
Time: 20 hours
Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4
In this unit, students improvise to identify and explore personal roles and masks used within their own lives. They reconstruct their experiences which show distinct attitudes such as cynicism, optimism, or stoicism. They look for the truth in the portrayal of characters in their own role playing. They develop roles that clearly express a range of feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. They analyse media constructions, identify stereotypes and learn how to differentiate between “media reality” and everyday life. They learn how and why masks are used as devices and symbols. While some students may make masks, all students use masks to learn about movement and clear communication using the body.
Strand(s): Theory, Creation, Analysis
Overall Expectations: THV.01X, CRV.01X, CRV.02X, ANV.03X, ANV.04X.
Specific Expectations: TH1.01X, TH1.04X, TH2.04X, TH3.02X, TH3.03X, TH3.04X, TH3.05X, TH3.07X, CR1.01X, CR1.02X, CR1.03X, CR1.04X, CR1.08X, CR2.02X, AN1.01X, AN1.06X, AN1.07X, AN2.02X, AN2.03X, AN2.04X.
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Activity 1 |
Improvisation on Personal Roles |
225 minutes |
|
Activity 2 |
Deconstructing Media Images of Character and Stereotypes |
300 minutes |
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Activity 3 |
Whole Group Role Play: Images of Truth |
375 minutes |
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Activity 4 |
Using Masks: Presenting Truth Through Artifice |
300 minutes |
· all expectations met within the course up to this point.
· reasonable comfort in taking risks together in exercises and improvisational activities.
· an understanding that “games” are learning activities.
· experience demonstrating respect for others through listening in whole group discussions.
· some experience expressing ideas and emotions through gesture and movement
Key questions which frame this unit are:
· What makes an authentic portrayal of character?
· What are the characteristics of shallow and complex role playing?
· How does the artifice of the mask exaggerate or hide the truth?
· What is a “mask”?
· Movement. Activity 3 involves movement as part of the whole-group role play structure. Calling the work “movement” rather than “dance” will help make the class more comfortable and open to the assignment. Cultural and gender differences may also be addressed better by using the term “movement.”
· Portfolios. Throughout this unit students will be using their portfolio which teachers should be prepared to use as an assessment tool.
· Stereotypes. Definition: a fixed, generalized, unjustified view of something or someone as being a type or kind. If a student portrays a stereotype in the classroom, the teacher should respond immediately in a positive, direct manner. Teachers should encourage students to examine the source of the information about the character they are playing. The goal of the teacher in this instance is to seize the ‘teachable moment’ and move the student to a new understanding and perspective on the complexity of all human beings. Teachers may achieve this by asking students if they truly think everyone in a particular group is exactly the same. The intent is to move from surface generalizations to deeper understanding.
· Selecting strategies. Teachers should make judicious selections from the strategies suggested, according to the needs and interests of their students.
· Sources. A wide variety of cultural sources should be considered throughout this unit, especially for Activities 3 and 4. Teachers should consider the cultural diversity in their class with examples and ideas drawn from as many cultures as appropriate.
· improvisation: pairs, small group, singles
· whole group drama, teacher-in-role
· theatre games and exercises
· writing
· collage making
· hot seating
· group discussion
· tableau
· mask
· ritual
· teacher narration
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.6 – Rubric for Evaluation of Whole Group Drama
Appendix 2.7 – Mask Evaluation
Appendix 2.8 – Drama Self-Assessment Form - The Quality of My Work
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.10 – Student Self-Assessment
Appendix 2.11 – Criteria for Observing Small Group Participation
Appendix 2.12 – Working with Movement, Mask, Design, and Sound
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Appendix 2.1 – Deconstructing a Media Text
Appendix 2.3 – Making Masking-Tape Masks
Appendix 2.4 – Mask Technique Guidelines
Appendix 2.5 – A Brief History of Masks
Appendix 2.14 – Rubric Building
Appendix 2.17 – Steps to Structure Whole Group Drama
Time: 225 minutes
This activity expands the teaching of Unit 1 and reinforces collaboration, improvisation, concentration and trust skills. Students begin to explore the concepts of role, perspective, language, attitude, and status. Dramatic structure is applied to processes and products.
Strand(s): Theory, Creation, Analysis
Overall Expectations
THV.01X - demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of role playing and dramatic works;
CRV.01X - use various ways to sustain a role within a drama;
CRV.02X - demonstrate an understanding of group responsibility in the creation of a drama;
ANV.03X - describe similarities in the dramatic arts of their own and other cultures in the global community;
ANV.04X - demonstrate an understanding of how role taking and the processes of drama are connected to their lives.
Specific Expectations
TH1.04X - demonstrate an understanding of the process of structuring drama (e.g., selection of source, choice of roles, negotiation of action);
TH2.04X - demonstrate the use of movement, gesture, and non-verbal communication to express ideas in a drama (e.g., mime);
TH3.02X - explain how dramatic forms may effectively communicate more than one perspective;
CR1.01X - demonstrate an understanding of methods for developing roles that clearly express a range of feelings attitudes and beliefs (e.g., interaction with other roles, research into the past, motivation);
CR1.03X - demonstrate an understanding of how role is communicated through language, gesture, costume props, and symbol;
AN1.01X - describe the skills, theories, and concepts being demonstrated as a drama is developed;
AN1.07X - demonstrate an understanding of universal meaning in drama;
AN2.02X - explain connections between their own lives and the metaphor or theme in a drama;
AN2.03X - demonstrate an understanding of the interactive process that promotes respect for the ideas, feelings, and perspectives of others in developing the roles and circumstances of a drama;
AN2.04X - analyse various roles to gain a deeper understanding of the personal and social beliefs inherent in a drama.
The teacher obtains or makes two or three sets of cards labelled 1 to 8, with a few extra 8s added into each set.
· a working knowledge of the fundamental forms of drama
· collaboration and problem-solving skills
The teacher tells the class that the activities are going to help them to better understand the roles people play in life. These are sometimes called “social masks.”
First Person to Third Person
The class forms two concentric circles of equal student numbers, facing each other about one metre apart. The teacher informs the class that they must all come to silence as soon as they see the lights flicker (or upon some other signal from the teacher). The outside circle are As; the inside circle are Bs. The As say “Tell me about yourself” and Bs talk as quickly as possible about themselves for 30 seconds. The teacher signals the group for silence and then moves the inside circle one or two partners to the right so that new partners are formed. It is now the Bs turn to say “Tell me about yourself” and As turn to talk non-stop for 30 seconds. The signal for silence is given again, followed by another move to the right and the instruction that B will talk about him/herself, but this time A will have to remember what B says and repeat it back to B exactly the way B said it. Students do the remembering/repeating part of the exercise with the same partner but reversing the listener role. The teacher asks the group “What difference did you notice in the quality of listening the last time?” and “Were there any changes in your partner’s focus?” The inner circle moves two people to the right again to form new partners.
The teacher models the next part of the exercise. After selecting a student to be his/her partner, the teacher instructs the student to say “Tell me about ___________ (teacher’s name).” The teacher then introduces him/herself as a third person in his/her life (i.e. “I am ________’s father and I remember when…”). The teacher stops and clarifies that s/he is speaking about him/herself in role as a third person who knows him/her. Students are then instructed to return to their partners and to try this exercise - As to talk first from the point of view of a third person in their lives, then Bs. After an appropriate time, the teacher asks:
· How did it feel to talk about yourself in the third person?
· Why did you choose that person as the one who would talk about you?
· What attitudes came through the third person role play?
· Does that third person see your social mask or the real you? Why?
Three Faces of Me
Ask the question “Have you ever noticed how people change the way they speak depending on who they're talking to?”, followed by a short discussion. Students form pairs and find a space in the classroom where they sit with their partner. They decide who is A and B. Instruct the As to stand and listen carefully. “You have just joined a team. Decide right now what kind of team that is. Your partner is going to take on three different roles, and you will have to explain to each of these characters one at a time why you joined the team.” Additional instruction may be needed to keep the reasons for joining positive. Instruct A to sit and B to stand. “B, your first role is that of A’s parent. You have often talked to A about getting more involved in school. A has just come home from school and wants to tell you something.” After a brief moment of silent preparation, students role play in pairs for about a minute. Then the teacher silences the group and instructs B to change his/her role. “B, you are a close friend of A who tried to join the team but didn’t make it. A has just come over to your house to tell you something.” After a brief moment of silent preparation, students role play in pairs for another minute. After the teacher signals for silence and instructs B to change his/her role. “B is now A’s girl/boyfriend. B doesn’t like the idea of A being on the team because B won’t get to see him/her very much. You are out on a date and discussing this.” Students role play the scene.
The teacher leads a discussion with the students framed by these questions:
· Person A has talked about the same thing to three different people. What changed about the way you talked?
· . Which of these faces/masks is really you? Students are instructed to think about this question and reflect upon it in a portfolio entry.
Note: The students will be making regular entries in a portfolio throughout this unit. The teacher reviews the purposes and procedures for a portfolio. The students will respond to specific tasks, generate their own questions, add pictures, photos, and articles of interest. The portfolio will be assessed and/or evaluated by the teacher using a checklist (see Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2), and the student will have an opportunity to self-assess.
Extension/Enrichment
A talks to another team-mate. Use other situations which effectively communicate more than one perspective, (i.e., A has been caught shoplifting and must talk to a parent, equally guilty friend, police officer).
In a whole class circle, students share their thoughts from their portfolio assignment: “Which of these faces is really you?”
The teacher also asks:
· Are you a simple or a complex character?
· Is it wrong to present different faces to different people?
· Why do we do this?
The teacher discusses with the class the hierarchical structures in the animal kingdom, giving the examples of predator/prey, alpha males in a wolf pack, pecking order in a chicken coop, and others. To discover how this is reflected in human society, the students form groups of five. One person from each group volunteers to be a newcomer from out of town. These students get further information from the teacher. The teacher informs the four remaining students in each group that they have been good friends for a long time. While the four group members begin to practise their sport (basketball, skateboarding, frisbee, road hockey) near the local mall, the teacher explains to the “newcomer” that s/he and his/her parents have just moved to this town in the middle of summer and don’t know anybody. S/he wants to get to know some of these people whom they have seen near the mall. The students role play the scene for a few minutes.
The whole class forms a discussion circle. The teacher asks:
· How did you find your place within the group?
· Which newcomers felt included into the group?
· Which ones felt excluded?
· How did that feel?
· What strategies did you use as newcomer to join the group?
· What did you notice about the hierarchy within your group?
· Was any character in your group wearing a social mask?
The teacher divides the class in half and instructs one group to hold eye contact whenever they meet the eyes of another person. The second half will look away and then look back when their eyes meet another persons’. The teacher directs the two groups to walk freely around the room, constantly turning into open space and never making physical contact with anyone else in the room. They are to make eye contact with others according to the instructions given to their half of the class.
Note: Teachers should be sensitive to the fact that eye contact may be a problem for students with certain cultural backgrounds. These students should be supported in other options.
After a few minutes, the teacher calls out “Freeze,” stopping all movement and says “Those of you who were holding eye contact are now going to look away and look back. Those of you who were looking away and back will now be holding eye contact for as long as you can while you move around the room again. Go.”
After another minute or two, the group discusses the results of their work. The teacher asks:
· What did it feel like to hold eye contact?
· How did it feel when you looked away and looked back?
· How did your movements or posture change when you changed your role?
· Describe how the conventions of eye contact are different in various cultures of the world?
The students sit in a circle. Starting at any point around the circle, the teacher gives one player the title of President. Moving in a clockwise direction the teacher gives out the titles Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer and then numbers the rest of the students one, two, three, and so on, until all students in the class have a title or number. The teacher then says “We are all members of a company where everyone is ranked from the President on down to the bottom of the ladder. Your objective is to move up in the company and eventually become the President. The way that you move up is by moving into the seat of the person above you in the company as soon as it becomes empty. A seat becomes empty when a player makes a mistake by saying the wrong thing or destroying the rhythm and is demoted to the bottom of the company. For example, if the Treasurer makes a mistake, s/he goes to the bottom of the company and 1 becomes the Treasurer, 2 moves up to 1's seat and so on. Everyone beneath the Treasurer gets a promotion.” The teacher explains that all company members spend their time communicating with each other to a beat and the task of the company is to keep a beat going without interruption. The teacher establishes a slow, steady rhythm by tapping. All students join in also tapping the rhythm. S/he explains that messages are passed through the company by each worker saying their own number on the first beat and then someone else’s number on the second beat. That “someone else” continues the chain without missing a beat by repeating the pattern of his/her own number/other number (or title) on consecutive beats. Students are “demoted” if they miss a beat and must go to the bottom position in the company. Everyone moves up in order to fill the vacancies created above them.
Notes:
1. The names of the executives may be shortened to Pres., VP, Secret., and Treas. if needed to keep the beat.
2. The teacher counting the students in (“4, 3, 2, 1”) often helps in focussing each round.
· After playing the game for a few minutes, the teacher asks the following questions:
· How did it feel to go to the bottom of the company?
· How did it feel to have a title and be at the top of the company?
· How does emotion affect the way we act or think during this game?
· Why do you think we get emotionally involved in the promotions or demotions in this game?
· How does this game compare to the reality of the workplace?
· . Upon what do we base status in the world beyond the classroom?
Students select partners to work with. Each pair is instructed to role play a scene in which one person has more status than the other. The most interesting scenes are those in which the status relationships are close, so that the scene has some subtlety (i.e., the general and the colonel rather than the general and the private).
Brainstorm a list of the roots of status (e.g., money, rank, knowledge, size, strength, social position). If some of the work seems to present stereotypes, a discussion should evolve to examine these.
· Which examples seemed to be more like real people?
· How can we make more authentic portrayals of these roles?
One of the pairs re-presents their work in order to present a more authentic, truthful scene. The whole class works with the teacher and volunteer role players to shape the characters to be more believable. Questions that frame this work include:
· What is unreal about these characters?
· What details in language and gesture seemed exaggerated?
· Why do the characters behave in this way?
Extension/Enrichment: Voices in the Head
Immediately following the above discussion, divide the rest of the class into two groups. Group A stands behind one of the characters, and Group B stands behind the second character. Each group speaks aloud the full range of thoughts running through their character’s head, attempting to reveal more of the context of the scene. The teacher reminds the class that this work is difficult because of the number of players involved; students need to be patient and listen to all contributions. After this process, the two groups resume their position as audience. The role players may re-play the scene or recruit new actors to present the scene again.
Note:
This exercise is an
opportunity to introduce the term sub-text, "the words behind the words," and to
apply it. Reflection questions for the whole group to discuss are:
· How can we differentiate between shallow and complex role playing?
· What steps can we take to create roles that are not stereotypes?
All students stand alone in an acting space in the room. On the teacher's signal, half of the students become statues in a museum representing famous people through time and from different cultures who have had high status. The other half role plays museum visitors. The teacher says “Know who you are and show your status.” On a second signal from the teacher, the visitors come to life and wander through the museum, carefully studying the statues representing high status. Students are cautioned to respect the space and commitment of the statues. Reverse the roles and repeat the exercise.
In a whole group, the students respond to the questions:
· Which statues communicated high status?
· Who do you think they were representing?
· Who were you?
· Did standing that way make you feel powerful?
· Did you feel differently when you were walking around?
The students repeat the exercise, changing the museum to “The Museum of Low Status” and discuss the differences.
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Strategy 1: First Person to Third Person
Hearing impaired students may require the use of a visual signal such as turning off the lights.
Strategy 1: Three Faces of Me
When teachers work with cultural groups where dating is prohibited, the teacher should exclude the role-playing situation involving a dating relationship and substitute a "good friend" as the second character.
Strategy 3: Eye Contact Exercise
Behavioural: Students who are unable to resist the temptation to make physical contact with others while roaming freely through the room could be given the task of observing the eye contact exercise from the sides of the room and commenting on their observations.
Strategy 4: Keeping the Company Beat
Listening/Speaking: The teacher may explain that some members of the company are given an unfair advantage because they own stock in the company. This means that they are allowed to miss beats once in a while without losing their positions. Students with listening/speaking needs can be given the “stockholder's privilege” without being identified as weaker than their classmates.
Johnstone, Keith. Impro. Routledge, 1987. ISBN 0878301178
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Time: 300 minutes
Students expand upon their knowledge of role by exploring the relationship between personal attitudes and habits and the media. They deconstruct media images to discover the meaning and relevance of stereotypes and connect that knowledge with character building.
Strands: Theory, Creation, Analysis
Overall Expectations
THV.01X - demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of role playing and dramatic works;
CRV.01X - use various ways to sustain a role within a drama;
CRV.02X - demonstrate an understanding of group responsibility in the creation of a drama;
ANV.04X - demonstrate an understanding of how role taking and the processes of drama are connected to their lives.
Specific Expectations
TH2.04X - demonstrate the use of movement, gesture, and non-verbal communication to express ideas in a drama (e.g., mime);
TH3.02X - explain how dramatic forms may effectively communicate more than one perspective;
TH3.05X - identify dramatic conflict or tension within a source;
CR1.01X - demonstrate an understanding of methods for developing roles that clearly express a range of feelings attitudes and beliefs (e.g., interaction with other roles, research into the past, motivation);
CR1.02X - demonstrate an understanding of the element of risk in playing a role (e.g., adapting to challenges to personal and social beliefs);
CR1.03X - demonstrate an understanding of how role is communicated through language, gesture, costume, props, and symbol;
CR1.04X - demonstrate an understanding of language that is free from bias and stereotyping;
CR1.08X - identify and pursue appropriate questions in beginning to research a topic;
AN1.01X - describe the skills, theories, and concepts being demonstrated as a drama is developed;
AN1.06X - compare how vocal techniques, space, costume, movement, character, and conventions are used in the drama of their own and other cultures;
AN1.07X - demonstrate an understanding of universal meaning in drama;
AN2.02X - explain connections between their own lives and the metaphor or theme in a drama;
AN2.04X - analyse various roles to gain a deeper understanding of the personal and social beliefs inherent in a drama.
Activity 1: Prepare list and definitions of "isms"
Activity 2, Strategy 2: current magazines, scissors, glue, bristol board, sticky tack, sticky notes, digital or instant camera (if readily available).
· an emerging knowledge of drama skills including improvisation and role play
· interpersonal skills, including collaboration, concentration, and spatial awareness
The teacher selects from the list below some “isms” that might interest the class, defines them on the board and explains that they are ways through which different people choose to view the world. The teacher further explains that students are about to do some work which explores the idea of “attitude as mask.” Some characters wear their view of the world like a mask that may affect their general demeanour and create what might be called the mask of an attitude. These role playing activities will help answer some questions about how attitudes are similar to masks. They might choose to wear the mask of optimism, pessimism, skepticism, stoicism, cynicism, materialism, hedonism, fanaticism, perfectionism, radicalism, or conformism.
The students choose partners and decide who will be A and B. The teacher says “You are old friends who have not seen each other since high school. By chance you meet in a donut shop and sit down together to talk. During the scene, you will try to make your old friend see the world “through your glasses.” Player A is an optimist; Player B is a materialist. Begin.” The students play the scene.
The students find new partners and decide A and B. The teacher says “Create a new scene from the following scenario: you are two students on their first day at university, who meet each other, as new roommates, for the first time. Player A is a skeptic, player B is a conformist. Begin.” The students play the scene.
The students find new partners and decide A and B. They make a new scene using a situation and contrasting “isms” of their own choice.
Portfolio Writing
· How deep was the role playing?
· How do we arrive at our philosophies about the world?
· What effect does this way of seeing the world have on our relationships with others?
· . How does the mask of an attitude relate to the truth of who we really are?
Homework: Students are assigned to bring in several photographs of themselves, family, friends, and community members. These photos will not be returned, so using a photocopy is an option.
Students work in groups of four to six. Each group makes a collage of images which is divided in half. On one side, they attach images taken from their own photographs of people they know. On the other side, they attach manipulated images of people from magazines or newspaper.
The collages are displayed. Students use sticky notes to create thoughtful captions on or around the collages about what the image communicates to them. The need for seriousness is very important and should addressed by the teacher. One group then reads the captions from another group’s collage while the audience closes their eyes to concentrate on listening. After all captions have been read, the teacher poses questions for discussion:
· What messages did we hear?
· Could you distinguish the media messages from the personal picture messages?
· How were they different?
· How does the media affect the way we see ourselves and the world?
· Does the media hide or exaggerate the truth?
· How accurately does the media reflect life?
· Does the media represent a shallow or a deep reflection of real life?
· Is the media a mask or does it create masks and encourage us to adopt them?
· What are these masks?
· How do they influence us?
· Is a mask a role?
· How are these two things different?
Portfolio Question for Homework
. How does the media influence you? Consider the way you look, the language you use, activities in which you participate, what you buy, what you value.
Enrichment/Extension 1
Reproductions or slides of famous paintings are shown to the class. The teacher encourages the class to talk about what they see in the image and the story they feel that the artist is telling. The following is a list of paintings from Art Talk, by Rosalind Ragans, MacMillan/McGraw-Hill 1988, ISBN 0026677008.
The teacher asks “What truth do you think the artist is presenting?”
The Frugal Repast, Picasso, 1904 (pain or poverty, hopelessness)
Birthday, Marc Chagall, 1915 (love, joy, happiness)
Echo of a Scream, David Afaro Siqueiros,1937 (alienation, agony)
Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange, 1936 (despair helplessness)
I Want You, Montgomery Flagg, 1917 (patriotism, loyalty)
American Gothic, Grant Wood, 1930 (stoicism)
Other paintings or sculptures could be used as long as the teacher feels that they have some emotional content to which students could relate. Artists such as van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bosch, Munch, Goya, Picasso, Chagall, Hopper, Escobar, Rivera, Albright, Barnet, and Varley provide suitable material.
Enrichment/Extension 2
Homework assignment: Students use Appendix 2.1 – Deconstructing a Media Text to analyse one example of media in their collage.
The teacher says to the whole group “People seem to try very hard to be just like the images they see in the media. Prepare a scene in which we see an authentic character struggling to be more like a media image. Arrange yourselves into groups of five and look at your collages as sources of images that you might use as a basis for a scene. Your scene should have a clear beginning, rising tension and a resolution. You have 15 minutes to plan and prepare your scene.” The scenes are presented. Reflection questions for discussion or portfolio notes include:
· How did the players maintain tension in their scene?
· In what ways did you notice actors sustaining the authenticity of their roles?
Enrichment/Extension: Analogy
The teacher reviews some of the universal concepts in the recent work, such as envy, striving for self-improvement, disappointment, and disillusionment. The students create another scene with a parallel situation to the one created above. This scene must show the same concepts in another culture (real or fictional). The scenes are presented to the class after 15 minutes of preparation time.
Reflective discussion involves key questions:
· . How do we find new ways of presenting more authentic portrayals of role in order to go beyond stereotypes?
· Why do we have these desires to have more or to be more?
· What effect has the mass media had on our sense of who we are?
Further extensions might include:
· . Creative writing in the form of stories or poems about envy, disillusionment.
· Making scenes based on sayings such as: “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” “Beauty is only skin deep,” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” “Life is hard and then you die,” “All that glisters is not gold.”
· Interviewing the apparently beautiful media characters.
· Improvising the untold stories at the beauty pageant.
· The teacher teaches students how to develop a rubric for the assessment of the role-playing work they have done, and then uses this rubric to give assessment feedback to the students about their performances in role. This may be done prior to the role-playing assignment.
Portfolio Writing
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Strategy 1: Attitudes and "Isms"
Reading: Students with reading needs should be given the vocabulary list ahead of time and ideally will have an opportunity to review the list with the teacher before class. Extra time may be required for copying definitions from the board.
Strategy 3: Finding the Tension
Writing: Students may be given extra help structuring the creative writing, or they may be allowed to record an audio tape.
Appendix 2.1 – Deconstructing a Media Text
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.14 – Rubric Building
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Ragans, Rosalind. Art Talk. MacMillan/McGraw-Hill, 1988. ISBN 0026677008
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
Time: 375 minutes
The structure of the whole group drama offers the opportunity to deepen the engagement of students in building a drama. This drama deals with the issues of fear, love, illusion, deception, and personal responsibility to society. Students continue to build their drama skills by constructing progressively more complex roles, linked to previous course activities.
Strand(s): Theory, Creation, Analysis
Overall Expectations
THV.01X - demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of role playing and dramatic works;
CRV.01X - use various ways to sustain a role within a drama;
CRV.02X - demonstrate an understanding of group responsibility in the creation of a drama;
ANV.03X - describe similarities in the dramatic arts of their own and other cultures in the global community;
ANV.04X - demonstrate an understanding of how role taking and the processes of drama are connected to their lives.
Specific Expectations
TH1.04X - demonstrate an understanding of the process of structuring drama (e.g., selection of source, choice of roles, negotiation of action);
TH2.04X - demonstrate the use of movement, gesture, and non-verbal communication to express ideas in a drama (e.g., mime);
TH3.03X - demonstrate an understanding of historical and cultural origins of various dramatic forms (e.g., storytelling, pageantry, dance, mask making);
TH3.05X - identify dramatic conflict or tension within a source;
CR1.01X - demonstrate an understanding of methods for developing roles that clearly express a range of feelings attitudes and beliefs (e.g., interaction with other roles, research into the past, motivation);
CR1.02X - demonstrate an understanding of the element of risk in playing a role (e.g., adapting to challenges to personal and social beliefs);
CR1.03X - demonstrate an understanding of how role is communicated through language, gesture, costume, props and symbol;
CR1.08X - identify and pursue appropriate questions in beginning to research a topic;
CR2.02X - demonstrate an understanding of the function of design, lighting, and sound in the communication of a drama (e.g., conventions of mask, mime, puppetry);
AN1.01X - describe the skills, theories, and concepts being demonstrated as a drama is developed;
AN1.06X - compare how vocal techniques, space, costume, movement, character, and conventions are used in the drama of their own and other cultures;
AN1.07X - demonstrate an understanding of universal meaning in drama;
AN2.02X - explain connections between their own lives and the metaphor or theme in a drama;
AN2.03X - demonstrate an understanding of the interactive process that promote respect for the ideas, feelings and perspectives of others in developing the roles and circumstances of a drama;
AN2.04X - analyse various roles to gain a deeper understanding of the personal and social beliefs inherent in a drama.
· mask-making materials: bristol board, markers, glue, masking tape
· drum-making materials: large coffee cans, water bottles, pebbles, sand, masking or book-binding tape
· quiet music (optional)
· a small prop or piece of costume when the teacher is role playing the village elder might be useful: a feather, half mask, decorated stick, cloak
· General preparation. Offering and sacrifice are themes running through all legends and religions of all people from the beginnings of time. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “sacrifice” means “to give up something for the attainment of some higher advantage or some dearer object”. Minoan culture is full of stories about the sacrifice of the bull. Bulls are still sacrificed in some Greek cultures today. The Greeks also sacrificed goats at the altar which was the beginning of the ritual of drama and theatre. Theatre also began as a harvest festival of celebration. In order for students to be able to connect their present modern culture to the roots of civilization, context is necessary so that they can enter into the imagined past and place. The story in this activity uses sacrifice as its central metaphor. It is needed to create and heighten the dramatic tension that is inherent in the story. However, the story is merely the stimulus for the exploration of ideas and concepts through drama. The drama is really about the masks people wear: how to live in harmony and build community, how to avoid violence to retain peace, and how to save the community from an external threat. At no time is the actual story or moment of sacrifice actually re-enacted.
· collaboration and concentration skills
· willingness to suspend disbelief while in role, especially during the whole-group role-plays
· knowledge of role-building and role-playing fundamentals
The following activity represents one way of addressing the concepts behind the drama structure through the Overall and Specific Expectations. Other ways are equally valid. Teachers should consult Appendix 2.17 – Steps to Structure Whole Group Drama and Appendices OV.1 and OV.2 prior to working on this or any other drama structure. As well, they should consult the Resource list for books and structures which demonstrate the principles of structuring whole-group role-play drama.
Teachers should use the conventions and modes of drama to create their own drama structure. Further examples can be found in
O’Neill, Cecily and Alan Lambert. Drama Structures. London: Hutchinson, 1984. ISBN 0091478111.
· See Part 2: “The Structures” for annotated structures and Part 4: “Structures for Development” for ideas on developing further structures.
O’Farrell, Larry and Lorna Mackay. Drama for Canada. Don Mills: Academic Press Canada, 1980. ISBN 0774711426
· Contains 15 sets of source materials for exploration of uniquely Canadian themes.
Seeley, John. Dramakit. Oxford University Press, 1978. ISBN0199132380
· Divided into six sections, the final one suggests ideas which could be explored at a number of levels.
Burke, M.R. and C.L. Malczewski. Social Studies through Drama. Victoria, BC: Learning through Drama, 1990.
· This is a series of four spiral-bound teacher resources: “The Little Immigrants: Parents of our History”, ”Planet Nardo - Space Community”, “Ancient Civilizations - The Story of the Stele”, “Barkerville - Boom or Bust!” Each theme explores history through a drama structure.
Fairhead, Wayne and Elaine Vine. Remove
The Blindfold, Book 2. Oxford University Press, 1987.
ISBN 0195405234
· Working in a variety of drama modes, the authors help the teacher see the dramatic possibilities in a wide variety of resources.
Many other
books are available to assist the teacher in finding the relationship between
the expectations, the dramatic source material, and the dramatic conventions
and modes which the teacher may use for structuring the work.
Barlow, Steve and Steve Skidmore. Dramaform. Lodder and Stoughton, 1996. ISBN 0340556269
O’Neill, Cecily, Alan Lambert, Rosemary Linnell, et al. Drama Guidelines. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1976. ISBN 0435186701
Wagner, Betty Jane. Drama as a Learning Medium. Hutchinson and Co., 1976. ISBN 0091388511
Sources which
deal with the native Canadian perspective include
Cook, Connie Brummel and Scott Cameron. Maple Moon. Stoddart Kids, 1999. ISBN 0773730176
Goble, Paul. The Great Race. Simon & Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0689714521
Johnston, Patronella and Francis Kagige. Tales
of Nokomis. Stoddart Publishing, 1975.
ISBN 0773756906.
Prusski, Jeffrey and Neil Waldman. Bring
Back the Deer. Harcourt Brace and Co., 1988.
ISBN 0152004181
Rupprecht, Siegfried, Jozef Wilkon, and Naomi Lewis. The Tale of the Vanishing Rainbow. North-South Books, Inc., 1989. ISBN 1558580018
Students are seated in a circle. The teacher asks one student volunteer to try to guess who started the motion. This student steps into the hall for a moment while the teacher asks a student to initiate the motion, which should be simple and slow. The whole class tries to follow the student leader at the same slow speed so that there is a seamless sequence of motion and the whole class is mirroring the motion together. The first student returns and is given three guesses to determine who is leading the motion. The exercise can be repeated until the group is successful in deceiving the guesser and is working with commitment and energy.
Class discussion focusses on how the students felt when the whole group was unified in the exercise. Appreciation of the harmony of the whole group or community is emphasized.
The students find their own quiet place away from others and start to relax. The teacher reads only the very first part of “The Offering” (below) to them. Quiet music could be played in the background to create a calm atmosphere. The teacher should spend some time helping the students relax by saying things such as: “Let your fingers relax, your wrists, your elbows, your head, your neck..... Let the tensions drain from your body”. The teacher gets absolute quiet before reading the first section of the story.
|
This drama structure has been adapted from an original story and drama work devised by Bill Gunson, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. |
The
Offering
Once, in the very distant past,
there lived a very happy group of people who dwelt at the foot of the volcano
and worked the land in its shadow. In the spring, the corn was planted and the
soft rains were welcomed. In summer, the corn reached up toward the face of the
generous sun. Each autumn, they garnered a huge harvest and because the land
was so rich and fertile the people were well-fed and healthy throughout the
winter. They were truly happy people.
One day, as they rejoiced in the
thought of the bountiful harvest, the volcano began to rumble and belch
sulphurous fumes. The people trembled and were very afraid. They fled to their
homes, fearing for their lives. They consulted the village elder, who would
know what to do. After consulting the oracle, he told them the dreadful news.
The teacher stops the story at this point.
· Moving from Story to Image
N.B. See notes in Appendix 2.2 regarding teacher-in-role techniques.
The teacher asks the class to take on the roles of the people and to create a tableau to show how afraid of the volcano the people were when they met the village elder. The teacher plays the role of the village elder.
The teacher role plays delivering the news:
“The volcano has demanded something you must give: a blood offering of two oxen. These animals must be the most powerful and important in our community. They must be truly admired. They must be adorned with fine bells, cloths and jewels and taken at dawn to the rim of the volcano and hurled to their death, down into its fiery jaws. Your questions will be answered in due course.”
The teacher encourages the class to sustain their roles as the people and to maintain their “willing suspension of disbelief” as participants in the whole-group role-play. In the role of village elder, the teacher must remain firm in his/her position of messenger: “the one who knows”. The teacher decides on a believable reason to exit the scene e.g., “I must leave to consult the stars in the heavens”.
The teacher divides the students into groups of five to create family groups and show their usual household routines that night. All families must discuss over dinner and decide what they will do, since each family owns a powerful pair of oxen. Students role play the scene focussing on the decision that must be made. The teacher makes it clear that he/she is no longer in role and asks one family member to report on the outcome of their family conversations.
The teacher pre-selects the family members for the following activity and asks them to adopt the attitude that they do not want their oxen to be chosen. In pairs, the family members are interviewed, sitting on chairs facing the rest of the group. The group asks probing questions that get to the real truth of their feelings and point of view. No-one wants his/her oxen to be chosen.
The teacher frames the reflection with key questions such as:
· When did the role play seem to be believable?
· What were the tensions in the drama?
· What influence did the village elder hold over the mountain people?
· Why do you think that the mountain people respected his/her point of view?
· How do stories connect us?
· Why are stories important to us as a global community?
Students return to their original family groups and discuss in role their hopes and dreams for the future of their village, should they be lucky enough to escape the wrath of the volcano. Students create a tableau as if it were a tapestry, woven as a picture to preserve the family hopes and dreams. They are asked to shape the tapestry by entering the tableau one at a time, keeping in mind the power of stillness to capture the illusion of the imagined future.
The teacher returns as the village elder and tells the people that if the volcano does not receive the oxen at harvest time, the volcano will rain red dust and all the crops will be lost. Everyone will die of the ensuing famine, or worse, they may all be turned into stone. Students form groups of three: A, B, C. The A's are asked to be sculptors and the B's and C's are clay. The A's carefully shape B's and C's into sculptures to represent the relationship between the people and the volcano.
Key questions for reflection:
· Why in ancient times were offerings made to the gods?
· What kinds of rituals do you think might have been practised then?
· How might this have led to the birth of the ritual of theatre?
The teacher outlines the origins of theatre at this point, including the sacrifice of a goat at the altar. The priest chanted and was augmented by a chorus. The priests were later replaced by actors who narrated the stories which were well-known. The stories had a moral, to teach the population how to make moral choices.
At this point in the drama structure, it is necessary to "pull back" to introduce the concept of deception. This strategy is done out of role. The students sit in a circle. The first student makes a statement about himself/herself. The group decides if it is a truth or deception. Encourage the students to observe body language and facial expression to determine whether it is truth or deception. When all have made their statements, the students reveal whether they were telling the truth or being deceptive.
The teacher, in role as the village elder, assembles the village and asks if they have made the selection of the offering for the volcano. Since they have not, he leaves but reminds them of their deadline (see Strategy 3). They have until dawn to make their selection, or the volcano's fury will be unleashed. Once they have chosen, there will be a ritual to mark the departure for the volcano. The village elder leaves to return to his village.
The teacher returns out of role and asks the group how they will make the selection. In role, the group as a whole devises the process (i.e., the criteria) for making the selection, but does not actually make a selection. The teacher must keep the group focussed on developing the selection process and not allow the discussion to lose its in-role power; that is, students must accept their fictional village world and not construct selection criteria which are aimed at students out of role.
1. Movement Exercises
The students find various methods of propelling themselves across the floor. This may be turned into a game by having the students sit on the floor in a circle, leaving one empty space. One student then finds an interesting way of moving into the empty space. Each student must not repeat the same method of locomotion that another has chosen. Each student who moves into the space must start from at least two people away from the empty space.
2. “In That Way”
One or two students go outside the room. The group decides on an adverb that will be the way any action will be done. The students outside return and ask the other students to do various actions “in that way”. The game continues until those who have just returned guess the adverb.
3. Verb Chains
The students think about all the actions that are done in a simple everyday activity such as making a salad. The class is divided into groups of five or six. When they have chosen five verbs associated with that task, they translate each verb into a whole body movement in any order and repeat the sequence three times.
Divide the class into four groups, with each group responsible for a season (e.g., group 1 - spring, group 2 - summer, group 3 - fall, group 4 - winter) in the growing and harvest of food. (Optional: Each group may be given simple materials to make masks to represent their season, or could select an appropriate symbol for their season.) They decide on verbs appropriate to that season, repeat the verb chain exercise and rehearse. The movement pieces may be set to music, or students could use their own “drums” made from coffee cans and water bottles. When the teacher refers to the work as “movement”, students will feel more comfortable; see Unit 2 Planning Notes. Present the rituals for each other.
Key questions could include:
· What is ritual? (e.g., coming of age, bar mitzvah, and bat mitzvah) See Appendix OV.1 for definition.
· Why do humans find comfort in certain rituals?
· What rituals are used today? Reminder: Honour cultural differences.
Extension/Enrichment
In small groups, students devise a short improvisation that is based on the idea “Better to use your head, than to fear losing your head.”
Is there any way of deceiving the village elder for the greater good of the people? Using the convention of Role on the Wall, students develop some of the characteristics of a village elder. What power might s/he have or what weaknesses?
Students devise two scenes focussing on the village elder. In the first, the village elder has demonstrated his/her wisdom. In the other, his/her weakness has been observed.
The people meet in secret. They devise a plan that will satisfy the village elder, but at the same time satisfy the volcano’s demands. The teacher observes and allows the drama to unfold. If the teacher feels the students are ready, the plan may be enacted.
The teacher reads the whole story to students.
The Offering
Once, in the very distant past,
there lived a very happy group of people who dwelt at the foot of the volcano
and worked the land in its shadow. In the spring, the corn was planted and the
soft rains were welcomed. In summer, the corn reached up toward the face of the
generous sun. Each autumn, they garnered a huge harvest and because the land
was so rich and fertile the people were well-fed and healthy throughout the
winter. They were truly happy people.
One day, as they rejoiced in the
thought of the bountiful harvest, the volcano began to rumble and belch
sulphurous fumes. The people trembled and were very afraid. They fled to their
homes, fearing for their lives. They consulted the village elder, who would
know what to do. After consulting the oracle, he told them the dreadful news.
The volcano demanded a blood
offering of two oxen. These animals must be the most powerful and important in
the community. They must be truly admired. They must be adorned with fine
bells, cloths and jewels and taken at dawn to the rim of the volcano and hurled
to their death, down into its fiery jaws.
No family wanted to send their
oxen to this horrible fate, as their strength and power brought prosperity to
each family through their important work in the fields, work which was beyond
human capacity. Quarrels broke out about whose oxen should be chosen. Some
families even hid their animals. The people were in chaos. Finally, one brave,
elderly farmer volunteered his oxen, the largest, most muscular in the
community. For many years, the farmer had toiled with them in the fields; he
wept when he offered them to be sacrificed. Though the villagers were happy,
they felt the pain of the farmer. The finest decorations and jewels were
brought to the oxen. Their yoke was adorned with tiny bells which tinkled
gently as they moved. At last, all was ready for what lay ahead. The farmer and
the community bade goodbye to their prize animals. They set off, driven by four
strong villagers.
But the youngest farmer in the
village was determined that the oxen should not meet such an end. Determined to
outwit the volcano, he hurried ahead of the procession. The young man was very
skilled with his hands, and had fashioned replicas of the oxen in wood. In
fact, the images were so good that one could scarcely tell them from the real animals.
He hid himself near the volcano's rim and waited.
The four guards approached with
the fearful animals, which smelled the smoke and sulphur oozing from the
volcano. With each step, their eyes grew more terrified. The heat from the
volcano stung their eyes and made them gasp for breath. The guards had great
difficulty tending the animals, as well as seeing and breathing. They quickly
conferred and decided to abandon the oxen and tell the village that the
sacrifice had been completed. After all, how could the oxen survive in the
poisonous air, so far away from food and water? As the guards ran away, the
young farmer sprang into action. He turned the animals around and started them
down the mountain in a direction away from the village. As he did so, he flung
the replicas into the jaws of the volcano. He then ran and caught up to the
oxen, calming them with soothing words as they trudged back down.
Upon the return of the four
guards, the people eagerly asked what had happened. Being the braggarts they
were, they embellished their story with their struggles to control the oxen and
the animals’ last moments. They emphasized the smell, the foul air, and the
heat at the top of the volcano and their bravery as they led the oxen to their
death. The villagers looked to the oxen’s owner as the stories were told, and
the farmer and his wife held their heads high.
For three days nothing more
happened. The rumbling mountain subsided and all was much as it had always
been. The crops grew and all were happy. Finally, ten days after the event, the
oxen appeared in the village square with the young farmer. The villagers asked
many questions, raising suspicions about the guards, who finally told the
truth. The farmer told how the volcano had been quieted by the replicas. Upon
hearing this, the villagers decided to construct replicas each year of the most
important and powerful oxen, to be given as a tribute to the mountain, and they
instructed the four guards about how the sacrifice was to take place.
And so, these happy people
continued to present their volcano with an offering. The oxen continued to do
the heavy labour in the fields for many seasons afterward. When they finally
died, the village held a ceremony to celebrate their lives. And by this time,
the village artists had sculpted their images in wood, ready at a moment's
notice to be sacrificed to the volcano.
Follow-up questions:
1. How was the ending of the story different from what you had imagined?
2. The story tells us that the people were to give replicas to the volcano each year. What rituals might these people develop in future years to help re-enact the story?
3. How do you think the four guards who "embellished" their story might explain their actions to the villagers?
4. What are at least two ways that deception was used in the story?
5. How do different cultural traditions change and transform over time?
6. How does art come from these changes?
Portfolio Writing
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.6 – Rubric for Evaluation of Whole Group Drama
Appendix 2.8 – Self-Assessment Form - The Quality of My Work
Appendix 2.10 – Student Self-Assessment
Appendix 2.12 – Working with Movement, Mask, Design, and Sound
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
See also Appendix 3.3 – Role Play Monitoring Chart, Appendix 3.4 – Teacher Observation Chart
Students with auditory processing difficulties may be given a typed copy of the story so they may read along while the teacher reads aloud to the class.
Appendix 2.11 – Criteria for Observing Small Group Participation
Appendix 2.17 – Steps to Structure Whole Group Drama
See Resources for Activity 3 for a list of suggested resources when structuring a drama and for suggestions of sources from a native Canadian perspective.
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.6 – Evaluation of Whole Group Drama
Appendix 2.8 – Self-Assessment Form - The Quality of My Work
Appendix 2.10 – Student Self-Assessment
Appendix 2.12 – Working with Movement, Mask, Design, and Sound
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.17 – Steps to Structure Whole Group Drama
Time: 300 minutes
The final activity in this unit emphasizes the creation of authentic roles through the medium of masks. Students explore the history and conventions of masks as they find creative ways of expressing attitudes and ideas through them. The activity also consolidates the knowledge of role playing, status, and other skills which were part of earlier activities.
Strands: Theory, Creation, Analysis
Overall Expectations
THV.01X - demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of role playing and dramatic works;
CRV.01X - use various ways to sustain a role within a drama;
CRV.02X - demonstrate an understanding of group responsibility in the creation of a drama;
ANV.03X - describe similarities in the dramatic arts of their own and other cultures in the global community;
ANV.04X - demonstrate an understanding of how role taking and the processes of drama are connected to their lives.
Specific Expectations
TH1.01X - demonstrate an understanding of the theory of “willing suspension of disbelief” both as performer and as audience;
TH1.04X - demonstrate an understanding of the process of structuring drama (e.g., selection of source, choice of roles, negotiation of action);
TH2.04X - demonstrate the use of movement, gesture, and non-verbal communication to express ideas in a drama (e.g., mime);
TH3.03X - demonstrate an understanding of historical and cultural origins of various dramatic forms (e.g., storytelling, pageantry, dance, mask making);
TH3.07X - trace the use of the convention of the mask (e.g., from Greek drama to modern plays);
CR1.01X - demonstrate an understanding of methods for developing roles that clearly express a range of feelings attitudes and beliefs (e.g., interaction with other roles, research into the past, motivation);
CR1.03X - demonstrate an understanding of how role is communicated through language, gesture, costume props and symbol;
CR2.02X - demonstrate an understanding of the function of design, lighting, and sound in the communication of a drama (e.g., conventions of mask, mime, puppetry);
AN1.01X - describe the skills, theories, and concepts being demonstrated as a drama is developed;
AN1.06X - compare how vocal techniques, space, costume, movement, character, and conventions are used in the drama of their own and other cultures;
AN1.07X - demonstrate an understanding of universal meaning in drama;
AN2.02X - explain connections between their own lives and the metaphor or theme in a drama;
AN2.03X - demonstrate an understanding of the interactive process that promotes respect for the ideas, feelings, and perspectives of others in developing the roles and circumstances of a drama;
AN2.04X - analyse various roles to gain a deeper understanding of the personal and social beliefs inherent in a drama.
· A set of masks is required for students to use in this unit. These may be obtained from several suppliers throughout Ontario. If a set is not available, the teacher should have the class make a set of masks from plaster or papier mâché, or by following the instructions in Appendix 2.3 to make masking tape masks. If masks are constructed, the teacher should consider assigning a particular style (e.g., neutral, character, half masks, etc.). Plastic masks and those without large eye-holes are not recommended for safety reasons.
· The teacher might consider using "found" or recycled materials as decoration on the exterior of the mask.
·
Teachers must consult the health
and safety manual of their board if such a manual exists. At no time should a
student use another student's mask, for health and safety reasons.
· This activity provides opportunities for extension and enrichment. Field trips to local museums, the Royal Ontario Museum, art galleries, and First Nations Cultural Centres should be explored. As well, guest speakers from the community may be available.
· The teacher should consider the use of technology as an aid in this activity. Students could research masks on the Internet, or create computer-designed masks in specific cultural, historic, or theatrical styles.
· The teacher may use a video (see Resources) for additional information on the history, construction, and uses of masks.
· Class sets of Appendices 2.4 – Mask Technique Guidelines, 2.5 – A Brief History of Masks, 2.7 – Mask Evaluation, 2.8 – Self-Assessment Form - The Quality of My Work.
· concentration and collaboration skills
· an understanding of role playing (Grade 9 Dramatic Arts or Comprehensive Arts)
· an understanding of ways in which masks visually convey attitude to an audience
· knowledge of safety and clean-up procedures for mask construction (if needed)
On the first day that masks are available for use, the teacher reviews the Mask Technique Guidelines (Appendix 2.4). The teacher teaches a brief overview of the history of masks (see Appendix 2.5 – A Brief History of Masks) and shares pictures from resource texts or other sources which show masks used in a range of cultures and times.
The class forms an audience. A group of six to eight volunteer performers takes their masks with them into the playing space and sits in a row of chairs. They look at their mask for a few moments and when they feel ready, turn their back to the audience and put it on. Then they turn to face the audience. They sit and wait without speaking; the audience watches them. After several minutes, the group turns away again and removes their masks.
The teacher leads a discussion focussing on these key questions:
· What did the audience notice while watching?
· How did it feel to be seated with nothing to do while in the mask?
· What memorable moments occurred?
· . What connections were there between the guidelines we reviewed and the memorable moments we saw?
The exercise is repeated with a new group of volunteers, until the whole class has had the opportunity.
Key questions include:
· Did you try to do anything different while you were seated?
· Was it communicated to the audience?
· Which guidelines “worked” for you?
All students find their own working space within the room and stand alone, looking at their mask while listening to the teacher’s instructions. The teacher tells them to look carefully at the mask and make decisions on:
· the dominant attitude of the mask;
· the emotions suggested by the facial expression of the mask;
· the age of the character of the mask;
· the energy level of the mask.
After considering these questions and looking at the masks, students put on the masks and begin to walk around the room as though discovering it, and everything in it, for the first time. They are not to make physical contact with anyone or any object in the room. The teacher side-coaches students (see Appendix 2.4 – Mask Technique Guidelines) to imagine that they see something on the floor that looks like money. They are to look carefully at this money, realize that it is a great sum, and pick it up. The teacher also suggests that they see a beautiful flower, which they smell and a repulsive, putrid thing. Students are side-coached to exaggerate their movements, and let themselves feel the emotions.
Key questions for reflective discussion or portfolio response are:
· How did it feel to be wearing the mask?
· How comfortable were you?
· How easy or difficult was it to decide dominant traits for your mask?
· Why do you think that was so?
· In what way did your attitudes about the mask change after you wore it?
· . In what way did this work involve “willing suspension of disbelief?”
Working alone in their masks, students rehearse a short scene without words in which they perform a simple task that can be “undone” (e.g., getting dressed up, packing for a trip, etc.). They start their scene in one very strong state of emotion, show the audience that something has happened to change their emotional state, and then “undo” the task in a new state of emotion. Students rehearse their solo scenes for several minutes and then form an audience to watch volunteers present their work. The teacher side-coaches the performers to keep their faces forward, their chins up, to exaggerate movements, to keep movements uncluttered and slow, and to allow themselves to feel the emotions. Peers may be asked to support this risk taking by telling players what the strongest moments were in their presentations and when the mask communicated most effectively.
Note: Neutral or character masks are recommended for this strategy. This strategy is intended as a warm-up for the strategies that follow, as it encourages expanded movement and focus on attitudes conveyed through masks.
The class is divided in half. One half becomes audience; the other half moves into the playing space. One masked player, the “Master”, is selected to begin walking throughout the space in role. The other masked players attempt to follow the “Master,” imitating the inner creative forces of the “Master” mask. They are not to simply imitate the outer level of physical action, but they are also to imitate the driving force or emotion within the Master mask. After a few minutes, the roles of audience and player are reversed.
Extensions
1. Teachers may appoint another Master, or divide the class into smaller groups, or appoint two Masters within a group.
2. Follow Two Masters Who Change Emotions (adapted from Games for Actors and Non-Actors, Augusto Boal). Two actors (Masters) begin a scene in mask in which they argue about any topic of their choosing. The Masters are in opposite states of emotion at the beginning of the argument. Behind each actor is a group of masked, unspeaking characters who imitate the intensity and emotional driving force of their “Master.” During the scene, the Masters exchange their emotions (i.e., happy to angry) and the masks imitate all emotions played by their Master.
All students find a playing space of their own in the classroom and stand in their mask. The teacher suggests to them that in character they are feeling very high status today, but they are visiting a very low status environment. (The teacher may wish to suggest a context for this exercise by suggesting high and low status characters from the story used in Activity 3.) They move about the space avoiding contact with any other person or object, responding to their environment. This work is done without words, but actors may embellish their playing with vocal sounds. After a minute the teacher stops the action and instructs the actors to play the opposite situation. They are now feeling rather low in status; unworthy and very humble. They are visiting a Royal Palace and must move through the space showing how they feel.
Students form groups of three without masks to plan together. These students use their portfolios to plan a short scene in which three friends, family members, or co-workers are going to compete for status. The students must record:
· . Where the scene takes place;
· . What exists in the space beyond the immediate environment of the scene;
· . The exact age and occupation of each character;
· . The source of status over which they will compete;
· . What has happened just before the scene begins;
· . How the scene begins;
· . How they will know that they have reached the middle of the scene;
· . How the scene will end;
· . The arrangement of set pieces and props which will help them communicate the “where” of the scene;
· . How they will ensure that there is movement in their scene so they don’t become “talking heads.”
After planning in their portfolios, students improvise their scenes without masks and prepare to share them with the class. A trio of volunteers shares their work without masks. Immediately after the scene is presented, the actors don their masks and present the same scene again. This pattern of presenting scenes and re-presenting in masks is repeated with several trios.
Questions which shape the reflective discussion and/or portfolio responses are:
· Which scenes had more life in them, the masked or the unmasked?
· Which scenes seemed more true to life?
· What makes an authentic portrayal of character?
· What differentiates shallow and deep role playing?
· How does the artifice of the mask hide or exaggerate the truth?
· . What is a mask?
· . Describe the skills you used and the ways in which you applied the theories of mask in your work.
Portfolio Writing
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.6 – Rubric for Evaluation of Whole Group Drama
Appendix 2.7 – Mask Evaluation
Appendix 2.8 – Self-Assessment Form - The Quality of My Work
Appendix 2.9 – What to Look for When Observing Student Work
Appendix 2.10 – Student Self-Assessment
Appendix 2.11 – Criteria for Observing Small Group Participation
Appendix 2.12 – Working with Movement, Mask, Design, and Sound
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
· See the Accommodations in the Course Overview for suggestions on dealing with a wide range of needs and suitable accommodations.
· Students who are claustrophobic could provide valuable comments from the perspective of observer, or could use half masks.
Appendix 2.3 – Making Masking-Tape Masks
Appendix 2.4 – Mask Technique Guidelines (Activity 4)
Appendix 2.5 – A Brief History of Masks (Activity 4)
Printed Matter
Boal, Augusto. Games for Actors and Non-Actors. Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0415061555
Brandes, Donna and Howard Phillips. Gamesters' Handbook. Stanley Thornes Publishers Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0748703411
Brandes, Donna. Gamesters' Handbook Two. Stanley Thornes Publishers Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0748703225
Brandes, Donna and John Norris. Gamesters'
Handbook 3. Stanley Thornes Publishers Ltd., 1998.
ISBN 07487035046
Johnstone, Keith. Impro. Routledge, 1987. ISBN 0878301178
Carpenter, Donna. Media Images
and Issues. Addison-Wesley Publishers Limited, 1989.
ISBN 0201192071
Clark, Jim, Warwick Dobson, Tony Goode, and Jonathon Neelands. Lessons for the Living: Drama and the Integrated Curriculum. 1997. ISBN 0968224005
Neelands, Jonathan. Structuring
Drama Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
ISBN 0521376351
Nobleman, Roberta. Mime and Masks. New Plays Books, 1979. ISBN 0932720463
Theatre companies and solo artists: further information is available from the Ontario Arts Council Education Office about these and other artists who tour to schools
Theatre Beyond Words
Ron East
Paul Gaulin
Naomi Tyrell
David Langlois
Video
Pierre Lefevre. On Acting.
National Film Board of Canada, 1992. 38 minutes, 38 seconds.
Order number: C9192017
Appendix 2.2 – Portfolio Checklist for Unit 2
Appendix 2.3 – Making Masking-Tape Masks
Appendix 2.4 – Mask Technique Guidelines
Appendix 2.5 – A Brief History of Masks
Appendix 2.7 – Mask Evaluation
Appendix 2.13 – Improvisation Scene with Partner(s)
Appendix 2.14 – Rubric Building
Appendix 2.15 – Role Playing
Appendix 2.16 – Self-Assessment of Student Role in Group Activity
The mass media can be entertaining, educational, and enlightening. They exist in order to sell to an audience. They sell merchandise, services, ideas, lifestyles, and values such as success, happiness, beauty, power, and notions about family. Mass media create a reality of what life should be like. Media Literacy promotes critical thinking by helping people to distinguish between facts and value claims, to detect bias and stereotyping, to identify stated and unstated assumptions, and to recognize logical inconsistencies.
The following is a list of examples of media text: newspapers, television programs, T-shirts, posters, articles, newsletters, toys, video games, web sites, advertisements, logos, memos, cartoons, etc.
Students can analyse a media text using a list of guiding questions.
Text Questions (focussing on type, genre, meaning, and codes, narrative, ideology, and values, commodity):
· What kind of text is this? (e.g., book, video, poster, T-shirt, etc.) How do you know?
· What is the message? How is it revealed and developed (implicitly and explicitly)?
· What values are being promoted? How do you know this?
Audience
Questions (focussing on culture, gender, race, age, skills, use, pleasure,
choices, active readings):
· Who is the target audience for this text? How can you tell?
· Whose point of view do the values represent?
· Are your values represented? Why or why not?
· How does the media compare with real experiences and situations?
· Are there any stereotypes?
· Who benefits from this portrayal?
· Who is not represented?
· What is the bias in this text?
Production
Questions (focussing on technology, economics, ownership/control, production, institutions,
distributions, legality):
· Who produced this media text and for what purpose?
· What special effects are being used and for what purposes? How do you know this?
· Would you buy this item/service? Why? Why not?
· How can you influence the production of this kind of media text?
|
Activity |
Portfolio Entry |
Assessment (Complete/Incomplete) |
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Activity 1 |
What face will I put on today? |
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Which of these faces is really me? |
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On what kind of things do we base status in the world beyond the classroom? |
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What steps can we take to create roles that are not stereotypes? |
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Activity 2 |
How does the mask of an attitude relate to the truth of who we really are? |
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How does the media influence you? Consider the way you look, the language you use, activities in which you participate, what you buy, what you value. |
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How did we find new ways to present more authentic roles in order to go beyond stereotypes? |
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Creative Writing: a story or poem about envy or disillusionment or scene based on sayings. |
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Activity 3 |
Describe a similarity between our drama work and that of another culture. |
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Activity 4 |
What connections can you see between the guidelines we reviewed and the memorable moments we saw? |
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In what way did this work involve “willing suspension of disbelief?” |
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Ten planning questions for group scene - group of three |
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What is a mask? |
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Describe the skills used and the ways in which you applied the theories of mask use in your work. |
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Masks made from masking tape are lightweight and capable of much use in a vigorous performance situation such as dance. Keep in mind the reason why you are making these masks.
Materials needed (per mask):
· half to three quarters of a role of masking tape
· a metre white elastic (fabric store)
· a plastic grocery bag
· a simple “Lone Ranger-type” half mask
· a section of newspaper and/or cardboard
· bond fast white glue
· mixing containers
· acrylic or latex paint in a variety of colours
· decorative bits and pieces of a variety of origins
1. Place a plastic grocery bag* snugly over the skull and ask the wearer to hold the plastic mask in place, holding it over the plastic on the forehead. Establish carefully and enlarge the eye holes.
2. Begin with one band of tape around the head which secures the top of the mask. This first band should go completely around the head from above the bump on the back of the skull where the spine ends. Placing the band below this bump means you can’t get the mask on and off easily. You may wish to place a strip of cardboard on the top of the skull that connects to the front and back of the first strip.
3. Continue to place strips of masking tape over the dome of the skull, beginning at the original band and ending at the other side. Soon, you will have created a skull cap of tape which covers the whole of the skull and secures the mask in place. Two layers are good.
4. Remove the cap and mask. Remove the plastic bag and cover the inside of the cap with yet another layer of tape, thus covering the sticky side of the first layer. Now you have a mask and top which fits well and can be removed easily.
5. Add wads of paper or tape or pieces of cardboard to build up features like eyebrows, cheeks, nose, lips, ears, or the skull itself. Avoid soft constructions which crush easily. Build in small increments to the shape and size you want.
6. Paint the masking tape with latex or acrylic paint, or cover the finished mask with a layer of white glue and tissue paper (not cut, ripped to hide edges). Let dry.
7. Sand lightly and paint or cover with fabric such as cheesecloth or muslin.
8. Decorate with a few feathers, some sparkles or gilt paint or enhance by darkening shadows with deep, rich colour.
* You may want to substitute an old baseball cap with the brim removed, or some tissue paper for the base of the skull cap. Plastic can be slippery and “sweaty.”
A performer in a mask creates an optical illusion for the audience. To make the best of this illusion, there are rules for actors to remember when using masks.
1. Mask work is physical. Always warm-up before performing in mask. Pay particular attention to the neck, shoulder, and upper body muscles.
2. Movements must be quite exaggerated; gestures must be large.
3. The mask must function as if it were one large eye. In order for the mask to “see” something, the entire head must jut forward. To see something to the side, the mask must turn the entire head. Some actors like to imagine that they are looking with their nose.
4. Quick movements ruin the optical illusion. Mask movement must be slow and clean and efficient, not “scribbled.”
5. The performer must face the audience as much as possible. The illusion of the mask is weakened when the actor performs facing the side, or with his/her back to the audience.
6. As in melodrama, mask theatre thrives on the actor’s establishing direct visual contact with the audience. Double takes are common, as are slow turns and the look that says, “What do you think of that?”
7. As in mime, mask work must be uncluttered. Gestures and storyline movements must be isolated and separated by slight pauses like the rests in music. These give the art form its rhythm.
8. A common error with beginners is tilting the face down, thus losing much of the mask’s power to come alive. Keep the chin up!
9. The mask amplifies the sound of the performer's breathing, but the audience can’t hear it. Still, many embarrassed students hold their breath in a mask. This ruins relaxation and hence the performance. Ignore the breathing sounds and don’t hold your breath!
10. The actor must feel the emotions s/he wishes to express. If s/he pretends to act out anger, for example, the mask will remain dead. Masks only come to life when the emotion is sincere.
11. Do not let the audience see the mask come off or go on. In the tradition of mask theatre, this is done either backstage, or by turning one’s back to the audience. The moment before an actor turns to face the audience is a moment for gathering concentration and relaxing.
12. Never let a hand come between the mask and the audience, since even a second or two will break the illusion. Never touch the face of the mask in a performance.
13. Never try to perform in a mask that the performer has not taken a quiet moment to study. Try to discover the main focus or feature. The performer will feel lost in a mask which is a stranger to him/her.
14. If the mask covers the mouth, do not speak as it will destroy the illusion of the mask because the mouth will not move and a garbled sound will emerge through the mask. Half-masks (which do not cover the mouth) can speak.
15. Small eye holes can make performing in them dangerous. Be careful when moving around the stage and be familiar with the set and props that may be hard to see when wearing the mask.
Mask is the essence of drama. The act of putting on a false face and becoming someone (or something) else for a moment has not been changed by time. The history of masks predates the history of drama and dance. Face decoration is at least as old as music and has been a part of storytelling since language development began on earth.
Masks are used by people to communicate with others. Primal humans don animal masks or ghost masks and express their world. The 16th-century nobleman revels in the commedia dell’arte with its masked characters mocking his lifestyle. A clown strolls down the street in a parade able to delight young and old, who accept him as a jovial friend because of his clown face. Mask triggers what Coleridge called “willing suspension of disbelief” in theatre better than any other device. Chinese audiences recognize immediately the characters of lords and warriors whose elaborate, painted-on masks convey a long history of cultural tradition.
Non-realistic Theatre
There are a number of cultural and psychological factors converging in the experience of the mask. When someone covers up their own identity with a mask they become an abstract animation. If the mask conveys a symbolic meaning that we can read, we may be instantly aware of complex layers of meaning, or we may respond emotionally to the signals in the mask even beyond our conscious reasoning. The mask makes the actor into someone else, and we immediately accept them in their new role. Somehow, masks make us believe comfortably and safely in the illusion, the way a child believes in a cartoon character. Realistic plays with realistic make-up cause us to forget that a play is an illusion. It is ironic that masks, which are highly unrealistic, also make us forget that a play is an illusion.
Limits and Uses of Masks
Masks do not work well in film, which relies heavily on the close-up. They require the perspective of space in the theatre where the actor’s whole body can be taken in or “read” by the eye of the audience. Masks also require the emotional involvement of the actor if they are to “come to life” on stage. They challenge actors to be precise in their crafting of gesture and physical expression while maintaining their own “willing suspension of disbelief” to create a genuinely emotional performance.
Mask As Art and Icon
Almost every culture represents human and animal faces in some kind of mask. Greek masks stylized the perfect human features in a realistic way. Unfortunately, Europeans used Greek idealism as a measure of great art. As a result, many of the symbolic masks from the cultures of Africa, Asia and the Americas were deemed somehow less than great. Symbolic uses of colours and exaggerated facial features were often seen through racist eyes and declared “primitive.” The term “primal” is more useful because it refers to people who have not completely severed their connection with the cycles of nature. When a Native North American carves a mask out of a living tree first, then removes the finished carving for use in ceremony, one understands that for many cultures, masks are religious items, not merely theatrical devices.
Mask As Signal
Masks function as a form of signal to the audience about the character being presented. In a crude form, the Hallowe’en mask serves this function by signalling to those who see it that the wearer’s true identity is hidden and the character of the mask (although not performed) is represented through the mask. The exaggerated facial features and colours of masks in the theatre signal to the audience that a certain personality type exists within the character. The red nose of the drinker or the unshaven face of the hobo are evident in the traditional masks of clowns. The hooked nose and tilted eyebrows of Pantalone suggest the inner life of this stereotypical commedia dell’arte character without the need for elaborate scenes to establish character. Indeed, the half masks of the commedia dell’arte allow for both signal and verbal performance.
Types of Masks
1. Fixed Focus Masks:
These are characterized by decoration, painted features, and facial detail. Only one narrow range of emotions can be performed in these masks. They often symbolize or represent a single, known character within a cultural tradition (including pop-cultural icons or politicians). Example: Hallowe’en masks, ritual masks. Their theatrical expression is nil because they are created to show one attitude only. They are used symbolically as icons or signs in rituals and primal customs.
2. Half-Masks (or commedia dell’arte masks):
These are characterized by having the mouth free to speak. These are often one colour with exaggerated nose and eye structure. Made of leather or wood, they reveal the eyeballs and mouth leading to animated and interesting illusions. The characters of the commedia are recognizable to the audience familiar with the form. The Lone Ranger and Zorro wore simplified versions of the half-mask as a form of disguise, but not for expressive purposes.
3. Full Masks (sometimes called Rehearsal Masks):
These are characterized by being one colour (often white) and texture to allow theatre light and shadow to help animate the features. There are wide ranges of emotion possible with these masks. There are two types:
a) Neutral Masks show no facial expression. They are designed to teach acting through “Neutral Man” and “Neutral Woman,” presenting a challenge to actors who must create expressiveness in spite of a neutral facial expression.
b) Expression Masks emphasize certain character features, yet are abstract enough to perform a range of emotions. The challenge is to work with them to discover the mask’s best feature or focus.
Mask Terms
Attitude: This is the emotion that the mask seems to be expressing most of the time or when not in use.
Dead (or no focus): A mask goes dead when the actor is not bringing forth the emotion to make it work. Concentrating on technique rather than emotion or breaking concentration makes a mask go dead.
Feature or focus: The one emotion or attitude that comes to life the best when the mask performs.
Fixed focus: A mask with one attitude.
Life: The life of the mask is the time when it seems to be flexible and animated like a real face in performance. Trained actors can sustain several minutes at a time of constant animation, when the mask appears to come to life.
Range: The number of different emotions that can be expressed by performing the mask defines its range. All masks have a limit to the number of attitudes they can express.
Some Benefits of Using Masks
Actors (and students) benefit from mask training for many reasons.
1. Most people gain confidence in masks.
2. Masks force players to perform with the whole body, thus curing “talking heads” and improving stiff, wooden performances.
3. Mask work teaches stage presence including facing the audience and clarity of movement and gesture.
4. Like mime work, mask teaches exaggeration, simplicity, and storyline building.
5. Masks are a way of introducing character studies.
6. Mask work teaches timing and pacing.
7. Mask work forces the performer to contact the audience and feel the energy of working with an audience.
8. Mask work is a natural way to integrate Visual Art, Music, Dance, and Drama in ways which don’t compromise the integrity of each of those art forms.
9. Mask skills are attainable in a school setting. A reasonable level of excellence can be achieved without years of discipline and training.
10. Masks reveal while they hide.
With appreciation to Peter Mansell, Waterloo Region District School Board
See Bari Rolfe, Behind the Mask. Personabooks, Berkeley, CA 1992. ISBN 0 932456 01 4 for further information.
Student Name________________________________________
|
Criteria |
Level 1 (50-59%) |
Level 2 (60-69%) |
Level 3 (70-79%) |
Level 4 (80-100%) |
|
Demonstrates an understanding of focus and concentration in role playing |
- limited understanding of focus and concentration is demonstrated occasionally |
- some understanding and concentration is demonstrated |
- considerable understanding and concentration is demonstrated quite often |
- thorough understanding and concentration is deep enough to draw others into the imaginative reality |
|
Identifies and uses different kinds of questions to deepen roles |
- to a limited degree, identifies and uses superficial questions which elicit simple responses |
- to a moderate degree, identifies and uses questions which have a limited scope |
- to a considerable degree, identifies and uses searching questions which usually have some depth |
- to a high degree, identifies and uses complex questions which have the intent to drive the drama forward |
|
Explains how production elements communicate a role |
- makes limited explanation of production element choices |
- makes a simple explanation of production element choices |
- explains the complexity of production element choices |
- explains the complexity of production element choices with precision and clarity |
|
Applies different language registers within the drama |
- language register for the role is seldom modified according to status or dramatic purpose |
- language register for the role is sometimes modified according to status or dramatic purpose |
- language register for the role is usually modified according to status or dramatic purpose |
- language register for the role is consistently modified according to status or dramatic purpose |
Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.
Name _______________________________________________
|
Character: |
|
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Easily identified by the features |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
|
Colours appropriate to the character |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
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Details: |
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Execution of the physical features |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
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Painting detail: depth and care taken |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
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Additional detail |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
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Stage Craft: |
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Mask is useable and comfortable for the actor and |
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will withstand reasonable use |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
Overall Impression:
D- D D+ C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+
Comments:
|
Strengths: |
Areas for Improvement: |
Student Name _______________________________
Home Form___________________
Using the following key, circle the number which best describes your assessment of the quality of your work. Key: 1 = minimally, 2 = moderately, 3 = considerably, 4 = thoroughly. Write evidence to support your self-assessment below each description.
|
I focus on the work at hand. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I co-operate with the other players. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I contribute creatively to the work. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I take risks. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I keep up with written work (portfolio, reviews, etc.). |
1 2 3 4 |
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I am organized. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I spend the necessary time planning. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I contribute all that I can to the process. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I understand the main idea and purpose of the project. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I am responsive and sensitive to the work. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I relate my own experience to the work. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I communicate my ideas and concepts. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I maintain a positive attitude by supporting and expanding others’ ideas. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I use my imagination to produce original ideas. |
1 2 3 4 |
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I am pleased with my contribution to this unit. |
1 2 3 4 |
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My plan for improvement: |
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This chart may be used by the teacher during the exercises First Person to Third Person, Three Faces of Me, Keeping the Company Beat, Status Images and at other suitable times. These criteria may be used to create rubrics or other assessment instruments, when used with Appendix 2.14 – Rubric Building. Teachers should be aware that this chart is only one way of describing examples of student learning; there are many others.
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Expectations What is being assessed? |
Observation Criteria (specific observable behaviours) What should one look for? |
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THX.01X Demonstrate an understanding of the conventions or role playing and dramatic works |
follows the rules and responds to the teacher’s signals |
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exhibits good audience behaviour |
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shares voice and gesture with the audience |
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understands and accepts the parameters and boundaries of various role-playing conventions |
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clarifies understanding of conventions through relevant questioning |
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listens with active engagement both in and out of role |
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demonstrates a knowledge of the particular vocabulary describing conventions that have been taught |
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TH3.02X Explain how dramatic forms may effectively communicate more than one perspective |
takes risks, tries new methods |
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accepts alternative views expressed by classmates |
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accepts direction and alters presentational elements |
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listens actively during reflective discussion |
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uses a variety of probing questions to investigate points of view |
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suggests and considers possible alternative forms to examine; e.g., dance, game, dialogue, montage, tableau |
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researches characters and contexts to expand perspectives |
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CRV.01X Use various ways to sustain role |
adopts a distinct physical mannerism when in role |
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selects vocal range and language to create believable characters |
|
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maintains character while both speaking and not speaking |
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maintains balance of self and other |
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sustains belief by consistent focus and eye contact |
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CRV.02X Demonstrate an understanding of group responsibility in the creation of a drama |
brainstorms and values all ideas to plan and create drama structures |
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encourages and supports creative contribution from all group members |
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accepts and shares responsibility for planning and creating drama structures |
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listens and responds in role to other role players during the drama |
|
|
responds immediately to signals within the drama context |
|
CR1.01X Demonstrate an understanding of methods for developing roles that clearly express a range of feelings, attitudes, and beliefs |
uses imaginative characterization beyond stereotypes |
|
creates elaborate backgrounds for character’s subtext |
|
|
uses a wide variety of settings, times, and circumstances |
|
|
employs a full range of emotional responses in characterization |
|
|
plays characters with opposite points of view |
|
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demonstrates acceptance and interest in different cultural beliefs |
|
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CR1.03X Demonstrate an understanding of how role is communicated through language, gesture, costume, props, and symbol |
uses vocabulary, tone of voice to aid characterization |
|
employs full range of gesture and physical movement to interpret character |
|
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Renders physical props or symbols to create the imagined reality |
|
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selects appropriate costume piece to particularize individual character to distinguish role from self |
|
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finds minimal props appropriate for character |
|
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chooses unique symbols to communicate universals |
|
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ANI.01X Describe the skills, theories, and concepts being demonstrated as a drama is developed |
makes insightful suggestions for revision of work |
|
recalls previous skills and makes meaningful connections to apply to new work |
|
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coaches other students in rehearsal or planning |
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extends discussion of issues to new contexts |
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volunteers comments and questions assumptions |
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expands ideas to new and unique applications |
Indicate how frequently you have been successful in each area by circling the appropriate number.
(1 = rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = usually, 4 = always):
Exploring Rating Evidence
I express my ideas confidently. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I am comfortable with role playing. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I am on-task during group learning activity. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I ask questions during class or a group activity. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I listen to others and encourage their ideas. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
Further evidence of my ability to EXPLORE: ___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Responding
I identify with the role’s attitude. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I encourage and accept others in role. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I take risks by trying new approaches in role. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I am serious about the roles I assume. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I think about the roles I assume. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
Further evidence of my ability to RESPOND: ___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Communicating
I am confident when I communicate to others. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I have a clear purpose when I role-play. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
My ideas and language suit the role. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
What I do seems of interest to others. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I make a difference in how others see the issue. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
Further evidence of my ability to COMMUNICATE: ____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Reflecting
I keep a portfolio to reflect on class work. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I see issues from a new perspective. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I relate warm-up activities to the drama. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
Drama directly influences my work with others. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
I make a positive daily contribution to class. 1 2 3 4 ____________________________________
Further evidence of my ability to REFLECT: ___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Most days, I believe that I achieve a mark of: Further comments or evidence on reverse.
|
HELPFUL ROLES |
HINDERING ROLES |
|
1. Organizing: - identifying goals - defining tasks - outlining approaches |
1. Fragmenting: - going off on tangents - introducing irrelevant information - dragging "red herrings" into the conversation |
|
2. Self-starting: - suggesting new ideas and directions - volunteering to tackle a task |
2. Resisting: - seeing problems where none exist - failing to exercise initiative |
|
3. Information seeking: - asking questions - seeking facts- requesting clarification |
3. Withdrawing: - appearing shy and insecure - daydreaming - fearing to say the wrong thing |
|
4. Information providing: - mentioning sources - offering facts |
4. Information withholding: - acting indifferent or passive - avoiding involvement in discussion |
|
5. Encouraging: - responding enthusiastically to others - inviting everyone’s participation |
5. Belittling: - undercutting the suggestions of others - discouraging participation |
|
6. Summarizing: - summarizing points of discussion - simplifying complicated ideas - putting points in perspective |
6. Smooth talking: - pretending superior knowledge - peddling glib solutions to complex problems |
|
7. Co-ordinating: - keeping discussion on track - suggesting order of tasks - trying to involve everybody |
7. Monopolizing: - taking the majority of the talking time - interrupting others |
|
8. Challenging: - stimulating discussion by presenting different view points - confronting weak ideas |
8. Arguing: - indulging in disagreement - disregarding the ideas of others |
|
9. Mediating: - working to resolve differences - looking for alternative solutions |
9. Fence sitting: - side stepping the making of decisions - compromising at all costs |
|
10. Tension: - expressing points with humour - making people feel good about themselves |
10. Clowning: - disrupting the flow of progress - digressing with unrelated joking |
|
Specific Expectation |
Level 1 (50-59%) |
Level 2 (60-69%) |
Level 3 (70-79%) |
Level 4 80-100%) |
|
Movement and Conventions of Mask Work |
||||
|
TH2.04X Demonstrate the use of movement, gesture, and non-verbal communication to express ideas in drama |
- a limited range of movement and gesture |
- some flexible movement and gesture |
- movement and gesture are free |
- movement and gestures are thoroughly integrated with fluid actions which truly integrate with the true expression of the character |
|
- wooden actions, unconnected to thoughts and feelings of character |
- actions are somewhat connected to thoughts and feelings of character |
- actions reflect true thoughts and feelings of character |
||
|
- a rudimentary understanding of the conventions of mask work |
- a moderate understanding of the conventions of mask work |
- a satisfactory range of understanding of the conventions of mask work |
- honours the mask, understands and respects the full range of its traditions and integrates that into performance |
|
|
Design and Sound |
||||
|
CR2.02X Demonstrates an understanding of the function of design, lighting, and sound in the communication of a drama |
- defines the drama space creating a limited visual impact |
- defines the drama space creating adequate visual impact |
- defines the drama space creating an interesting visual impact |
- defines the drama space creating clear visual impact |
|
- uses sound with a limited range of choices to assist the dramatic impact |
- uses sound with a moderate range of choices to support the dramatic impact |
- uses sound in a well-selected range to increase the dramatic tension |
- uses sound in a complex, sophisticated range to enhance the dramatic tension |
|
Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.
This rubric might be used with students as a basis for developing a task-specific rubric, or as a starting point for teacher assessment and evaluation.
|
Criteria |
Level 1 (50-59%) |
Level 2 (60-69%) |
Level 3 (70-79%) |
Level 4 (80-100%) |
|
Voice, Volume |
- can rarely be heard by audience |
- sometimes heard by audience |
- usually heard by audience |
- (almost) always heard by audience |
|
Movement |
- uses a limited range of movement |
- uses a small range of movement |
- uses a considerable range of movement |
- uses an extensive range of movement |
|
Listening |
- rarely responds to the content of another actor’s contribution |
- sometimes responds to the content of another actor’s contribution |
- usually responds to the content of another actor’s contribution |
- always responds to the content of another actor’s contribution |
|
Thinking in Role |
- contributes to the scene with limited logic, actions inappropriate for the character and situation |
- contributes to the scene with inconsistent logic |
- contributes to the scene logically |
- contributes to the scene in complex and logical ways |
|
Voice Clarity |
- speaks unclearly |
- speaks with some clarity |
- speech is clear |
- (almost) always speaks clearly |
|
Gesture |
- gestures have little or no connection to the apparent meaning of the scene |
- gestures have some connection to the apparent meaning of the scene |
- gestures consistently connect to the apparent meaning of the scene |
- gestures (almost) always connect to the apparent meaning of the scene |
Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.
(adapted from the Grade 9 Public Dramatic Arts Course Profile)
DO...
· create rubrics for students’ specific work assignments
· have a clear, specific title
· decide on three or four criteria; what is the teacher looking for?
· use clear, concise labels for each category on the rubric
· use specific, brief descriptors for each level of attainment
· describe the provincial standard (Level 3) first; what can most students do most of the time?
· describe the minimal performance (Level 1) second; what is the minimum acceptable achievement?
· describe Level 2 as a mid-point between Level 1 and Level 3
· describe Level 4 as the best possible achievement within the Expectation being assessed
· use student’s terms (everyday vocabulary) to describe the work
· use detailed descriptors of work at each level
· use precise action verbs
· use four levels (as per Achievement Charts)
· ensure that any teacher or student can use the rubric with the same assignment
· while preparing them, have students use the rubric on their work
· reference both the good and the weak students’ work while building rubrics
· assess the effectiveness of the rubric while using it
· revise again
AVOID...
· negative language (“boring”, “poor”, “weak”, etc.)
· general verbs (shows, demonstrates, exhibits, etc.)
· descriptions of what is not contained at a level of attainment
· making rubrics quickly, or in isolation
· too many categories for assessment
· complicating rows with multiple assessment (e.g., “speaks loudly and clearly,” should be divided into two rows because some students may speak clearly but not loudly)
This rubric might be used with students as a basis for developing a task specific rubric, or as a starting point for teacher assessment and evaluation.
|
Criteria |
Level 1 (50-59%) |
Level 2 (60-69%) |
Level 3 (70-79%) |
Level 4 (80-100%) |
|
Listening and responding |
- contributes to the scene with limited logic; actions inappropriate for the character and situation |
- contributes to the scene with inconsistent logic |
- contributes to the scene logically |
- contributes to the scene in complex and logical ways |
|
Thinking in role |
- limited understanding of characters view |
- some understanding of characters view |
- considerable understanding of characters view |
- thorough understanding of characters view |
|
Concentration in role |
- rarely in role |
- sometimes in role |
- consistently in role |
- always in role |
|
Integrates role with circumstances |
- uses background circumstances in a limited way |
- uses some background circumstances, but overlooks important details |
- uses most of the background circumstances, connects role to circumstances |
- extends background circumstances by adding enriching details |
|
Emotional involvement |
- a limited amount of emotion is effectively portrayed |
- some emotion is effectively portrayed |
- a considerable amount of emotion is effectively portrayed |
- a high degree of controlled emotional involvement is revealed |
Note: A student whose achievement is below level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or activity.
(adapted from the Grade 9 Catholic Dramatic Arts Course Profile)
1. What I contributed to the planning of this activity:
2. Examples of my ideas that helped make this activity successful:
3. Examples of what I did to help the group keep on task so that we would be ready:
4. What I most liked doing in this activity:
Reasons:
5. My best moment during either the rehearsals or performance of this activity:
Reasons:
6. Examples of things I would try to do better the next time I am in an activity:
These suggestions are a
general way of organizing a whole group drama. Teachers should be aware that no
two whole group dramas are organized the same way; the source, the course
expectations being addressed, the teacher’s comfort level and the
needs/abilities of the students are among the strong factors which will
determine how each whole group drama is organized.
1. Peruse the lists of expectations for the course and select those which you feel could be “bundled” together to form a unit. Determine acceptable evidence of learning.
2. Choose a source (story, poem, newspaper article, song, etc.) which can be used to address the expectations chosen and has the potential to engage students in a particular issue or conflict.
3. Brainstorm possible key questions which examine a universal concept or idea.
4. Frame the drama from more than one perspective, i.e., What roles could students take on that would immerse them fully in the story, and what roles could distance them from the story?
5. Plan possible roles for both yourself and students.
6. Plan warm-up activities which could be adapted to relate directly to the context of the story or drama source, e.g., fox and rabbit, frozen tag, etc.
7. Design the dramatic activities which will bring action and focus to the work. Use a variety of groupings (small groups, pairs, whole group, etc.), conventions and modes (see Appendices OV.1 – Dramatic Conventions and OV.2 – Dramatic Modes).
8. Plan key moments to increase and focus the tension or conflict.
9. Formulate relevant questions to deepen meaning within the drama and promote thoughtful reflection.
TAKE THE RISK TO TRY IT OUT
Some additional suggestions:
1. From the beginning of the drama activities (or drama “structure”), observe the level of engagement of the students and give them every opportunity to become involved.
2. Establish clear signals for students to stop the drama momentarily and ask for clarification e.g., T-sign for “Time Out.”
3. Be prepared to exclude students who use the drama as an excuse for bad behaviour (violence, inappropriate language, etc.) Find opportunities to bring them back into the drama when the consequences of their behaviours have been understood and any punishment is complete.
4. Be flexible and shift plans if the students are moving the drama in a different direction.
5. Ask yourself what the students are learning (“What is the drama about now, at this moment?”) and try to determine why they are going in that direction. Listen to the students talk.
6. Try to think on your feet (“Flap your ears wildly”*) and to use new groupings, conventions and modes if there is reasonable momentum to the work. A good idea is to keep a list of conventions posted on the wall to refer to at a glance.
7. If the students are drifting into stereotypes or any student’s safety (physical, emotional, social) is threatened, stop the drama. This may be an ideal time for reflection as whole group.
8. Encourage students to take responsibility for truth in their work. Ask them how they can make their work better and how as a class everyone can make the drama work successful.
9. Construct relationships between players. Help them understand their specific role. Who are they and what do they want in the scene?
10. Build the context for time and space in the imaginary reality. Use open-ended questions, such as “I wonder what those people would wear in that place?” or “What do you suppose their concerns were?”
11. Circulate through the class as the students work, observing carefully for moments that are working. Think of a way of focussing these for the rest of the class to see, e.g., tableau, dialogue, thought tracking.
12. Use surprise strategies to drive the drama forward. Things that work well are: props such as maps, pieces of clothing, letters, messages, and/or voice-overs, narration, etc.
13. As teacher in role, experiment with coming into the drama in different kinds of roles: e.g., the one who is seeking information, the one who heard some unexpected information. (Teachers tend to play the power roles but often can help students more playing low status roles.) Choose a particular prop or coat to clarify and mark the different roles you assume in order not to confuse the students.
14. Coach the students both in and out of role through different activities in order to create a more truthful drama.
15. Observe how the players feel as the drama progresses.
16. Identify and ask students about the thinking skills that they employed when their characters were forced to make an important decision. Allow students to think about thinking.
17. Encourage students to think about the consequences of choices that they make as characters in different roles within the story. Connect the story – the imagined reality – to real-life issues.
18. Judge when to stop the drama. Some dramas could go on for five classes. Others could be over in two. Every class in every place is different. Good questions to ask the students are: Do you think that we are finished with this drama? What more do we need to learn about this story?
19. Build in time to reflect on the learning. At the end of each class, there should be some time for debriefing/reflecting.
20. Utilize and compare connected knowledge and inference on big issues.
21. Reflect with your students on the manner and degree to which you have met the Overall and Specific Expectations of the ADA2O course. Develop assessment tools (perhaps rubrics) with the students and apply them in the assessment and self-assessment of students’ participation in the drama.
* With thanks to Jeanie Nishimura, TDSB