Drama - Fall 2020 Assignments

For each day we watch Hamilton analyze how the design components add to or take away from the story telling.

Provide specific examples from the show each day for each design component to support your answer. Each box should have 2-3 sentences.

For each day we watch Romeo and Juliet analyze how the design components add to or take away from the story telling.

Provide specific examples from the show each day for each design component to support your answer. Each box should have 2-3 sentences.

Create vision boards for 5 characters in your play.

For each vision board: Put the name of the character, write a description of that character, and choose 5 pictures to represent that character's style

What does the character's appearance say about who they are? 2-3 sentences for each picture in the form below

Create a list of sounds you need for your show.

Remember sometimes sound cues and needs are found in the dialogue between characters.

Ambient sound means the background sounds which are present in a scene or location.

Write a list of all the ambient sounds around you now. If you have the tv or music on in the room you are in turn it off before writing the sounds around you.

Using the links from yesterday, create 5 lighting looks for your show. (2 of those looks must use gobos)
For each look include a short paragraph answering the following questions
1. Where is the show will this lighting look be used?
2. Why did you choose the colors used in the look?
3. Did you choose to have the lights really bright or a bit dim? Why
4. What do you want the audience to learn about the scene from the lighting?

If you are unsure how to screenshot on your device please let me know!!!!!!!!

Discuss the effects that the sound and music have on the story. How do they communicate what is happening, even though we can’t see it? How do they add to the emotions/humor/content of the episode? How would the piece be different without them?

Look back on the specs for the theatre you chose. (These links are in google classroom under the What space will your show take place in? Assignment)

What lighting equipment does the theatre come with? Will that be enough lighting for your show? What other additional lighting would you want to have available?

Based on the reading and the videos we saw yesterday answer the questions below

How can a close reading of a story and text analysis leads to a clear and effective lighting design?

Why is research important to inspire the creation of an effective lighting design which enhances and supports the story of the play?

What does the lighting designer need to consider when creating their design?

Create a list of the props needed for the play. Include things that the actors handle as well as items needed on the set to make the scene feel more real.
The list should be AT LEAST 20 items long

Following the instructions we went over in class make your own ground plan for your set design!

If your play has different sets for different scenes please choose one scene to make the set for and write what scene it is for.

Create a vision board for your set design. Follow the prompts on the document below and include 20-25 pictures

Read the attached article and answer the following questions. Be prepared to discuss your responses.

How can a close reading of a story and text analysis leads to a clear and effective set design
Why is research important to inspire the creation of a usable set design which enhances and supports the story of the play?
How can you communicate your design to others?

One of the first things you need to decide on before you start designing a set is deciding what kind of space your show will take place in. For the purposes of our assignment you are going to choose from these three theatre spaces listed below
The Griffin
The Diamond
The Linney

Answer the following questions: What space did you choose? What are the dimensions of that space? What are the positives of choosing that space? What are the negatives?

Be the dramaturg for the play you have chosen. Answer the research questions in the google doc.

Yes, you will need to do a bit of research to answer these questions. For example if I have chosen Romeo and Juliet. R&J takes place in Verona, Italy in the 1400s.
I want to know what cultural things existed in Italy at the time, what was the social structure like in Italy, and what was the political structure like in Italy at the time.

Fill out the plot structure of the play you have chosen to work with for this marking period. Each part of the plot structure is defined in the slide show titled Theatre Production: the playwright and the director.

Choose a play to work with for this unit. I recommend that you choose one that you have read in English class. It should be a play that you have access to a copy of.
Why did you choose this play?
Is this a play that you have a copy of?

Kabuki and Noh theatre both rely heavily on the use of specific facial looks to help tell the stories they are performing.

Use your previous assignment on Noh masks and the materials from that class to answer the following question.

What similarities do you see between the use of masks and makeup in Noh and Kabuki theatre? Why do you think they have chosen to represent characters in a similar way? What are the differences? Why do you think the choice was made to make those differences?

Your response should be 5-8 sentences long.

Earlier this year there was backlash to HBO temporarily removing Gone With the Wind from its platform. HBO has added the following disclaimer to the beginning of the movie:

“The film presents the Antebellum South as a world of grace and beauty, without acknowledging the brutalities of the system of chattel slavery, upon which this world is based. The film represents enslaved Black people in accordance with long-standing stereotypes: as servants, notable for their devotion to their white masters, or for their ineptitude, and the film’s treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia, denies the horrors of slavery, as well as its legacies of racial inequality. 'Gone With The Wind' is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society. These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today.”

However, other streaming services such as Disney+ have stated that movies such as Song of the South will never be added to their platform.

Which do you think is the better way to go about handling materials of this nature: to never make them publicly available (to the best of ability) or to have them available but with a similar disclaimer as shown above?

YOU MUST COMPLETE THIS BY 1:15 TODAY TO BE MARKED AS PRESENT FOR CLASS TODAY!

Look up one of the following Moliere plays:
Don Juan
The School for Wives
Les Femmes Savantes
The School for Husbands

What does that play tell us about the values of French society? Do you think that the play could also be a reflection of our current society?

This response should be at least 5 sentences.

Choose one of the plays from A Short Summary of Some Shakespeare Plays.
That is the play that you will answer prompts about in the google slide show Shakespeare Final Project. Write your response on each slide.
Also use the materials provided in google classroom to help you answer the prompts!

Why do you think countries embraced neoclassical styles?

Why do you think we keep seeing this cycle of theatre: starts off as part of a religious celebration, moves out to the masses, and then disappears because one group does not like it?

1.Look up one of the following playwrights.
Thomas Kyd
Christopher Marlowe
John Lyly
Robert Greene
Tip: Google the name plus English Playwright

2.Write a short paragraph about his life 5-8 sentences
3.Look up one play that they wrote. Write a summary of the play (3-4 sentences). And answer the following question: Is this a play you would want to see why or why not.

Choose one of the mask types listed below. Search images of that type of mask. Put 5 different images of that type of mask into the google doc. Make a list of 4 similarities between the masks.

List of mask types:
Okina (Old man masks)
This type of mask originated from sarugaku, the predecessor of noh, in the latter part of the Heian period. This is the oldest type of noh mask.

Jō (Elders masks)
Examples of this type are the Kojō, Asakurajō, Sankōjō and Waraijō masks. These masks are often used in the first half of first or second category noh when the shite is portraying a spirit.

Onna-men (Woman masks)
When most people think of noh these are the masks that come to mind. That being the case, these tend to be the most varied and popular masks. These masks are categorized by age and character.
Examples of beautiful young women masks are the: ko-omote, wakaonna, zō and magojirō. The ōmiona mask also portrays a young woman, but with more of a working class background. Fukai and shakumi masks are both used to play mature, middle-aged woman of elegance and grace however the latter displays a stronger character. The deigan mask has gold rimmed eyes which implies that the character is otherworldly. Examples of masks for playing old women are rōjo and uba.

Otoko-men (Man masks)
Heida, chūjō, jūroku, hatachi-amari, dōji, kasshiki, and yase-otoko are all examples of masks in this category which are classified according to social class and character.

Kishin (Demons)
]These masks were developed early in noh’s history and are used for portraying demons, goblins or other worldly creatures. This category is divided into two main parts, tobide (fierce gods or demonic spirits) and beshimi (goblins and other creatures).

Onryō (Ghosts and Spirits)
These masks are used for spirits of the dead who have regrets of some kind. In this category there are both male and female masks. Examples of male types are ayakashi, yase-otoko and kawazu. Examples of female types are yamamba, deigan and the famous hannya masks.

Do you think TV shows and movies are more like the plays of Ancient Greece and Rome or more like the Mystery plays? Why do you think so?

Choose either Greek, Roman, or Sanskrit Theatre.
Write 4-5 sentences about the similarities and differences between Liturgical Drama and one of the other three theatre histories we have looked at.

Fill out the chart comparing the three types of theatre we have discussed so far. You are encourages to use the materials provided to help you fill this out.

Lots of tv shows and movies use a stock story line and write it into their own show using their characters. For example most cop shows will use the storyline where the two main characters have to go undercover as a couple.
Another good example is any Hallmark Christmas movie where the busy business woman ends up in the country for the holidays and meets a farmer.

Think of tv shows or movies that you watch. What is a stock storyline that you have seen used multiple times? What shows or movies have used it? Was it used well?

Why do you think the way society views theatre and actors changed from Ancient Greece to Ancient Rome?

How do you think society views actors now?

Is there a movie/tv show/play/book that you can think of that follows the elements of Aristotle's tragic plot?
What is the name of it?
What happens in it that it follows Aristotle’s tragic plot?

Why is it important to have both tragedies and comedies as entertainments?

Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides are three of the major playwrights that we know of from the start of greek theatre. But each of them only have a handful of plays that have survived.

Your assignment for today is
1. Choose one of the three playwrights
2. Look up a list of their surviving plays
3. Choose one of the plays
4. Summarize what that play is about
5. Is this a play you would like to see? Why or Why not?

List 3 examples of tragedy and 3 examples of comedy.
Choose one of each of the examples you have listed and explain why it is a good example of that genre.

Using information from the videos we just watched how would you define a play? how would you define a musical?

What do you think theatre is? What are the first words that come to mind?

Please complete this survey to show your understanding of the expectations of the class.

What words and activities do you associate with entertainment?
What kinds of entertainment have you been consuming during the past 6 months?