Drama Program

List of 11 items.

• INTRODUCTION TO ACTING EXPLORATION (GRADES 7-8)

  This exploration class meets once weekly to explore the exciting world of live theater from an actor’s perspective! Students will play improvisational games, perform scenes and monologues, learn to use theater games to write their own material and create characters, and write and perform comedy sketches. Get ready to have a blast exploring Broadway plays, musicals, and the art of acting. Learn to be more socially confident, artistically aware, and emotionally expressive in a fun and encouraging environment. (A one-year study hall exploration class for 7th and 8th grade students.)

• ACTING ELECTIVE (GRADE 8)

  Students learn how to better express themselves through scene work, storytelling, imagination, character analysis, the power of emotion, listening, writing, improvisation, and theater games. This elective goes deeper into the concepts that were introduced in the Introduction to Acting exploration class and prepares students for continued theatrical studies in high school, and enriches their experience for any production they might be working on. There is no prerequisite...just a willingness to jump in. (A one semester elective for 8th graders.)

• ADVANCED IMPROVISATION (GRADES 11-12)

  Students explore the use of long-form improvisation as a means to create short plays. Students engage in individual, partnered, and ensemble exercises to hone in on a specific topic, focus, idea, or theme they would like to investigate further. There is also an emphasis on directing as students lead their peers in improvised scene work, vocal/physical warm-ups, and group exercises. Students also develop and lead vocal and physical warm-ups. This course is offered every other year, in rotation with The Directors’ Lab. Optional lunchtime performances. (Grades 11-12; prerequisite: Intermediate/Advanced Drama or department approval)

• DRAMA BEGINNING (GRADES 9-12)

  Through improvisation, ensemble work, and scene study, students learn to use their own emotional, physical, and psychological instruments to create realistic behavior under imaginary circumstances as a means to explore the human condition. This semester-long course provides foundations in the Stanislavski system in order to develop the actor’s craft. Students begin to tune their actor’s instrument by stimulating creativity, imagination, voice, teamwork, listening, and trust. Students gain an appreciation for and engage with scenework by playwrights who have emerged from The Group Theatre, African American Theatre, Latin American Theatre, Queer Theatre history, and Asian American Theatre. Optional lunchtime performances.(Grades 9-12; one semester)

• DRAMA INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED (GRADES 10-12)

  Through complex and challenging improvisations, scene work, and theme analysis, students build upon their work from the Beginning Drama course. Towards the end of the first semester, students will learn the International Phonetic Alphabet and employ it in the execution of various accents. Students will engage in group discussions in conjunction with their advanced scene work to investigate the social relevance and historical significance of major works by playwrights such as Annie Baker, Dominique Morisseau, Eduardo Machado, O’Neill, Williams, Jose Rivera, Maria Irene Fornes, Sophie Treadwell, and Suzan-Lori Parks. Additionally, students will continue to write original monologues and critical assessments in personal acting journals. Optional lunchtime performances. (Grades 10-12; prerequisite: Beginning Drama or department approval)

• STAGE DESIGN ADVANCED (GRADES 9-12)

  This advanced course helps student designers develop the tools necessary to produce successful theatrical designs in various mediums. Focus is on the creation process and making specific note of artistic as well as practical requirements. Emphasis will be placed on research and communication skills that demand a deep understanding of both character and setting. We will create and express theatrical designs through models, presentations, and 3D rendering techniques using professional equipment and methods. Student work on course projects is suitable for inclusion in a portfolio. Participation in the fall drama production is not a course requirement. (Grades 10-12; one semester; prerequisites: Theatre Technology II or department approval. This course is offered S1 & S2. To enroll in S1, students must have taken Theater Technology II or get department approval. To enroll in S2, students must complete S1 Stage Design Advanced.)

• THE DIRECTOR'S LAB (GRADES 11-12)

  This course is offered every other year, in rotation with Advanced Improvisation, and explores the director’s pre-production and rehearsal process. Students will analyze compelling dramatic literature for themes and social relevance. Student directors will use Harold Clurman’s On Directing and Anne Bogart’s A Director Prepares as a guide as they create lighting, costume, prop, and set design ideas. During the second quarter, students will learn a director’s system for rehearsal preparation and then direct their peers in emotionally and intellectually challenging scenes from playwrights like Moliere, Jose Rivera, and Suzan-Lori Parks. (Grades 11-12; one semester; prerequisite: Intermediate/Advanced Drama) Note: The Director’s Lab will be offered in odd-numbered years (2023-24, 2025-26, etc.)

• THE DRAMA LAB EXPERIMENT

  Students write, direct, act, and produce original work. Through a series of acting and writing exercises, students pinpoint their thoughts and feelings that demand expression. Together we craft those ideas and emotions into comedic, dramatic, eclectic, and experimental original short plays, which we'll rehearse, produce, and perform in the Drama Lab. Through this experience, students discover the power of their own creative agency, acquire the skills to create theater independently, and gain the confidence to continue to create their own opportunities to express themselves through art. (Note: This course takes place after school beginning in April and continuing through May. Students attend Monday through Friday from 4:00-5:15. No prerequisites.)

• INTRODUCTION TO THEATER TECHNOLOGY EXPLORATION (GRADES 7-8)

  In this exploration class students will have the opportunity to construct props, paint sets, learn to use tools safely, run the sound board, operate the lights and more, while preparing the stage and set for the two middle school theatrical productions. Students in this class may also choose to participate in the productions by joining the after school tech crew and running all technical aspects of the shows during performances.(A one-year study hall exploration class for 7th and 8th grade students.)

• THEATER TECHNOLOGY I (STAGE MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL OPERATIONS) (GRADES 9-12)

  This first-semester course is an interactive introduction to the tools, terminology, and techniques used in the professional theater environment. We will demonstrate methods and processes while actively incorporating the tools and equipment in our Campbell Hall theater, control booth, and scene shop, focusing on the crafts of theater artists and technicians. Topics include scene shop tool use and safety, scenery construction, stage management, production management and planning, theatrical audio, and stage lighting. The goal of the course is to highlight the importance of the preproduction process leading up to the performance and appreciate the collaborative and cross-disciplinary nature of the Theatre Arts. Participation in the fall drama production is not a course requirement. (Grades 9-12; one semester)

• THEATER TECHNOLOGY II (STAGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES) (GRADES 9-12)

  This advanced course is offered second semester and is designed for those students who have demonstrated an active interest in theater production. The course is designed to give students a strong foundation in the principles of set, lighting, prop, sound, costume, and makeup design. Emphasis is placed on introducing the students to design and construction techniques used to bring a design to life and methods for articulating their designs in 2 and 3 dimensions. Participation in the fall drama production is not a course requirement. (Grades 9-12; one semester; prerequisite: Theatre Technology I)