Drama Classes

 Drama

In the seventh and eighth grades, all students study drama for one semester. Students are introduced to a variety of basic theater techniques and group improvisational skills. The students perform small-scale demonstrations and have fun with improvisational games. For the finale of each semester, the young actors develop and perform an original theater piece based on collected material, personal experience, and movement work. The drama, art, and music departments often work cooperatively on programs and projects. Play production workshops are also offered to students with special interests and talents in theater.

Drama – 6 

This year-long course focuses on preparing the actor through three units on modes of theatrical storytelling and an emphasis on collaboration. Each class will begin with a physical warm up and ensemble building exercises to prepare the body and focus the mind for the primary work of the class.  Students rotate each trimester through one of three units, the first of which concentrates on storytelling through puppets and mask plays. The second unit focuses on theater history and devising through the lenses of Greek Theater, Noh Theater, and South African Theater. The final unit explores performing and creating theatrical texts. The culmination of each trimester will be a small scale demonstration of their work for the other sections of 6th grade drama.

Drama – 7 

7th grade trimester

The emphasis in the 7th grade Drama Class is on the concept of “building a character.” Each class will begin with a physical warm up and ensemble building exercises to prepare the body and focus the mind for the primary work of the class. The year will be broken up in to two units, the first of which focuses on observation, and culminates in the embodiment of an animal observation and its transformation in to a discrete character. In the second unit we learn about Commedia dell’Arte and work with Trestle masks to create short Commedia plays. By working on characters which are inspired by external observation the actor learns to inhabit the role from the outside in, inspiring him to focus first on the physical task of becoming a character and to extrapolate his internal logic and emotional life from behavior rather than speech or text.

7th grade yearlong

students who have expressed a particular interest in drama will spend the first trimester creating devised scenes based on their character observation and creating short Commedia dell’Arte plays. In the second and third term they will continue their work on “building a character” by learning the basics of clowning; a clown is a unique, grandly expressive character which must be discovered without text or an independent prompt. While the first semester focuses on external observation the second asks the actor to generate his character from within, we will employ the techniques developed by Jacques Lecoq in his Paris school, which focus on becoming more physically open and expressive, to develop our clowns. The class will culminate in a clown show in which the students will perform scenes and songs together as their clowns. 

Drama – 8 

DRAMA 8 Trimester Course

The emphasis in the 8th grade drama class is on the use of theatrical text. The class will commence with a daily warm-up of voice and body bringing each young actor to physical, mental, and artistic attention. Each boy will start the trimester working on delivering a Shakespearian sonnet. The beauty and challenge of Shakespeare’s poetry is contrasted with the actor’s use of stage space, considered gesture, and thoughtful facial expression. Subsequently, the students will move to scene work. The text will come from the Modern Canon of theater. The emphasis in this part of the sequence is on the collaborative nature of playing; natural movement and line delivery help to free the young performer to express emotional and intellectual depth. We will finish the trimester with a selection of scenes from Shakespeare that will test and employ all the skills that the students have developed over the course of the trimester.

DRAMA 8 Year-long Course 

students who have expressed a particular interest in drama will prepare and perform a fully developed production over the course of the year. Working in a rehearsal atmosphere, each boy will seek to further develop his skills as a performer. Those skills will include close reading of a text, a strong vocal delivery, and a carefully developed characterization. The actor is the central figure of drama. This course brings together all the strands of instruction that the students have received in 6th and 7th grade and puts them to the acid test of public performance. In production, the young actors learn both the considerable value of discipline and the equally compelling pleasure of creativity.