Havergal's Uncalendar, 2018-19 Academic Year

THE ARTS

DRAMATIC ARTS

GRADE 7 Grade 7 Drama

GRADE 8 Grade 8 Drama

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” —Thornton Wilder The Grade 7 Drama course at Havergal seeks to cultivate and enhance students’ creative potential. It provides them with an opportunity to explore emotions, use their imaginations to create other worlds and work with other members of a group to investigate traditional and non-traditional dramatic forms. This course will help students develop the confidence to think on their feet, problem solve, work collaboratively with others, meet deadlines, take safe risks, challenge themselves and appreciate the lives of others by having “walked in their shoes.” In Grade 7 Drama, there is a heavy focus on physicality and becoming comfortable with telling stories through our bodies. Success in the Drama classroom means fully participating in activities, learning to work with peers creatively and giving and implementing thoughtful feedback.

“The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.” —Stella Adler Building on the skills developed in the Grade 7 Drama course, this course helps students hone their concentration and performance skills. Although most Drama students do not become theatre professionals, they can use the skills emphasized in this course in all areas of life. Each student will present two major monologue performances in the course. The first is a student-written monologue where the emphasis is on accurately reflecting the wants and needs of the character they have created in a process drama, bringing a scripted text alive. The second performance is a memorized monologue where students work to make inferences from the text to influence their choices regarding physicality, voice and blocking. As a part of the performance, they will design a lighting plot (with technical assistance from the teacher) and include music. Between these units, students will explore soundscape and tableaux through a complex process drama. Over the course of Grade 8 Drama, students will routinely be confronted with the stories of others. Through bringing these characters to life, they will gain a greater understanding of empathy and what it means to walk in another’s shoes.

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