Developing responses: writing about acting

In this lesson, we will focus on a contemporary interpretation of a play, examining how actors use their skills to interpret their roles.

Developing responses: writing about acting

In this lesson, we will focus on a contemporary interpretation of a play, examining how actors use their skills to interpret their roles.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, students will learn about different forms of theatre reviews and compare the style of writing across different platforms - such as Twitter, blogs, podcasts, and web articles. They will explore their own responses to a piece of performance and plan an analytical piece of writing in a social media format.

Content guidance

  • Physical activity required.

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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5 Questions

Q1.
What is tone of voice in acting?
Correct answer: How an actor communicates the emotion behind a line.
How an actor stands.
How high or low an actor's voice is.
Q2.
What is an interpretation?
How a character is written.
Correct answer: How an actor understands a character to be and how they portray them.
How we analyse a character.
Q3.
What does 'evaluate' mean?
Correct answer: To come to a judgement about the success of something.
To describe something.
To question something.
Q4.
Who wrote the play A Midsummer Night's Dream?
Jeff Kinney.
Malorie Blackman.
Correct answer: William Shakespeare.
Q5.
What does the word 'contemporary' mean?
Correct answer: Belonging to the present time, modern day.
Old fashioned.
Something from before 1900.

5 Questions

Q1.
What does posture mean?
Correct answer: How an actor holds themselves.
How an actor moves their limbs.
How an actor speaks.
Q2.
How did Gwendoline Christie portray Titania's high status in the scene you watched?
By moving about a lot in the space to look controlling.
Correct answer: Through tone of voice and volume.
Through using a lot of elaborate hand gestures.
Q3.
How could you describe David Moorst's body language as Puck in the scene you watched?
Energetic and fast moving.
Nervous and closed off.
Correct answer: Slumped posture, loose body language.
Q4.
What is a "contemporary interpretation"?
A play written in a contemporary period.
A style of dance.
Correct answer: An interpretation of a character which differs from the original way it was written.
Q5.
When we analyse a performance, we are looking at...
How the actor used their skills.
If we liked the performance or not.
Correct answer: Why the actor made those choices and what this suggests about the character.

Lesson appears in

UnitDrama / Live theatre responses: Using social media