Drama 2206 Home Study

Dear Drama 2206 students,
It's the 24th of March and a week today since we were scheduled to get back to our regular routines. We're at a bit of a standstill with this course as we've been working through Musical Theatre. It's weird to be where we are as most groups were partway through their "Hairspray: The Musical" projects. 

I miss our class time together. In the meanwhile, I challenge you to step outside of your comfort zones and watch a classic musical. There are SO MANY great ones! And no, "Shrek the Musical" doesn't qualify. For fun, I'll be re-watching "Singin' in the Rain" among others. 

If you're looking for recommendations, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at margaretpittman@nlesd.ca

Also, when you've taken the leap and watched a musical, please email me and tell me what you thought.:)

I miss you all and hope we'll be back to our regular routines soon.

Mrs. Pittman

Tuesday, April 7, 2020
At this stage of the school closure, I am no longer certain what day in the schedule it is.:( Again, as I posted on the main page, I was waiting for further direction from my administrators and the Board before uploading additional things here. It was important to know how this directed learning is to unfold.

I encourage you to continue interacting with various dramatic forms. Read a script, watch a theatre production, watch another musical for fun.

During the week of our "return" after Easter Break, I will be sharing links to the technical theatre project tat would have taken us well into the end of the school year. I also hope to set up a time for us to go live and chat about the musicals I requested that you watch on my last update. 

Be safe! Wash your hands.

Monday, April 27, 2020

I hope you have all been taking the time to reflect on the amazing musicals I know you watched. I miss all of you and our daily interactions in the classroom. I hit the ground running with my return from Easter Break by making some revisions to my report card comments as well as creating individualized learning plans for my at-risk students.  

If we were still in class, this would be the time we would be starting the Technical Theatre assignment. 

The purpose of the technical theatre assignment is to take a very close look at all elements of a production – right from the script to costuming and make-up needs. I will be sharing handouts with tips and ideas in the weeks to come. Your focus this week should be to start looking for a script. When selecting a script remember it should be the script for a full-length published play. Choose carefully as it is the script you will use for set-design, lighting, costuming, and make-up.

There are a number of sites that allow you to peruse copies of plays. A quick google search will help. The script must be school appropriate and set in any era. Please contact me if any difficulties finding a script are encountered.   

Monday, May 4, 2020

Last week, you were asked to select a script that could be used for the Technical Theatre assignment. This week, the first step of this activity will be to write a well-developed summary of the play. Be sure to state the overall theme and mood in your writing. Also, imagine that you were to create an advertising poster for the play. Using the guide linked HERE on google docs, you can either sketch or create a digital poster. When this was graded as an assessment, this combined part of the activity would have been worth 20 points. 

Monday, May 11, 2020

Last week, you were asked to write a well-developed summary of the play they selected for the Technical Theatre assignment. This week, the focus will be on set design. You will be designing a set for the play you are working with. Please see below for set design tips. If we were still in school, a friend from one of Labrador West’s local theatre groups would have come in and given a presentation about the sets he designed. I am truly missing this! I know you would have really enjoyed his works. And I know you would have loved this assignment.

When this was graded as an assessment, this combined part of the activity would have been worth 30 points. In addition to the written component, you would have been required to make a diorama of your set. Sigh. 

Set Design Tips

Keeping the principles of set design in mind, design a set that could be used in a production of the play. A list of props should be included.

When creating your set design:

• Keep the layout of the stage in mind. Props, furniture, and flats shouldn’t obstruct the flow of the production. Please bear in mind that your design should help support the story of the play. Being aware of the stage directions and characters’ movements will be key.
• What mood do you wish to establish? Consider how lighting and colour can be used. Remember, as the story progresses, there can and most likely will be different moods established.
• Balance within your set design is important. For example, you wouldn’t want all of your props and/or furniture items on one side of the stage.
• Have fun with this!

Tuesday, May 18, 2020

Last week, the Technical Theatre project would have had you delve into set design. This week, the focus will be on lighting. In theatre, set design and lighting very much go hand in hand. Just as you can use the set to help establish the overall feeling of the production, the same can be said for the lighting requirements. When this was graded as an assessment, this part of the activity would have been worth 10 points.

Lighting  Requirements

Using the stage directions as a guide, figure out how the lighting would work. Stage composition (ie. areas of the stage used) and plot will be great determining factors as well. Will you make use of spotlights? Keep in mind too how lights are used to help establish the overall mood of the play. On your set design from last week, circles can denote where the lights would be cast.

There's an excellent article that can be found here about stage lighting and the psychology behind it: https://www.stage-electrics.co.uk/education-resource/stage-lighting-the-psychology-of-colour/

Spotlights are an excellent way to highlight characters or moments within the play.

A stage wash (where the light shines on the entire set and the actors) help with plays where the dialogue and/or the movements are continuous and even. 

Blue hued lighting can reflect a cool tone or sadness whereas red can be used to show anger or passion. I've used red in a lighting plan to signify the unsettling nature of a character.

Yellows can be used to create warmth. 

Sometimes the lighting is subtle. Other times the lights are more saturated. It often depends on a number of factors such as the story being told and the director's interpretation of it.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Last week, the Technical Theatre project would have had the students delve into lighting. This week, the focus will be on costuming. In theatre, you can have the most amazing set and cast in the world. However, if careful decisions have not been made about what your characters wear, it could have a negative impact on the production. I’ve always LOVED costuming. It has been a strong focus on the plays I’ve directed. I enjoy how every detail or even how more simple costumes can say so much about the character and how it can be connected to the story. When this was graded as an assessment, this part of the activity would have been worth 30 points.

Costuming (http://www4.smsd.org/lynettewilliams/docs/Doc-86327.pdf)

You will make rough notes/sketches and then complete a final copy of costume interpretations for four costumes from the play.

a. The characters you make the costuming choices for should be major characters, not extras.

b. The characters should be varied. In other words, you may not costume three triplets identically and count that as three characters. Make sure they are different types.

c. Be sure to show the approximate shapes, colors and textures you plan to use. Also details like accessories and shoes are important.

d. They should be very neat.

e. They may be drawn on computer or by hand.

f. Attached should be an explanation of why you chose that particular costume for that character. This explanation should be in paragraph form. 

Monday, June 1, 2020

It's hard to believe it's the first of June. How I wish we could have finished out the year together. And it is my hope that the lessons and tips I've shared provided some sense of normalcy from a school setting.

Last week, the Technical Theatre project would have had you delve into costuming. This week, the focus will be on make-up. Often times, the make-up used can be as important as decisions about costumes. Make-up can be used to simply highlight the thespian’s facial features. It can be used to enhance a character’s role. Makeup too can be used to age a character or simply for dramatic effect. The light’s impact on make-up needs to be considered too. When this was graded as an assessment, this part of the activity would have been worth 10 points.

Make-up (10 points)

Please refer to this brief note about stage make-up when determining what make-up and shades your characters will wear. List your choices beneath each character’s name and be sure to give reasons for your selections. Keep in mind (ahem, boys) that stage make-up is important. Stage actors are further away than actors on screen. The make-up in most instances needs to be more dramatic.

Light's effect on makeup

• Pink tends to gray the cool colors and intensify the warm ones. Yellow becomes more orange.
• Flesh pink flatters most makeup.
• Fire red ruins makeup. All but the darker flesh tones virtually disappear. Light and medium rouge fade into the foundation, whereas the dark red rouges turn a reddish brown. Yellow becomes orange, and the cool shading colors become shades of gray and black.
• Amber and orange intensify and yellow most flesh colors. They turn rouges more orange. Cool colors are grayed.
• Green greys all flesh tones and rouges in proportion to its intensity. Green will be intensified. Yellow and blue will become greener.
• Light blue-green lowers the intensity of the base colors. One should generally use very little rouge under this type of light.
• Green-blue washes out pale flesh tones, and will gray medium and deep flesh tones, as well as all reds.
• Blues gray most flesh tones and cause them to appear more red or purple.
• Violet causes orange, flame, and scarlet to become redder. Rouge appears more intense.
• Purple affects makeup like violet lighting, except reds and oranges will be even more intense, and most blues will look violet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatrical_makeup)