Devising from an image: Narrative approaches

Waiting: an introduction to drama conventions

Acting Shakespeare: Monologues from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Practising physical and vocal skills

Live theatre responses: Becoming a critic

Narrative structures using poetry: Developing monologues

Who Cares?: A devising unit

Acting Shakespeare: Twelfth Night

Posture, gesture and voice in performance

Live theatre responses: Using social media

Approaching text: Bringing it to life

One text, different approaches

The journey: a verbatim project

Study of text in contemporary, cultural contexts

Live performance responses: Evaluating stagecraft

Understanding roles and responsibilities of the creative team

Commedia dell'arte: an introduction

Using Drama conventions to explore contemporary issues

Drama

Y9 Drama

Key Stage 3

Year 9

UNIT

In this lesson, we will examine use of space, lighting, sound and set design, evaluating how these features are used to create specific effects for an audience .

Evaluating stagecraft - use of space and technical elements

﻿Hi there, I'm Mrs. Bradley. Welcome to drama and lesson one in the evaluating stagecraft unit. In this unit we'll become theatre critics, and we'll look at a wide range of acting, design and creative skills in order to evaluate them and look at the success. If you're ready for this first lesson let's see what we'll need today. In this lesson, you'll need something to write on and you'll need a pen to write with. Let's look at what we'll do today. So I hope you've done the intro quiz already and that we'll have just looked at some of the prior knowledge you might need for this lesson. We will look at the start at some key terminology for some skills that we'll use today. Will then be watching a clip from a theatre production called Small Island. With that we're going to be evaluating some of the production elements we can see in the clip. And then that will take us to the end and then there will just be an exit quiz to check your progress from today. So looking at key words for this lesson, there are three key skills we're going to use today. The first is describing. So describe means to give an accurate account of something in detail. We'll also be analysing. So analyse means to examine something in detail and explain why choices were made. And then we will be evaluating and evaluating means to come to a judgement about the success of something. So it will be doing those three key things today; describing, analysing, and evaluating what was the on stage. So the aims of these lessons in this unit of evaluating stagecraft are, we want you to appreciate a wide range of theatre productions. So it's about you developing a personal response to theatre. Looking at some examples and seeing what you like and why you like it, and what your response to that is. We would like you to understand how acting skills, design elements, and also staging choices can all be used to create a dramatic effect. We're going to look at developing these key skills for you for describing, analysing, and evaluating which are really important in drama. And then we will be looking at making detailed notes and writing responses to pieces of life theatre. So we're going to start by watching an extract from a theatre production and then using that to make some notes on. We're watching an extract from Small Island. So this is a really recent production made by the National Theatre. And it's adapted from the novel by Andrea Levy. So this play tells a story of migration from Jamaica to England after the Second World War which took place mainly between 1944 and 1948. It's a true story and it's based on the real migration that happened on the Empire Windrush Vic ship. So we're going to watch a scene where two characters Hortense and Gilbert are married. And Gilbert is setting off on his journey to England from Jamaica on the Empire Windrush. It's a passenger ship, which took people to England over that period of time. In the scene we see Hortense saying goodbye because she'll travel over later. So as we watch this clip I don't want you to write anything, but I want you to try and be really observant and really think about what you notice about how the scene is structured. And then as you're watching, thinking about what your personal response to what's happening on stage is, how does this make you feel? What's your understanding of what's happening on the stage and what can you notice about all the different features of the scene? But don't write anything 'cause just give the clip your full attention to make sure that you can really appreciate what's happening in this clip.

You want to get to England forgetting all about me and leave me here.

Of course not, now as soon as I have somewhere to stay, I'll write to you. Hortense, can I have a kiss now, just one, we are married after all.

There maybe women who will turn your head in England.

You jealous already.

No, but you must always remember what you have promised me.

We have a deal Hortense. Look, I give you my RA half salute. That is the salute of a gentleman. I will see you soon Hortense.

Okay, so that's the clip and I hope you enjoyed it. And what we're going to do now is just look at your responses to that clip in the first instance. Okay, so I want you to think about your initial response as an audience member, imagining that you are the audience for this production. So I put some questions here, which I'd like you to answer. And this is going to start to frame your response to the extract. We're thinking about this holistically, first of all because this unit is all about developing an appreciation for theatre. So it was my to think about what did you like about the scene? What stood out to you in the scene? What emotions did the scene make you feel. Were you aware as you were watching of any atmosphere being created or changing in the scene? How is the stage space used effectively? And did you notice any lighting or did you notice any music? So we are going to watch it again. So we are going to develop our knowledge of what was happening in the scene but like you just to pause here and reflect on your initial response. So take as long as you need to answer these questions and then when you're ready, we'll move on. Great, so now we've responded initially we're going to zoom in, on specific elements in the scene and I've put this into four categories for you. So I want you to think about the use of space. So that is how the actors use the stage and how this change throughout the extract. The use of lighting, how the lighting changed and what effects this created when it changed. The use of sound, how sound was added in and the effect of this, and the use of set design, so how the set design communicated meaning. So with those four elements in mind we're going to watch the clip again. So perhaps just pause here and write down those four headings before we then move on to watch the extract for a second time. So outside, I've put on the screen here, watch the clip again. And this time make notes on what you can see about the use of space, lighting, sound and set design. We'll watch it through together once but if you need to go back and watch it again to make more notes, that's absolutely fine.

You want to get to England forgetting all about me and leave me here.

Of course not, now as soon as I have somewhere to stay, I'll write to you. Hortense, can I have a kiss now, just one, we are married after all.

There maybe women who will turn your head in England.

You jealous already.

No, but you must always remember what you have promised me.

We have a deal Hortense. Look, I give you my RA half salute. That is the salute of a gentleman. I will see you soon Hortense.

Okay, so that's the clip again and I hope you were able to see that time more detail in the use of space, lighting, sound and set design. So pause here for longer if you need to answer your notes and then when you're ready we'll review those elements that you would have written about. All right, then. So what we asked you to do was describe the specific elements in the scene. So we're going to start by looking at use of space and use of sound. So I'm going to show you my notes and this is a chance for you to add to your notes or just check if few got some things similar to me. So, use of space. So at the start of the clip, Gilbert and Hortense were at the front of the stage where they and we call this downstage. The ensemble cast, so that's everybody else on the stage were spread out in lines across the left and right of the stage as if they were waiting to board the ship. And then when the ship appeared Gilbert walked upstage centre. So he turned around and see him walked up through the middle of the stage and we call that upstage centre to join the ship. So that was how the space was used throughout. Another thing we could add is that Hortense stage, downstage centre didn't change as Gilbert walked away from her. In terms of the sound, when the ship appeared we've got this sweeping music that started and that to start with was created with cymbals. So we had this lovely cymbal sound as the ship arrived with the sheet going up onto the stage. There was also some orchestral wind and string instruments. So I definitely heard wind instruments and string instruments. You maybe be able to go into more detail than that but they also increased in volume as the ship appeared and as Gilbert walked ahead into the ship. So that was a description of the use of sound. If you want to pause here and just add this to your notes, that's fine. Then we'll look at the other elements of the scene. So we also looked at the us of lighting and the use of set design. The lighting that I noticed was that the lighting was initially really bright covering the whole stage and we call this a full wash and it was a warm white light. This then faded into a blackout when the ship became visible. And then Hortense was it a cold white spotlight downstage centre. So she stayed lit, but the rest of the stage actually went into blackout. And the light source was then provided from the projection of the ship. The set design, the stage was empty to start with and then later as a ship appeared this was a large white cloth, was suspended from the ceiling and it was flown up into position and the Empire Windrush was then projected onto that screen, wasn't it? So we call a screen that we can project on a cyclorama in the theatre, so that large white cloth acted as a cyclorama, which was then projected onto. So again, if you want to pause here, what I've put in bold is the key terminology. If he wants to add this to your description then pause here and do so, and then we will carry on. Great, so we're going to move on now to some analysis. So analysis means to explain why something has been done by thinking about it in more detail. So what we're going to analyse is the use of staging and design for this extract. And I want you to be focusing on these questions. Why did they make those choices? What did those choices show? And what effect did those choices create? So there's why, what and what effect. So we looked at these four elements which we've now described. I'd like you to have a go at analysing. So looking at lighting, for example, if we have at the start, a warm white wash, why was that lighting used? If we then have Hortense left on the stage in a cold white spotlights at the end, why was that done? If we have sound, if we have this sweeping music of cymbals, why was that done? So what effect was that creating? So pause here, look back at your descriptive notes but now ask yourself why were those things done and what did that suggest, convey or represent to you as an audience member? So pause here until you've made those analytical notes and then we'll go through those together. Great, so I've added my notes here now. So let's go through these, one at a time. So the use of space, first of all, so Gilbert and Hortense being downstage centre right at the very front of the stage, it really drew our attention to them. The way the ensemble cast look like they're all cued to board the ship, for me that that was effective because it created a sense of anticipation. There was something that everybody was waiting for and it made it really high stakes and really exciting. Then we had Gilbert walking upstage centre. He walked very slowly and that created an exciting atmosphere. There was also a sense of anticipation but what we got as well as that the proxemics change between Hortense and Gilbert, proxemics is distance between two performers or more to convey their relationship. So the fact that Gilbert walking upstage and leaving Hortense downstage that created a distance between them. And that may be would have created perhaps a sense of apprehension. Like what was that relationship going to survive? And it just created that physical distance between them, with Gilbert then moving to England and Hortense for the time being staying in Jamaica. Looking at the use of lighting. So the blackout drew our focus then upstage to the projection of the ship but the spotlight staying on Hortense downstage centre helped to remind us the audience that she was still there and create that sense of isolation and just create that distance like we've just said that she was not part of the group going on the ship. Then we've got the use of sound. So for me, the cymbals created a really exciting atmosphere. It was positive. It was a sense of a new start, something new and exciting and again, the sense of anticipation of what that journey was going to hold. And then the use of set design. So the Cyclorama, it obviously creates a huge focus for us. So our eye immediately was drawn to that ship. It was so big covering the whole width of the stage but that created a sense of excitement. I also made the connection between the cloth itself was reminiscent of an old fashioned ship sail. So that just, it made me think of a ship straight away when I saw that the cloth actually going up it was like hoisting a sail. So that's perhaps another element to analyse in that particular use of set design. So my idea is that they're not everything that you might've seen. You might have more than this, which would be fantastic but this is how we analyse. These are some of the things that you might have analysed. So if you need to pause here and add this to your notes, then do so. And then when you're ready, we'll continue on to evaluation. So as we said in the keywords at the very start, evaluating means coming to a judgement about something. So when we look at live theatre, after I'm a students it's really important that you've got a personal response. What we want to know as teachers is what it meant to you and what you thought about what you saw in the production. So what did you think of the performance? How successful was the performance in your opinion? What we're going to do is think about each of the elements and how they worked together, and then think about how successful do you think it was overall? So that's some the questions we ask ourselves when we evaluate live theatre. So here are some sentence starters to write your own evaluation which is what I'd like you to do now. So please remember, this is your opinion. There's no wrong answers 'cause it's whether you thought the performance was successful. So overall it's what you thought of the entire extract. So that word overall is a useful starting point. I'd like you now to pause here and write your evaluation of this scene, looking back at your description, analysis and our buildings towards this final task. If you want to do use the sentence starters which might help to structure your thoughts, take as long as you need here to use your evaluative skills. And then when you're ready, just move on. And well done. That's it for this lesson because we've just embedded and started to use all three of those key skills for this unit; describing, analysing and evaluating. Each lesson will be a different element of stagecraft. So I look forward to seeing you again next time, and well done for today.

In this lesson, we will explore a contemporary interpretation of a Shakespeare text, looking at how the actors use their skills and adapt the language to create comedy.

Evaluating stagecraft - contemporary interpretations

﻿Hello, I'm Mrs. Bradley. Welcome back to Drama, our lesson two in the Evaluating Stagecraft unit. If you're ready, we'll continue. In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or some paper to write on, and you'll need a pen to write with. So, I hope you've done the intro quiz because that will have recapped some of your prior learning from the previous lesson. We will just go over today some key terminology that we're going to use in this lesson. And we'll be then watching an extract from a play. When we've watched the extract, we will be exploring how what we are looking at today is a contemporary interpretation. So we'll focus on that for this lesson and then we'll analyse and evaluate how successful the contemporary interpretation is. And that will take us to the end and then don't forget, there's always an exit quiz which will just check your progress from this lesson. Our keywords for today then. We're going to look today at what an ensemble is. So an ensemble is when a group works together for a collective goal, such as a group of actors or an ensemble of musicians. We're going to look at an interpretation. So an interpretation is a representation of something, perhaps in a new or unique way. And we're going to be looking at context. So context is the setting or background to a play which helps us understand it. And the aims for this lesson are to explore a contemporary interpretation of a Shakespeare play. And we're going to be analysing and evaluating the success of this contemporary interpretation. Alongside this, we'll be continuing to develop your skills in describing, analysing, and evaluating live theatre. So let's get started. The play we're looking at is "A Midsummer Night's Dream". You may know this play already, you might have seen it, read it, or watched it on TV or a film, but let's do a quick plot summary. So, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare. It's a play about fairies and lovers. It's a comedy. We have the King and Queen of the Fairies, Oberon and Titania, and we have the four lover characters. But there's also a group of Mechanicals. So the group of the Mechanicals, they're a group of labourers who live in the local area and they're putting on a play, very much like an amateur drama group. So the play within a play that the Mechanicals create creates a lot of comedy. So we watch them plan and rehearse their play, not very successfully at times. And that's a large part of the comedy within the play. We're going to look at a key scene, which is when the group of Mechanicals are planning their performance. So because this is Shakespeare, before we watch the scene let's just look at the text. So here are the lines from the scene that you're about to look at. In this scene, the six Mechanicals are discussing when they should perform their play because they want to have moonshine in the play. So they want to have the moon shining as part of their story. And what they're discussing here is, is the moon shining that night? And so what they want to do is look in a calendar and see when the next full moon is scheduled because the more moon is on display, the brighter the moonshine will be and they think they can maybe use that in their performance. So here's the dialogue from the original Shakespeare text. Doth the moon shine that night we play our play? A calendar, a calendar! Look in the almanack. Find out moonshine, find out moonshine! Yes, it doth shine that night. Why then, may you leave a casement of the great chamber window where we play open and the moon may shine in at the casement. So that bit of text is just a suggestion of what we're going to see. And Bottom, the character, is suggesting we look at a calendar, we look at if the moon is shining. Quince has a calendar and we work out that, yes, the moon is going to shine that night. And then Bottom suggests that if they leave a window open, the moon can shine in on their play. So we're going to watch an interpretation of this scene. And so now you understand the context of the original scene, we're going to look at if the context has changed. So we're going to watch this clip together. And I want you to look at how the interpretation of the scene is now different. And what effect does this have? So as we watch, or perhaps just after you've watched it, make some notes on what you notice about the interpretation. This is the 2019 Nicholas Hytner production. So directed by Nick Hytner, performed at the Bridge Theatre and filmed by National Theatre Live. So let's have a look at this clip.

Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?

A calendar.

A calendar?

A calendar?

Calendar...

Calendar?

Oh, a calendar! A calendar.

A calendar, a calendar, a calendar.

Apple, Android!

Google.

A calendar, a calendar!

Got an iPhone?

What, mate?

Do you have a calendar?

Android?

Ah, yes, yes.

Galaxy!

Got one, got one, got one, got one, got one, got one, got one! Unlock your calendar, I beseech you. Look in the almanack, find out moonshine, find out moonshine! 24th of June, 24th of June.

Yes! The moon doth shine that night!

Yes! Why, then, may you leave a casement of the- May you leave a casement of the great chamber window open, and the moon may shine in at the casement.

Aye, or else one must come in with a whoosh of thorns and a lantern and say he comes to disfigure or to present the person of moonshine!

Ah, for this, your leave, much thanks.

Bottom!

Hmm?

Portrait.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, there you go. So that was the clip and I'm sure you can see how now in this version, the interpretation is very different. So if you need to pause here and make a few more notes, that's fine. And then when you're ready, we will carry on and look at what we saw in this extract. Alright, then so I've got some specific questions here for you to answer about what you noticed. So I'd like you to pause here and answer these specific questions just to make sure you formulate your notes from what you saw. And then when you're ready we'll go through the answers to these questions. Alright, so the first question was how did this production make the scene contemporary for a modern audience? And so the answer that I've come up with here is that they needed to know a date, didn't they? So they borrowed someone's phone to look this up because more often than not these days, if we need to look at a date, our calendar would be on our phone. So that leads on to the next question. What was the contemporary interpretation of the calendar? So the calendar became a mobile phone. So when they were saying, "A calendar, a calendar!", they were referring to a phone and they borrowed a phone from an audience member. What else did the ensemble do in the scene which is not in the original script? So they ad-libbed additional lines. So ad-libbing just means improvising lines which are not in the script. So responding in the moment to what's happening on stage. So they improvised by ad-libbing additional lines and they also took a selfie, didn't they, at the end. So the selfie is definitely not in the script. But they referred to that as a portrait, using a bit more of Shakespearean language and making that quite funny. And so what effect did that have on the audience? So I've just said it was funny, wasn't it? So it was very funny. It created a comic effect but it also made the scene more relatable and more relevant because we understood from watching that what a calendar was and what they were trying to achieve. And I think the use of the mobile phone as a calendar just helped make the scene more relevant and easy to understand. So they're my notes in answer to those questions. If you want to pause here and add anything to your notes then you can do, and then when you're ready, we'll carry on. So just a reminder, then, of our key skills because this is what we're focusing on in this unit. We're looking at describing because whenever we look at something in live theatre, we want to be able to describe it by giving a detailed account of it in detail. We then want to analyse what we see. So analyse means to examine something in detail and explain why those choices were made. We then are going to evaluate. So evaluate means to come to a judgement overall about the success of something. So, we're going to watch the clip again, and this time we're going to make more detailed notes. This time focusing on the description of what happens in the scene and the analysis of why the actors do that and make those choices. You can set this out like a table as I've done here or you can just make bullet point notes. So I've given you an example here which you might want to follow. So, one aspect of the scene. I've said that Bottom, the character, played by Hammad Animashaun makes a hand gesture like holding a mobile phone, so he does this with his hand to his ear, making eye contact with the audience when he asks, "Do you have a calendar?" So he sort of does this gesture and says those words. So that's my description of what happens. But why does he do that? Remember that analysing is examining something in detail and coming up with why. So he does this to change the context of the calendar to mean a mobile phone. And this straight away creates comedy for the audience. Making the hand gesture helps the audience understand what he means and it makes the meaning of the line, and the contemporary interpretation, a lot clearer. So just from this simple gesture, we've got quite a lot of analysis because we can explain and examine in detail why he did that. So. We're going to watch the clip again to do that. And here's where you need to make your detailed notes. So watch the clip, but then do pause and take as long as you need either using a table like that, a description and analysis, or just making some detailed bullet point notes. When we're looking at what the actors do, try and use some acting terminology, for example, refer to their movements, their facial expressions, their gestures, their proxemics, which means the use of space, and their vocal skills. So here we go, watching the clip again for you to look at the specific use of acting skills now.

Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?

A calendar.

A calendar?

A calendar?

Calendar...

Calendar?

Oh, calendar! A calendar.

A calendar, a calendar, a calendar.

Apple, Android!

Google.

A calendar, a calendar!

An iPhone?

What, mate?

Do you have a calendar?

Android?

Ah, yes, yes.

Galaxy!

Got one, got one, got one, got one, got one, got one, got one! Unlock your calendar, I beseech you. Look in the almanack, find out moonshine, find out moonshine! 24th of June, 24th of June.

Yes! The moon doth shine that night!

Yes! Why, then, may you leave a casement of the- May you leave a casement of the great chamber window open, and the moon may shine in at the casement.

Aye, or else one must come in with a whoosh of thorns and a lantern and say he comes to disfigure or to present the person of moonshine!

Ah, for this, your leave, much thanks.

Bottom!

Hmm?

Portrait.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Great, so there's the clip again. If you need to pause here for longer and make your notes about the acting skills, then obviously take as long as you need. And then when you are ready, we'll move on. Alright, then, so let's review your notes. Here's some examples of what you could've written. These are just suggestions and you might've written about different aspects of the performance and analysed that in a different way, and that's absolutely fine. It's always important to remember that analysis is your opinion. And so your interpretation might be different from my interpretation. But just to help you along, here's just a couple of suggestions. So I looked at the section where the Mechanicals huddle into a group centre stage to look at the phone, first of all. But then they all come out of that huddle. Bottom walks back to the audience member to say, "Unlock your calendar, I beseech you." So why does he do that and what effect does that have? So, what we get here is some comedy because of the juxtaposition between the Shakespearian language and the request for a phone to be unlocked. So juxtaposition is when two things come together which contrast, and that creates an effect. So here we get a comic effect. So we get the side by side comparison, the Shakespearian language, I beseech you, and unlock your calendar, and that creates more comedy. Then the Mechanicals huddle into a group again, centre stage, all with their heads down huddled tight together, to look at the calendar. And then they all gasp in unison. And then look back at the audience member in unison, again, who the phone belongs to and they give disapproving and shocked facial expressions. So that's quite a detailed description of that particular moment. And the analysis is that it sort of creates this effect that they've seen something rude or something shocking on that phone, haven't they? And this creates a comic effect for the audience. They really laugh, don't they? 'Cause it's really funny. I think what happens here is the audience laugh because they're glad it's not their phone. Imagine the embarrassment, if the Shakespearian actors have seen something on your phone which wasn't meant to be there. So, we get this really nice comic effect again from the gasp in unison, from the looks they give to that audience member. So I've got description but then I've got why they've done that. And this, because it's a comedy and this particular set of characters are comic, we've got a lot of things created here for comic effect. Alright then. So now it's evaluation time. So, evaluating, don't forget, is coming to a conclusion overall. So we're going to put all of our notes together from today to answer an exam style question. So I'd like you to put your answers into paragraphs to answer the question that's here on the screen. Describe how a production you have seen created comedy for the audience. Analyse and evaluate the techniques used for comic effect. So within the question are those key skills, describe, analyse and evaluate. So when you're writing, you need to describe the use of skills, analyse why those choices were made and then evaluate how they were successful in creating comedy. So, here are some sentence starters which might help you complete this task. These are just optional, but might help you structure your writing. There's eight different sentence starters and then I've also put some key words, which I've used today in the various aspects of the lesson, which I think would help make your writing really successful. We should be referring to the contemporary interpretation. We could look at context, the juxtaposition, the use of ensemble, the use of comedy, how it was effective, and how it affected the audience. So they're some key words to use alongside these sentence starters. I would suggest pausing the video here just to make a note of the key words and also write down the sentence starters which you want to use. And then let's now complete the task. So, use all of the notes from today to answer the exam style question. The question's here again on the screen. You may want to write about two or three different moments in the scene with an introduction at the start and a conclusion at the end. And the conclusion is your overall summary of how the scene was effective in creating comedy. So this is your task for the remainder of this lesson, take as long as you need, and then just resume when you're finished. And brilliant work. So it was, in a sense, a complex scene because we had a very different interpretation to the original text. But I hope you were able to see how everything they did was structured to create comedy and to make the scene more relatable and more relevant to a modern day audience and how successful that was. So great work today with your description, analysis, and evaluation skills and I'll see you next time.

In this lesson, we will focus on ensemble acting, examining how actors working together can create effective moments for an audience.

Evaluating stagecraft - ensemble acting

In this lesson, we will look at design elements, exploring how the combination of multiple effects can create breathtaking moments of theatre.

Evaluating stagecraft - special effects

Unit Overview: Live performance responses: Evaluating stagecraft

Lessons:

Evaluating stagecraft - use of space and technical elements

Evaluating stagecraft - contemporary interpretations

Evaluating stagecraft - ensemble acting

Evaluating stagecraft - special effects