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WGHS DRAMA
YEAR 8 HANDBOOK Student Handbook
SPB sbesfordwghsssorguk
Namehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip Formhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
Year 8 Scheme of Work
You will spend the year working practically in class and at the same time working through this handbook
You will be assessed on the performances that you give throughout the course These will test your acting
skills and understanding of how drama works
You will also be tested on your knowledge of Drama in the summer exam
Unit of Work Name of Scheme Method of Assessment
1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Group Performance + Summer Exam
2 Sound and Music Summer Exam
3 Improvisation Skills Pair Performance + Summer Exam
4 Creating Tension Group Performance + Summer Exam
5 Documentary Theatre Group Performance + Summer Exam
Year 8 Drama Keywords
Commedia dellrsquoArte Lazzi Scenario Improvisation Stock Character Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella Vecchi Zanni Innamorati Soundscape Sound effect SFX Recorded Sound Live Sound Diegetic Non-Diegetic Volume Fade Crossfade
Foley Echo Reverb Distortion Filter Cue Underscore Motif Instrumentation Orchestration Accepting Blocking Advancing Objective Corpsing Suspense Tension Sympathetic Suspense Dramatic Irony Suspense of Ignorance Performance Suspense Conflict Rising Tension Climax Anti-Climax Documentary Theatre Docudrama Verbatim Theatre Living Newspaper
Drama Skills and Levels
Level
CREATING
PERFORMING
EVALUATING
3
I work as part of a group and can co-operate with others I can create a simple character and develop some speech in role I can focus for some of the time in rehearsal
I remember some lines and co-operate with others on stage I can show a simple role through speech movement and gesture I sometimes face the audience
I can discuss the plot of a play I can writetalk in simple statements about my practical work and identify some targets for improvement
4
I listen to and co-operate with others sometimes suggesting ideas to develop my own role I can create a character who is different from myself I can stay focused for most of the time in rehearsal
I remember most of my part and stay in role for most of my performance I can speak in role and show some support for others on stage I am aware of what I want to communicate to an audience
I can identify features of good performance work I can writetalk in full sentences about my strengths and weaknesses and identify targets for improvement
5
I can stay focused throughout rehearsal and suggest some ideas to develop the work and roles I can create a well-developed character with a viewpoint different from my own and shape work into a satisfactory dramatic structure
I can speak clearly and use movement and gesture to show a character I can stay in role on stage and provide reasonable support for others in performance I can convey ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can identify strengths and weaknesses in both my work and that of others I can writetalk thoughtfully about the skills and processes of drama My writing shows a reasonable level of literacy
6
I suggest lots of ideas to develop work and roles helping others sensitively in rehearsal I can create drama in a variety of styles and devise a range of well-developed characters with extended roles I can use some exploratory drama techniques
I have good voice and movement skills and can convey well- sustained and convincing characters with confidence and some originality I support others well on stage I can convey complex ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can compare drama interpretations approaches and styles My evaluations show a high level of understanding of the skills and processes of drama through extended writingspeaking and a good level of literacy
7
I can lead others sensitively keeping a positive working atmosphere and making contributions which significantly improve the effectiveness of the work I can develop a variety of characters and create and explore drama for a range of purposes
I have excellent control over all aspects of stage performance showing confidence originality and commitment in role I provide sensitive support for others on stage and my performance has a major contribution in conveying the playrsquos intentions to an audience
I can analyse and evaluate playscripts styles and genres perceptively I writetalk analytically and in depth about drama skills processes and techniques using drama terminology and show a high level of literacy
8
I work with total commitment and sensitivity in a group leading and inspiring others I experiment creatively with drama conventions and techniques using my own initiative to develop work with a high degree of originality
I have complete control over all aspects of stage performance and can display originality and create impact within a range of acting styles I support other performers superbly and demonstrate a very high level of audience awareness
I show an excellent understanding of drama genres styles conventions and techniques My evaluation is perceptive analytical and detailed showing original insight I use drama terminology with accuracy and display excellent literacy skills
Performance Report Levels and Scores Score
GRADE
LEVEL
WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE
89-100
A1 6 or above
I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience Exceptional
76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience Excellent
63-75 A3 45 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience Very good
50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience Good
39-50 B2 34 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience Reasonable
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience Satisfactory
13-25 D 3 or below
I show restricted use of acting skills offering little in the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience Restricted
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience Little
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Year 8 Scheme of Work
You will spend the year working practically in class and at the same time working through this handbook
You will be assessed on the performances that you give throughout the course These will test your acting
skills and understanding of how drama works
You will also be tested on your knowledge of Drama in the summer exam
Unit of Work Name of Scheme Method of Assessment
1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Group Performance + Summer Exam
2 Sound and Music Summer Exam
3 Improvisation Skills Pair Performance + Summer Exam
4 Creating Tension Group Performance + Summer Exam
5 Documentary Theatre Group Performance + Summer Exam
Year 8 Drama Keywords
Commedia dellrsquoArte Lazzi Scenario Improvisation Stock Character Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella Vecchi Zanni Innamorati Soundscape Sound effect SFX Recorded Sound Live Sound Diegetic Non-Diegetic Volume Fade Crossfade
Foley Echo Reverb Distortion Filter Cue Underscore Motif Instrumentation Orchestration Accepting Blocking Advancing Objective Corpsing Suspense Tension Sympathetic Suspense Dramatic Irony Suspense of Ignorance Performance Suspense Conflict Rising Tension Climax Anti-Climax Documentary Theatre Docudrama Verbatim Theatre Living Newspaper
Drama Skills and Levels
Level
CREATING
PERFORMING
EVALUATING
3
I work as part of a group and can co-operate with others I can create a simple character and develop some speech in role I can focus for some of the time in rehearsal
I remember some lines and co-operate with others on stage I can show a simple role through speech movement and gesture I sometimes face the audience
I can discuss the plot of a play I can writetalk in simple statements about my practical work and identify some targets for improvement
4
I listen to and co-operate with others sometimes suggesting ideas to develop my own role I can create a character who is different from myself I can stay focused for most of the time in rehearsal
I remember most of my part and stay in role for most of my performance I can speak in role and show some support for others on stage I am aware of what I want to communicate to an audience
I can identify features of good performance work I can writetalk in full sentences about my strengths and weaknesses and identify targets for improvement
5
I can stay focused throughout rehearsal and suggest some ideas to develop the work and roles I can create a well-developed character with a viewpoint different from my own and shape work into a satisfactory dramatic structure
I can speak clearly and use movement and gesture to show a character I can stay in role on stage and provide reasonable support for others in performance I can convey ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can identify strengths and weaknesses in both my work and that of others I can writetalk thoughtfully about the skills and processes of drama My writing shows a reasonable level of literacy
6
I suggest lots of ideas to develop work and roles helping others sensitively in rehearsal I can create drama in a variety of styles and devise a range of well-developed characters with extended roles I can use some exploratory drama techniques
I have good voice and movement skills and can convey well- sustained and convincing characters with confidence and some originality I support others well on stage I can convey complex ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can compare drama interpretations approaches and styles My evaluations show a high level of understanding of the skills and processes of drama through extended writingspeaking and a good level of literacy
7
I can lead others sensitively keeping a positive working atmosphere and making contributions which significantly improve the effectiveness of the work I can develop a variety of characters and create and explore drama for a range of purposes
I have excellent control over all aspects of stage performance showing confidence originality and commitment in role I provide sensitive support for others on stage and my performance has a major contribution in conveying the playrsquos intentions to an audience
I can analyse and evaluate playscripts styles and genres perceptively I writetalk analytically and in depth about drama skills processes and techniques using drama terminology and show a high level of literacy
8
I work with total commitment and sensitivity in a group leading and inspiring others I experiment creatively with drama conventions and techniques using my own initiative to develop work with a high degree of originality
I have complete control over all aspects of stage performance and can display originality and create impact within a range of acting styles I support other performers superbly and demonstrate a very high level of audience awareness
I show an excellent understanding of drama genres styles conventions and techniques My evaluation is perceptive analytical and detailed showing original insight I use drama terminology with accuracy and display excellent literacy skills
Performance Report Levels and Scores Score
GRADE
LEVEL
WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE
89-100
A1 6 or above
I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience Exceptional
76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience Excellent
63-75 A3 45 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience Very good
50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience Good
39-50 B2 34 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience Reasonable
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience Satisfactory
13-25 D 3 or below
I show restricted use of acting skills offering little in the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience Restricted
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience Little
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Year 8 Drama Keywords
Commedia dellrsquoArte Lazzi Scenario Improvisation Stock Character Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella Vecchi Zanni Innamorati Soundscape Sound effect SFX Recorded Sound Live Sound Diegetic Non-Diegetic Volume Fade Crossfade
Foley Echo Reverb Distortion Filter Cue Underscore Motif Instrumentation Orchestration Accepting Blocking Advancing Objective Corpsing Suspense Tension Sympathetic Suspense Dramatic Irony Suspense of Ignorance Performance Suspense Conflict Rising Tension Climax Anti-Climax Documentary Theatre Docudrama Verbatim Theatre Living Newspaper
Drama Skills and Levels
Level
CREATING
PERFORMING
EVALUATING
3
I work as part of a group and can co-operate with others I can create a simple character and develop some speech in role I can focus for some of the time in rehearsal
I remember some lines and co-operate with others on stage I can show a simple role through speech movement and gesture I sometimes face the audience
I can discuss the plot of a play I can writetalk in simple statements about my practical work and identify some targets for improvement
4
I listen to and co-operate with others sometimes suggesting ideas to develop my own role I can create a character who is different from myself I can stay focused for most of the time in rehearsal
I remember most of my part and stay in role for most of my performance I can speak in role and show some support for others on stage I am aware of what I want to communicate to an audience
I can identify features of good performance work I can writetalk in full sentences about my strengths and weaknesses and identify targets for improvement
5
I can stay focused throughout rehearsal and suggest some ideas to develop the work and roles I can create a well-developed character with a viewpoint different from my own and shape work into a satisfactory dramatic structure
I can speak clearly and use movement and gesture to show a character I can stay in role on stage and provide reasonable support for others in performance I can convey ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can identify strengths and weaknesses in both my work and that of others I can writetalk thoughtfully about the skills and processes of drama My writing shows a reasonable level of literacy
6
I suggest lots of ideas to develop work and roles helping others sensitively in rehearsal I can create drama in a variety of styles and devise a range of well-developed characters with extended roles I can use some exploratory drama techniques
I have good voice and movement skills and can convey well- sustained and convincing characters with confidence and some originality I support others well on stage I can convey complex ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can compare drama interpretations approaches and styles My evaluations show a high level of understanding of the skills and processes of drama through extended writingspeaking and a good level of literacy
7
I can lead others sensitively keeping a positive working atmosphere and making contributions which significantly improve the effectiveness of the work I can develop a variety of characters and create and explore drama for a range of purposes
I have excellent control over all aspects of stage performance showing confidence originality and commitment in role I provide sensitive support for others on stage and my performance has a major contribution in conveying the playrsquos intentions to an audience
I can analyse and evaluate playscripts styles and genres perceptively I writetalk analytically and in depth about drama skills processes and techniques using drama terminology and show a high level of literacy
8
I work with total commitment and sensitivity in a group leading and inspiring others I experiment creatively with drama conventions and techniques using my own initiative to develop work with a high degree of originality
I have complete control over all aspects of stage performance and can display originality and create impact within a range of acting styles I support other performers superbly and demonstrate a very high level of audience awareness
I show an excellent understanding of drama genres styles conventions and techniques My evaluation is perceptive analytical and detailed showing original insight I use drama terminology with accuracy and display excellent literacy skills
Performance Report Levels and Scores Score
GRADE
LEVEL
WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE
89-100
A1 6 or above
I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience Exceptional
76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience Excellent
63-75 A3 45 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience Very good
50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience Good
39-50 B2 34 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience Reasonable
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience Satisfactory
13-25 D 3 or below
I show restricted use of acting skills offering little in the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience Restricted
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience Little
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Drama Skills and Levels
Level
CREATING
PERFORMING
EVALUATING
3
I work as part of a group and can co-operate with others I can create a simple character and develop some speech in role I can focus for some of the time in rehearsal
I remember some lines and co-operate with others on stage I can show a simple role through speech movement and gesture I sometimes face the audience
I can discuss the plot of a play I can writetalk in simple statements about my practical work and identify some targets for improvement
4
I listen to and co-operate with others sometimes suggesting ideas to develop my own role I can create a character who is different from myself I can stay focused for most of the time in rehearsal
I remember most of my part and stay in role for most of my performance I can speak in role and show some support for others on stage I am aware of what I want to communicate to an audience
I can identify features of good performance work I can writetalk in full sentences about my strengths and weaknesses and identify targets for improvement
5
I can stay focused throughout rehearsal and suggest some ideas to develop the work and roles I can create a well-developed character with a viewpoint different from my own and shape work into a satisfactory dramatic structure
I can speak clearly and use movement and gesture to show a character I can stay in role on stage and provide reasonable support for others in performance I can convey ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can identify strengths and weaknesses in both my work and that of others I can writetalk thoughtfully about the skills and processes of drama My writing shows a reasonable level of literacy
6
I suggest lots of ideas to develop work and roles helping others sensitively in rehearsal I can create drama in a variety of styles and devise a range of well-developed characters with extended roles I can use some exploratory drama techniques
I have good voice and movement skills and can convey well- sustained and convincing characters with confidence and some originality I support others well on stage I can convey complex ideas to an audience through my stage work
I can compare drama interpretations approaches and styles My evaluations show a high level of understanding of the skills and processes of drama through extended writingspeaking and a good level of literacy
7
I can lead others sensitively keeping a positive working atmosphere and making contributions which significantly improve the effectiveness of the work I can develop a variety of characters and create and explore drama for a range of purposes
I have excellent control over all aspects of stage performance showing confidence originality and commitment in role I provide sensitive support for others on stage and my performance has a major contribution in conveying the playrsquos intentions to an audience
I can analyse and evaluate playscripts styles and genres perceptively I writetalk analytically and in depth about drama skills processes and techniques using drama terminology and show a high level of literacy
8
I work with total commitment and sensitivity in a group leading and inspiring others I experiment creatively with drama conventions and techniques using my own initiative to develop work with a high degree of originality
I have complete control over all aspects of stage performance and can display originality and create impact within a range of acting styles I support other performers superbly and demonstrate a very high level of audience awareness
I show an excellent understanding of drama genres styles conventions and techniques My evaluation is perceptive analytical and detailed showing original insight I use drama terminology with accuracy and display excellent literacy skills
Performance Report Levels and Scores Score
GRADE
LEVEL
WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE
89-100
A1 6 or above
I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience Exceptional
76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience Excellent
63-75 A3 45 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience Very good
50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience Good
39-50 B2 34 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience Reasonable
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience Satisfactory
13-25 D 3 or below
I show restricted use of acting skills offering little in the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience Restricted
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience Little
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Performance Report Levels and Scores Score
GRADE
LEVEL
WHAT MY PERFORMANCE LOOKS LIKE
89-100
A1 6 or above
I demonstrate outstanding use of acting skills working highly effectively with others to create a highly original and effective performance with strong awareness of audience Exceptional
76-88 A2 5 I demonstrate excellent use of acting skills working effectively with others to create an original and effective performance with secure awareness of audience Excellent
63-75 A3 45 I demonstrate very good use of acting skills working very well with others to create an engaging and effective performance with very good awareness of audience Very good
50-62 B1 4 I show good use of acting skills working well with others to create a competent and mostly effective performance with good awareness of audience Good
39-50 B2 34 I show reasonable use of acting skills supporting others to create a coherent and reasonably effective performance with reasonable awareness of audience Reasonable
26-38 C 3 I show some use of acting skills contributing to the performance in a competent performance with some awareness of audience Satisfactory
13-25 D 3 or below
I show restricted use of acting skills offering little in the way of performance and difficult awareness of the audience Restricted
1-12 E Below 3 I show little use of acting skills offering nothing in the way of performance with no recognition of the audience Little
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Links to Commedia Resources
httpsyoutubeSNWlW-pABQs
httpwwwfactionoffoolsorgincludesCurriculu
m20Guide202011pdf
httpwwwbbccoukprogrammesp01s0j8t
httpwwwbbccoukeducationguideszpfk6sg
revision5
httplibguidesttsedusgcphpg=48365ampp=30
9148
Unit 1 Commedia dellrsquoArte Exercise 11 The Background to Commedia dellrsquoArte
Commedia dellrsquoArte was a very popular form of theatre that grew up in Italy in the 16th Century The phrase means literally ldquoThe Comedy of Artrdquo but can also be translated as ldquoThe Professional Theatrerdquo
It has influenced lots of comedy and theatre over the centuries including Shakespeare pantomime silent
movies and sit-coms
Commedia uses masks physical comedy improvisation and character types that are seen again and
again These are called stock characters
The three types of main characters
Vecchi ndash Old Men and masters
Innamorati ndash young lovers usually the sons and daughters of masters
Zanni ndash servants and slaves
The commedia troupe would travel around and perform on temporary stages in public areas such as
plazas The actors would improvise their lines around a scenario ndash a well-known story that had been
agreed before the show
Many of the actors were skilled at dancing acrobatics and music As part of the show many actors would
have set comic routines called lazzi ndash (Italian for lsquojoke comic
routine) These could be sometimes quite rude
Unlike Shakespeare Commedia became famous for employing
female actresses including Vincenza Armani who is the fest
documented female actor in theatre history performing in 1566
We get the term primadonna which means lsquofirst ladyrsquo from
female actors in Commedia
Look at the images on the previous page Can you tell anything
about the style of performance Imagine you were describing
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
how a Commedia performance looks in real life Write a description below
Choose three of the characters listed below Researching each character on the internet find out as much
as you can about their appearance movement and character type Draw and describe in the space below
Unit 12 Lazzi and Thinking Funny
There were hundreds of lazzi routines that were featured in Commedia performances Although all of them have a simple idea but it would be up to the actor to improvise around the idea and keep the audience laughing The best actors could keep a lazzi going for a long time Examples of Lazzi Lying Lazzo Zanni makes up lies and lies each more stupid than the last Optionally the stupidest lie he thinks of is what convinces the others of his honesty Doctor Lazzo Zanni disguises himself as a doctor and prescribes ridiculous and obviously lethal remedies to his patients Tasting Lazzo A zanni is cooking a pot of something for dinner He continually seasons the dish then tastes it then adds more seasoning tastes again and this goes on until there is no food left in the pot
Pantalone Il Dottore Arlecchino Il Capitano Isabella
Ottavio Columbina Pulcinella Brighella
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Revival Lazzo Woman pretends to faint or die Zanni enters and suggests that the way to revive her is pull her hair or twist her limbs
Imagine a scene where a zanni enters into a room full of the other characters and shouts loudly lsquoboorsquo This
is the lazzo of surprise The comedy comes from how different characters respond Pantalone could for
example clutch his chest pretending to have a heart attack and fall to the floor In response zanni could
leap over to help him but accidentally step on his toe causing Pantalone to bend over in agony And so on
What reactions could you have from other character A servant girl a young lady another servanthellip
Use your imagination and suggest how you would make the scene funny for a long time
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Unit 2 Sound and Music Exercise 21 The Uses of Sound in Drama Sound and music are very important in modern drama in helping create an effective performance They can help create atmosphere or mood Sound can be used to suggest location or actions Music can also suggest themes or character Both music and sound can be performed live or recorded Sound can be produced on stage by actors using their voices and bodies or with small props This is sometimes called foley When lots of actors create a sound it can be called a soundscape Sound can also be produced using technology with CDs or digital sound files played through a theatre sound system With technology you can add effects to sound such as reverb echo or distortion You can filter the sound so it sounds muffled or tinnier You can even crossfade the sound across the speakers so it appears that the sound is moving Look at the script below and then add details of possible sound effects You will also need to underscore the scene with some background music when you want to show tension
Scene A city school playground in the summer MAISIE Hey Jo Hey JO What MAISIE Take your headphones out I can hear your music itrsquos so loud JO Wait a minute let me turn it off What is it MAISIE Did you hear what happened at the party on Saturday JO I wasnrsquot there MAISIE I know Guess which supercute boy I was talking to JO Who Not Cameron MAISIE Itrsquos too noisy out here Letrsquos go inside They dash to the nearby gymnasium JO What happened MAISIE Your name might have been mentioned JO What You have to tell me what he said MAISIE Wait What was that JO Itrsquos nothing For Godrsquos sake tell me now
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Exercise 22 Foley Sound Effects and Creativity Foley Artists work in movies and TV adding or dubbing sound They do this to add sounds that donrsquot get picked up when the original sound was being recorded Foley artists can be very creative when coming up with ways to create sound Sound designers often experiment with foley in order to come up with new sounds For example The sound of punching ndash can be made by headbutting a lettuce An egg hatching ndash can be made by picking apart an ice cream cone Bones crunching ndash can be made by twisting a celery stick Footsteps in the wood ndash can be made by crunching potato crisps Look at the pictures below Write in exactly what sound effect you think the foley artist is creating Be imaginative
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Exercise 23 Creating Digital Soundscapes
Sound designers creating sound designs usually have a library of pre-recorded sound effects that they can use to create a custom-made soundscape They edit and mix sounds together on an editing program or application You probably will have used software like Garageband or Audacity to mix sound together When a sound designer creates a soundscape that suggests a location for the drama to take place like the playground in the previous exercise this is called a diegetic sound meaning it actually is in the world of the drama Background music that helps set the mood is called non-diegetic because the characters donrsquot actually hear the sound ndash itrsquos not in the world of the drama For each of these locations suggest at least three separate sound effects you would need to find in order to mix together an effective soundscape The first one has been done for you
A busy newspaper office London 9am Keyboard tapping
Telephones ringing
Distant sound of double decker bus
Coffee machine
An afternoon picnic by the river in Yorkshire Dales
A busy family kitchen before the school run Bradford
A shopping trip to the Trinity Centre in Leeds
Aliens have invaded Midnight Outside a nightclub in Manchester
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Unit 3 Improvisation Skills Exercise 31 The Basics of Good Improvisation Improvisation is the art of being on stage and making up the scene as you go along Improvisation is a skill that takes practice and you have to practice with someone else It also works when you know what makes good drama for the audience eg great characters conflict imaginative storytelling working with others The two basic ideas that we need to learn are accepting and blocking The first one is good and the second one is bad for improvisation If we block a suggestion from our partner we deny it and cancel it and make it difficult to go on If on the other hand we accept the idea we can begin to build on it
But to accept it is not enough we have to go further and build on the idea so that our partner doesnrsquot have to do all the work The most useful phrase to remember is ldquoYes andhelliprdquo It forces us to make statements This helps advance the improvisation
Note that even though the reply starts with the question the whole response accepts the idea (being hot) and then advances the scene to a new idea (because wersquore in hell)
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Imagine you are on stage with your partner They start the scene with the following statements Without trying to think too much imagine a reply that you could make that might accept the idea and also advance the scene to a new idea
Therersquos nothing in the bag
Irsquove already told them that you are here
I think that the picture should go there
Stop that at once
Irsquom really really happy
Just hit the undo button
Well look what the cat dragged in
Irsquom your number one fan
I think your mum is great
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Unit 4 How to Create Dramatic Tension Exercise 41 Suspense is the Key to Tension We have all watched that TV show seen that play or watched that movie where we sit in the audience feeling tense Just enough tension keeps us engaged in the drama to see what happens Too little tension makes drama boring just as too much makes it unbearable Suspense is a technique of structuring a story to create that tension There are three main types of suspense
Sympathetic Suspense
Suspense of Ignorance
Performance Suspense Sympathetic suspense is sometimes called dramatic irony It is where the audience knows something that a character does not For example in a kitchen we see the mother of a student who has applied to her dream university reading a letter of rejection addressed to her daughter Hearing her daughter come in through the front door she hides the letter Her daughter breezes in confidently asking if the letter has arrived Her mother lies and says it hasnrsquot The daughter seems unconcerned and talks at length about how she is confident she will be accepted soon and that it will be everything she has hoped for She starts looking on the university website at accommodation
Suspense of ignorance is where both the audience and the character have no knowledge of what is going to happen when itrsquos going to happen or why it is happening It is the suspense behind all mystery Every time a question is asked the audience will need to have that question answered When you lose your keys the question is ldquoWhere are my keysrdquo and you feel that tension of mystery Think of the character in the movie in front of a closed door We see them go towards the door and both
viewer and character suffer the same tension Whatrsquos behind the closed door Performance Suspense is the suspense you feel when a watch someone doing something very difficult or dangerous Will the trapeze artist make the final jump Will the sword swallower be OK Will the stuntman be able to drive the car through the flaming wreckage Audience will watch often holding their breath and some will not be able to watch The fear or pleasure is in the idea that someone could be in mortal danger
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Look at the following situations For each one write in whether they would be sympathetic suspense suspense of ignorance performance suspense Be careful some examples may have two types of suspense involved
In a crime thriller we see some bank robbers take members of the public hostage As our hero police officer arrives one of the bank robbers uses one of the customers as a human shield Our hero decides to take a shot to wound the bank robber Looking down the barrel of the gun we see she has a sliver of space to reach her target If she is off by an inch she will wound the hostage She holds her breath and gently squeezes the triggerhellip
Types Reason
In a rom com the male lead tells his friend that after months of not being able to work up the nerve he is finally going to ask the female lead out on a date The movie cuts to the female lead talking to her friend who asks her what she thinks about the male lead The female lead dismisses the idea out of hand saying that she has always thought of him as more of a friend or a brother The movie cuts back to the male lead confidently striding down the street and stopping off at a flower stall to pick up a gifthellip
Types Reason
In a spy film the female lead comes back to her apartment and discovers that it has been ransacked The floor is littered with papers and furniture someone has obviously been searching frantically for something Suddenly she hears a noise in the bathroomhellip
Types Reason
We watch an historical biopic about Henry VIII We see a scene where Anne Boleyn is talking about her love for the king with a girlfriend ldquoIrsquom so happy I feel certain that I will bear him a son and live as Queen for everrdquo
Types Reason
In a TV detective show the programme opens on a beautiful mansion at night We see only a gloved hand creep around the darkened swimming pool The gloved hand uses a crowbar to enter the pool pump house and we see the hand remove fuse breakers that prevent electrocution Meanwhile we see the beautiful heiress wonder out of the mansion in her swimming costume The lights for the pool turn on and we hear an unusual buzzing The background music sounds ominous
Types Reason
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Exercise 42 Creating Rising Tension and Climax Once tension has been created itrsquos the job of the actor and director to create a sense of rising tension so that the audience feels a sense of climax waiting for the outcome of that tension Whichever way the tension is released the audience will experience a sense of anti-climax For example think about a disaster movie There are flash floods caused by a tsunami and our heroes are trapped in a room inside a building as the water rushes in As the water level rises the situation looks increasingly dire for our heroes As the water hits the ceiling there are several options for the writer
They die The audience feels a gradual release of tension and obviously sad
There is a sudden dramatic event that saves them eg they escape through a window Superman rescues them The audience feels a quick release of tension and happy
The water levels go slowly down again The audience feels a gradual release of tension and happy
A director can take this idea and use various aspects of drama in order to make this climax even more tense for the audience
Timing ndash how long will the audience endure this climax Slowing the pace down is a good way of increasing tension
Music ndash The background music can be a great way of adding to the sense of danger
Lighting ndash Making the light dimmer or adding a particular colour like red can make the audience feel more danger Blackouts can also make the audience feel tense
Silence ndash sometimes removing the sound can be make us feel tension
Distraction ndash sometimes the director can choose to go to another scene or part of the story leaving the audience wanting to know what happening
Imagine the following scene from the end of a movie The bad guys with guns are chasing our hero and end up surrounding her Unarmed she realizes there is no escape and that this may be the end Describe how you would direct the movie in order to maximize the tension Describe each shot in seconds
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Character objective
Complication or Obstacle
Conflict
Exercise 43 Dramatic Conflict Creates Tension All drama needs conflict to create tension The conflict is made when a character has an objective or goal and there are complications or obstacles to achieving that objective There are about seven types of conflict Look at all the types of conflicts and their description and write in examples of films books or plays that you have seen that have that conflict
Conflict Type Description Example from film TV literature
Person Vs Person Two characters oppose each other Who will gain the upper hand
Person vs Self A character has to battle against an aspect of their own personality They may have may have competing desires one good and one evil
Person vs Fate Gods A character wants something but it seems like they are destined for something else They seem to have little freedom
Person vs Nature A character has to battle against the forces of nature perhaps for survival
Person vs Society A character has to struggle against the expectations of the community or society around them To get what they what they have to rebel in some way
Person vs Unknown Supernatural
A character has to struggle against an alien or unexplained phenomenon
Person vs Technology A character has to struggle against technology or machinery that doesnrsquot appear to be sympathetic to humans
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Unit 5 Documentary Theatre Exercise 51 Understanding Documentary Theatre
Documentary Theatre is theatre that is based on real events or facts The purpose is to use dramatic techniques to understand the human experiences behind the events and to educate audiences about facts and issues
The earliest forms of
Documentary Theatre took place in the 1920s in
Germany with directors Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator and was popular in America in the 1930s In those days they called it Living Newspaper because the writers would take clippings and issues from the newspapers and adapt them into plays When writers take a real event and create a drama that is based on the events we can call it docudrama Netflix TV Series The Crown is an example of this
When you see on a movie poster ldquoBased on a
true storyrdquo you can refer to it as docudrama Make a list below of TV shows movies books or plays that you have seen that are based on real events
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
Exercise 52 Documentary Theatre Techniques When working on Documentary Theatre there are certain techniques that make sure that your play will work well
Choose a good factual event
A good factual event often has an interesting build up which adds dramatic tension
Show the drama from different perspectives viewpoints
Research properly and thoroughly all the material around the event
Base your drama on the facts not your opinions
Build a clear timeline of what happened This can help create scene ideas
If you jump from location to location or back and forward in time make sure itrsquos clear to the audience
Use actual extracts of text (newspaper text speeches testimony by witnesses) This is called verbatim when you use the original text word for word
Think about a factual event that you are familiar with Suggest webpages that you might use for research (not including search engines or Wikipedia) include possible viewpoints of the event or characters you could focus on and outline three potential scene ideas
Name of Event and Date
Useful web pages for research a)
b)
c)
Viewpoints Character ideas a)
b)
c)
Potential Scene Ideas a)
b)
c)
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
My targets for improving my performance for the future
Assessment Evaluation Form
Date of Assessment Unit of Assessment
My Creating Level My Performing Level My Evaluation Level My Report Level
Teacher Creating Level
Teacher Performing Level
Teacher Evaluation Level
Teacher Report Level
Describe your role and what you did as part of your performance
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you did well in terms of your acting skills
Using the Drama Levels in the Handbook look at the Creating and Performing sections What do you
think that you could have improved on
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