I Projected Learning Goals and Objectives:
Drama productions at the high school level can be memorable, incarnating experiences both for students and for the entire school community. Since the theatrical journey is as important as the destination, we will work with a sequence of rehearsal exercises designed to help students imagine characters and, ultimately, plays into being. Movement, speech, gesture, timing will receive special emphasis. The goal here is to offer participants an insight into why the dramatic process can be a mini-initiation for all involved.
II Overview of Course Content and Methods:
Exploring the Physical:
moving through space, learning mobility, employing meaningful gestures
Charging the Atmosphere:
working with the elements, evoking and altering mood, filling the space with feeling
Creating the Character:
psychological gestures, locating “centers,” playing with props, discovering voices
Bringing the Play to Life:
finding the other characters, filling the pauses, refining timing, honoring the
wholeness of scenes and of the entire play
To give us focus, we will work with excerpts of scenes from John Cariani’s Almost Maine, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, one of Shakespeare’s comedies, and other selections.
III Verification Requirements and Evaluation Methods:
Evaluation will be based solely on the fullness of students’ participation.
IV Suggested Readings:
Peter Bridgmont, The Spearthrower
David Sloan, Stages of Imagination
Michael Chekhov, To the Actor
Keith Johnstone, Impro
