Drama

Drama Lecture- Week 1

In today’s lecture we recapped on our knowledge of Fairy tales- A collage image of the Disney princesses from the classic fairy tales can be seen to the right. Albert Einstein once stated “If you want your children to be intelligent read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” This shows the true power of fairy tales and the impact that they can have on our students. It has been said that the ‘study of literature has a ‘unique capacity to engage the mind, the spirit and the heart: to stimulate imagination through the meaningful immersion with the story of humanity as it is explored” (Gibson & Ewing, 2011, p. 71). Gibson and Ewing make a good point here stating that fairy tales truly are quality literature as they are immersed in creativity, allowing our imaginations to run wild whilst also embedding us with morals and ethics at the same time. Fairy tales truly allow students to learn in a way that appeals to their interest and explores the realm of our imaginations.

The drama activity of still images from different fairy-tales was experienced in this lecture. It was a fantastic way for students to think of the pivotal moment in a fairy-tale that makes it renowned and perform it to the class. It allows the students to act out the scenario, thinking about space, positioning and facial expression and allowing the other students to be engaged in a fun guessing game of the fairy tale. I will definitely be using an activity like this in my classroom, perhaps after reading a fairy tale as a class. Modern adaptations of fairy tales, especially those that show a different light or side to the original story also allows the students to think more in depth and start critically thinking about the story. For example, “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs” was read in the lecture and is a fabulous example of a book that could be read in the classroom. This could lead to other creative arts activities such as sketching or acting out a modern day version of a character. This is demonstrated in the modern day sketches of the classic Disney princesses seen above. 

Reference:

• Gibson, R. Ewing, R. (2011) Transforming the Curriculum through the Arts. South Yarra: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 

Drama Lecture- Week 2

In today’s lecture we discussed the history of fairy tales and the need to draw on classic fairy tales. Fairy tales have a wealth of history and are not a static thing. The representation of fairy tale characters has changed over time in different contexts and disseminated across a wide range of media such as opera, drama, cinema, advertising, visual art, dance and music. A witch, for example, is mostly described by people as ugly or evil and this is shown differently over time and through different media forms. This shows that the role of a character is very important as different creators can shape a character differently. Children are continually exposed to fairy tales often by the Grimm’s Brothers, Perrault, Anderson and Disney which each have a different take on the story and characters. The story principles such as structure intent setting points of view, characters and genre conventions, therefore, also differ. The audio book of the Brother's Grimm version of Hansel and Gretal can be seen below to show this progression of fairy tales through time and the differences they portray.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qji-GeY_NqM 

Through exploring narrative structure, character relationships, role dynamics and status in role it is important to focus on critical moments in fairytales when dramatizing stories. Finding this key moment allows us to discover the true essence and meaning of the story. Puppetry and the use of props are useful tools in drama to create characters. This was displayed in the lecture through the use of tulle personifying Little Red Riding Hood and a scarf taking on the role of the wolf. It was interesting to note the challenge in acting with these props as opposed to real people and would be a fascinating activity to undertake with students in the classroom. “Characterization is a more deliberate attempt to explore the signs and symbols of a particular character” (Gibson & Ewing, 2011, p. 53). Character role playing will be large part of my focus teaching drama in the future with activities such as character monologues going to be undertaken. This is because of the fact that as teachers we must take into account "individuality and personality in learning, and the implications this raises for classroom practice" (Taylor & Andrews, 2012, p.4). 

Reference:

• Gibson, R. Ewing, R. (2011) Transforming the Curriculum through the Arts. South Yarra: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 
• Taylor, R., & Andrews, G. (2012). The Arts in the Primary School (RLE Edu O). Routledge.

Drama Tutorial- Week 3

In the first tutorial we focused on ideas of play-building and improvisation within narrative structures, finding a critical moment in a chosen tale, exploring status and point of view in role and developing our own prescript. We got into our groups of four and decided upon our own fairytale and  came up with a twist or different point of view for that chosen tale. My group decided to focus on the fairytale, 'Rupunzel' and change the perspective to that of the 'witch'. We decided to portray the witch in a positive light and not as a witch at all, but a lonely old woman who couldn't have children and always wanted a child of her own. We drew a storyboard with the seven most important scenes and annotated what was happening in each, which can be seen to the right. We then presented these to the rest of the class and discussed our ideas. We then undertook an improvisation activity with partner called 'Yes/ No' where we had to pretend one person was trying to convince the other by saying 'yes' and the other would rebut with 'no'. This developed my professional learning in allowing us to explore different tonal qualities in our voices as well as dramatic tension. It is known that "some kind of tension engages learners in the drama activity"(Gibson & Ewing, 2011, p. 53) which is why it is important for me to use in my future teaching. We then decided on a critical moment in the scene and discussed with our group members how we would portray this through drama and the use of puppets. We created a rough 30 second version of this and performed it to the class. The use of group work in the creation of their own drama making is a good way for students to focus on the elements of drama and come up with their own ideas and is something I will be using in the future as a teacher. 

Reference:

• Gibson, R. Ewing, R. (2011) Transforming the Curriculum through the Arts. South Yarra: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.

Drama Tutorial- Week 5 

In this drama tutorial, we began by warming up a moving around the space as 'wringy people' and then 'floaty people'. We then participated in a vocal warm up called 'Vocal Tennis'  where the students "verbally throw words backwards and forwards to each other" (Gibson & Ewing, 2011, p. 66). We stood in a circle and yelled out different categorical words to the person across from us in different accents and using tonal qualities to warm up our voices. These warm-up activities are definitely useful in my future teaching to get the students engaged in the lesson and allow them to be comfortable and ready to engage in drama. We then explored the idea of puppets in use in drama and participating in an puppet activity using our hands as puppets with the characters of an alien and a human. This was interesting in exploring the positive and less-confronting drama experience, as a focus in placed on the 'puppets' rather than ourselves. This meant that we had to focus more on dialogue and tone of voice as well as using our hands to take on the bodily movements as well as facial expressions of our characters. This is a great activity to use for the more introverted, shy students as they can still participate in drama without being self-conscious. "Part of the never-ending appeal of puppetry lies in the fact that the puppet is the focus of attention, and so the puppeteer feels safe" (Ewing & Simons, 2010, p.53).We then used newspaper to create our own puppets and used them to participate in more drama activities with our partners by taking on submissive and dominating roles. Puppets are a fantastic prop to use in drama as it allows students to be creative and create their own character with a focus on movement of their hands and voice qualities. As well as this, a "puppet can be as simple as a box or a stick, as long as it takes on a character distinct from that of its animator"(Ewing & Simons, 2010, p.53). This means that puppetry in the classroom is inexpensive and an effective drama strategy that all students will thoroughly enjoy. We then got into our groups and began working on a script of our critical moment in the play and decided on which characters we would use puppets for and created these using tulle, balloons and newspaper. We then created our stage version of this scene which we presented to the rest of the class. Our script for 'Rupunzel' can be seen below, which focuses on the critical moment when the parents decide to give Rupunzel up in exchange for food to feed their large family:

Children: MUM ! I'm Hungry !

Mum: STOP! Husband! You MUST go to the witch's garden and get some food!

Husband: The witch's garden? Haven't you heard the tragic stories?

Mum: Do you want our children to starve?! (Children whinge) We've got too many. Here! Take her and give it to the witch!

Husband: Alright... I'll go..

- sneak to witch's garden-

Witch: What are you doing in my garden?!

Husband: My family needs food!

Witch: You shouldn't steal!

Husband: Here! Take her in exchange for some vegetables!

Witch: Hmm.. A baby.. (expression lightens) I have always wanted a child... (Husband sneaks away with food) and I am ever so lonely a woman.. 

Reference:

• Gibson, R. Ewing, R. (2011) Transforming the Curriculum through the Arts. South Yarra: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.
• Ewing, R. Simons, J. (2004) Beyond the Script: Drama in the Classroom, Primary English Teaching Association, NSW.