Curriculum Standard 1
Students will create theatre through improvising, writing and refining scripts.
Curriculum Standard 2
Students will act by developing, improvising, communicating and sustaining characters.
Curriculum Standard 3
Students will design and produce the technical elements of theatre through artistic interpretation and execution.
Curriculum Standard 4
Students will direct by planning or interpreting works of theatre by organizing and conducting rehearsals.
Curriculum Standard 5: Students will research, evaluate and apply cultural and historical information to make artistic choices. |
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Curriculum Standard 6
Students will make curriculum connections among theatre, the arts, and other disciplines.
Curriculum Standard 7
Students will analyze, critique and construct meanings from works of theatre.
Curriculum Standard 8
Students will demonstrate an understanding of context by analyzing and comparing theatre in various cultures, historical periods and everyday life.
Curriculum Standard 9
Understand the range of careers in the field of theatre arts and identify careers associated with this field. |
Purpose
Theatre occupies a unique position among the arts. It invites audiences to explore the social mores, political persuasions, and conventions of particular times and settings. It also illuminates the commonality of human experience across the ages. The same play may be interpreted differently from one century to the next, yet man's struggle with himself or nature remains the same. For example, Macbeth's ambition would be perceived differently in Elizabethan England and twenty-first century America, yet the destructive nature of excess ambition is evident in both settings.
The actor is at the heart of all theatrical productions, whether in the classroom or the on the professional stage, and relies upon the complete artistic-self to communicate thoughts and ideas. Characterization, a basic component of acting, is exemplified through movement, gesture and bodily attitude. The actors' voice, through diction and delivery, is also used to help shape character. Therefore, theatre, in its simplest form, such as a single actor on a bare stage, utilizes the visual, aural and movement elements of the other art disciplines to express ideas.
In its more complex forms, theatre promotes the unique contributions of the other art disciplines. Consider opera and musical theatre. Here, orchestration, choreography, costumes, sets and lighting provide a fuller production. Additional skills in set and costume construction, lighting and sound design, and business management, among others, are required. And yet, behind the glare of the footlights, the actor calls upon his ability to observe, perceive, and respond in body and mind in portraying his character on stage.
In the classroom, students can express ideas through theatrical concepts that range from simple, imaginative role playing to full-scale collaborative productions. These theatre activities allow students to make decisions, collaborate, solve problems, synthesize and analyze information, as well as reflect on common human experiences. These are life-long skills that will be valuable in the work place and in human relationships.
The theatre framework contains nine curriculum standards and outlines Proficiency Standards for grades four, eight and twelve. In the early grades, theatre students learn about life, actions and consequences, and about the customs and beliefs of others and themselves. The later years require students to reach beyond their immediate experiences into the larger world of history, politics, and society, and examine the role of playwright, designer, actor, and director. Students will begin to develop their critical and analytic skills in theatre and will play a larger role in the planning and evaluating their work. Over time, dramatic skills and techniques are developed with exploration of increasingly more complex attitudes, values, and behavior, thereby developing a deeper understanding of personal issues and a broader world view.
Curriculum Standard 1 |
Students will create theatre through improvising, writing and refining scripts. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Collaborate to select interrelated characters, environments, and situations for classroom dramatizations.
Improvise dialogue to tell stories, then formalize their improvisations by writing or recording the dialogue.
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Create, individually and in groups, characters, environments, and actions that create tension and suspense.
Refine and record dialogue and action.
Write simple scripts.
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Construct imaginative scripts using different playwriting forms and techniques.
Collaborate with actors to refine scripts so that story and meaning are conveyed to an audience.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Write theatre, film, television, or electronic media scripts containing original characters with dialogue that motivates the action in both traditional and new forms
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Curriculum Standard 2 |
Students will act by developing, improvising, communicating and sustaining characters. |
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End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Imagine and clearly describe characters, their relationships, and their environments.
Use variations of locomotor and nonlocomotor movement and vocal pitch, tempo, and tone for different characters.
Assume roles in classroom dramatizations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature, and history.
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Analyze descriptions, dialogue, and actions, in order to explain character motivation.
Invent character behaviors that align with the nature of a given script.
Demonstrate artistic choices, such as body alignment and diction, that develop characterizations.
Sustain character during ensemble interactions.
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Analyze the physical, emotional, and social dimensions of characters found in the dramatic texts from various genres and media.
Compare and demonstrate classical and contemporary acting techniques and methods.
Demonstrate artistic discipline in rehearsal and performance.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Create and sustain characters in monologues and ensembles, using different acting styles and techniques.
Create consistent characters from classical, contemporary, realistic, and nonrealistic dramatic texts in informal and formal theatre, film, television, or electronic media productions.
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Curriculum Standard 3 |
Students will design and produce the technical elements of theatre through artistic interpretation and execution. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Visualize environments and construct designs to communicate locale and mood.
Organize available materials that suggest scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes, and makeup in a collaborative group.
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Describe and use the relationships among scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes, and make-up in creating an environment appropriate for the drama.
Analyze improvised and scripted scenes for technical requirements.
Design stage environments, including setting, sound and light from traditional and nontraditional sources.
Work collaboratively and safely to select and create elements of scenery, properties, lighting, and sound to signify environments.
Select or create costumes and make up to suggest character.
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Explain the basic physical and chemical properties of technical theatre, such as light, color, textures, materials, electricity, paint, sound, and make-up.
Analyze a variety of dramatic texts from cultural and historical perspectives to determine production requirements.
Design visual and aural elements to convey environments that clearly support the text.
Apply technical knowledge and skills to collaboratively and safely create functional scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes, and make-up.
Design coherent stage management, promotional and business plans.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Explain how scientific and technological advances have affected set, lighting, sound, and costume design and implementation for theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
Collaborate with directors to develop production concepts that create a unified performance experience.
Safely construct and efficiently operate technical aspects of theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
Create and implement production schedules, stage management plans, promotional ideas, and business and house procedures for dramatic productions.
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Curriculum Standard 4 |
Students will direct by planning or interpreting works of theatre by organizing and conducting rehearsals. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Collaboratively plan and prepare improvisations.
Demonstrate various ways of staging classroom dramatizations such as using storytelling, video cameras, or movement.
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Lead small groups in planning visual and aural elements and in rehearsing improvised and scripted scenes.
Through the use of theatre elements, demonstrate social, group, and consensus skills.
Explore the uses of the stage to enhance dramatic value
Develop staging and blocking techniques.
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Develop multiple script and design interpretations and justify those that are most appropriate.
Communicate directorial choices for improvised or scripted scenes to an ensemble.
Use techniques of staging and blocking to achieve different effects and to convey meaning.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Conduct auditions, cast actors, direct scenes, and organize and lead production meetings to achieve production goals.
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Curriculum Standard 5 |
Students will research, evaluate and apply cultural and historical information to make artistic choices. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Communicate information to peers about people, events, time, and place related to classroom dramatizations.
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Apply research from print and other sources to script writing, acting, design, and directing choices.
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Identify and research cultural, historical, and symbolic clues in dramatic texts.
Evaluate the validity and practicality of information to assist in making artistic choices for formal and informal productions.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Research and describe appropriate historical production designs, techniques, and performances from various cultures to assist in making artistic choices for formal and informal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
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Curriculum Standard 6 |
Students will make curriculum connections among theatre, the arts, and other disciplines. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Describe visual, aural, oral, and kinetic ( involving movement) elements in theatre, dramatic media, dance, music, and visual arts.
Compare how ideas and emotions are expressed in theatre, dramatic media, dance, music, and visual arts.
Select movement, music, or visual elements to enhance the mood of a classroom dramatization.
Identify connections between theatre and other disciplines in the curriculum.
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Describe and compare the presentation of characters, environments, and actions in theatre, musical theatre, dramatic media, dance, and visual arts.
Incorporate elements of dance, music, and visual arts to express ideas and emotions in improvised and scripted scenes.
Express and compare personal reactions to several art forms.
Describe and compare the functions and interaction of performing and visual artists and audience members in theatre, dramatic media, musical theatre, dance, music, and visual arts.
Describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of theatre and other arts disciplines are interrelated.
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Describe and compare the basic nature, materials, elements, and means of communicating in theatre, dramatic media (story telling), musical theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts.
Determine how the other arts are modified to enhance the expression of ideas and emotions achieved in theatre.
Illustrate the integration of varied arts media in formal and informal presentations.
Create and solve interdisciplinary problems using theatre.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Compare the unique interpretive and expressive natures and aesthetic qualities of traditional art forms from various cultures and historical periods with contemporary new art forms, such as performance art, videodisks, and virtual reality.
Integrate several art forms and/or media in theatre, film, television, or electronic media productions.
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Curriculum Standard 7 |
Students will analyze, critique and construct meanings from works of theatre. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Identify and describe the visual, aural, oral, and kinetic elements of classroom dramatizations and dramatic performances.
Explain how the wants and needs of characters are similar to, and different than, their own.
Articulate emotional responses to and explain personal preferences about the whole as well as the parts of dramatic performances.
Analyze classroom dramatizations and, using appropriate terminology, constructively suggest alternative ideas for dramatizing roles, arranging environments, and developing situations; also suggest means of improving the collaborative processes of planning, playing, responding, and evaluating.
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Describe and analyze the effect of publicity, study guides, programs, and physical environments on audience response and appreciation of dramatic performances.
Articulate and support the meanings constructed from dramatic performances.
Use articulated criteria to describe, analyze, and constructively evaluate the effectiveness of artistic choices found in dramatic performances.
Describe and evaluate the perceived effectiveness of students' contributions (as playwrights, actors, designers, and directors) to the collaborative process of developing improvised and scripted scenes.
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Construct social meanings from informal and formal productions, and dramatic performances from various cultures and historical periods, and relate these to current personal, national, and international issues.
Articulate and justify personal aesthetic criteria for critiquing dramatic texts and events by comparing artistic intent with the final performance.
Analyze and critique dramatic performances, considering context, and constructively suggest alternative artistic choices.
Constructively evaluate their own and others' collaborative efforts and artistic choices in informal and formal productions.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Develop an understanding of the dramatic/artistic intentions and actions, based on their social and personal significance, from nontraditional dramatic performances.
Analyze, compare, and evaluate differing critiques of the same dramatic texts and performances.
Critique several dramatic works in terms of other aesthetic philosophies (such as the underlying ethos of Greek drama, French classicism, Shakespeare, Indian classical drama, Japanese kabuki, etc.) as they may relate to time and place.
Analyze and evaluate critical comments about personal dramatic work explaining which points are most appropriate to inform further development of the work.
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Curriculum Standard 8 |
Students will demonstrate an understanding of context by analyzing and comparing theatre in various cultures, historical periods and everyday life. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Identify and compare similar characters and situations in stories and dramas from and about various cultures, illustrate with classroom dramatizations, and discuss how theatre reflects life.
Identify and compare the various settings and reasons for creating drama and attending theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
Articulate the ways in which participation in theatre arts enhances daily lives.
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Describe and compare universal characters and situations in dramas from and about various cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised and scripted scenes, and discuss how theatre reflects culture.
Analyze the emotional and social impact of dramatic events in their lives, in the community, and in other cultures.
Explain how culture affects the content and production values of dramatic performances.
Explain how social concepts such as cooperation, communication, collaboration, consensus, self-esteem, risk, sympathy, and empathy apply in theatre and daily life.
Describe the value and significance of theatre in their daily lives.
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Compare how similar themes are treated in drama from various cultures and historical periods.
Illustrate with formal and informal performances, and discuss how theatre can reveal universal concepts.
Identify and compare the lives, works, and influence of representative theatre artists in various cultures and historical periods.
Identify cultural and historical sources of American theatre and musical theatre.
Analyze the effect of their own cultural experiences on their dramatic work.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Analyze the social and aesthetic impact of theatre and film artists from underrepresented groups.
Analyze the relationships among cultural values, freedom of artistic expression, ethics, and artistic choices in various cultures and historical periods.
Analyze the development of dramatic forms, production practices, and theatrical traditions across cultures and historical periods, and explain influences on contemporary theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
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Curriculum Standard 9 |
Understand the range of careers in the field of theatre arts and identify careers associated with this field. |
End of Grade 4 |
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End of Grade 8 |
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End of Grade 12 |
Discuss how creating theatre takes the efforts of many people with many different skills.
Describe a variety of professions in the field of theatre and identify careers that are associated with theatre.
Identify New Hampshire theatre resources (play groups, theatres, playhouses).
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Identify a variety of performance and production related careers in theatre arts (such as actor, technician, stage manager, and designer).
Identify and experience New Hampshire theatre resources.
Explain the knowledge, skills, and discipline needed to pursue careers and vocational opportunities in theatre, film, television, and electronic media.
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Identify locally, nationally, and internationally recognized individuals or groups in the field of theatre arts.
Explore career opportunities in theatre and theatre-related fields.
Additional Proficiency Standards Grades 9-12
Research and describe career options as they relate to performance, production, and communication.
Identify and interview professionals in the field of theatre.
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