Dramaturgy Work
By Becca Cardon
Unit Objective:
Students will demonstrate their ability to analyze context and research historical and cultural facts about a stage or film production by creating a bulletin board that analyzes a production.
High School Proficient Learning Level
Student Prior Experience:
Students will have a very basic knowledge of lights, sound, props, set, costuming, hair and makeup. They are familiar with theatre warm-ups.
National Arts Standards:
TH:Cr1.1.HSIA: Apply basic research to construct ideas about thevisual compositionof a drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr2.1.HSI: Explore the function of history and culture in the development of a dramatic concept through a critical analysis of original ideas in a drama/theatre work.
Essential Questions:
How, when, and why do theatre artists' choices change?
What are different strategies you can use in order to research a production?
Key Knowledge and Skills:
Research, analysis, creativity
Authentic Performance Tasks:
Various short papers, creating a music playlist, a final creative bulletin board displaying the things learned in this unit
Lessons:
Lesson 1: Introduction to Dramaturgy and its Importance
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of dramatic composition and theatrical representation as they correctly identify items that fit within the musical “Aladdin.”
Lesson 2: Proper Prop Usage
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of appropriate prop selection by identifying five props that would support the historical and cultural context of their selected production.
Lesson 3: Becoming Beautiful Historically
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of historical hair and makeup by creating a beauty tips newspaper article that accurately describes the trends of a time period.
Lesson 4: Character Costuming
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their ability to make appropriate, period accurate, costume decisions by creating two costume designs for a character within their selected production.
Lesson 5: Sounds of the Times
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of time-appropriate music by creating a music playlist of 5 songs for an assigned time period. They will share 20 seconds of one song with the class and explain why they selected that particular piece.
Lesson 6: Props/Gallery Walk – Display Your Findings
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of dramaturgy as they display their final bulletin board in the class gallery walk. They will explain their artistic choices and how it properly illustrates their production.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Dramaturgy and its Importance
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of dramatic composition and theatrical representation as they correctly identify items that fit within the musical “Aladdin.”
Materials needed:
- Items to hide around the room (ie: a golden lamp, a camel stuffed animal, an umbrella, a blanket, a picnic basket, a jar of sand, an Arabian costume piece, a cowboy hat… etc. These items should be able to be used for Aladdin as well as not.)
-Aladdin video clip
- Aladdin PowerPoint
-Projector
Preparation:
Before students come to class, hide various random items around your classroom for a treasure hunt. Make sure these items are easily visible. The items will be a variety of objects, ones that could support the theatrical representation of Aladdin and ones that don’t. This way, students will further show their understanding of dramaturgy as they select the correct items, rather than every hidden item in the classroom.
Hook:
Begin class by watching the beginning of the selected clip, showing the Broadway cast of Aladdin performing “Arabian Nights.” (Watch until 1:42)
Before watching the clip, tell the students to watch for clues that help the audience know the context of the performance. Let them know that you’ll be discussing what they see after the clip.
*watch the clip*
Class discussion:
Open the discussion by asking the students to share what clues they saw that helped them know the context of the performance.
Possible answers: the movements they used (like when they had their hands together in front of them and moved their head in an Arabian way), the hair and makeup used, the fact that they were singing about an “Arabian night,” the costumes, the style of music used…
Instruction:
After the students have shared their observations, connect their observations to the responsibilities of a dramaturg.
- Define “dramaturg” as the person on the production team who deals mainly with research and development of plays and operas.
- Teach the students about how a dramaturg looks for the dramatic composition of a production so that it can be historically accurate in their theatrical representation.
- Movement, hair and makeup, music, costumes, lighting, and set are all included in the dramaturg’s research. It is their job to know what fits into the show, and what doesn’t.
- Using the example of Aladdin, ask the students for a few examples of what they would expect to see in a production of Aladdin and why. (Possible answers: a specific lamp type because it fits the type of lamp sold in the area the production takes place, a set that represents the desert because it reflects the geographical area the production takes place, genie arm cuffs because it was a sign of bondage…) After a few suggestions are given, transition to the scavenger hunt.
Scavenger Hunt Instructions:
Students will walk around the room, looking for items that fit within the show Aladdin. On a piece of paper, list the objects you find that meet the criteria. This paper will be turned in at the end of class and used as a formal assessment.
After 3-5 minutes of searching the classroom, students will return to their seats and have about 5 minutes to briefly write why they think each item on their list fits in the show. These justifications shouldn’t be long. One-three sentences will work. (Example: This clothing item could be used as a costume piece in the show Aladdin because it helps display how the Arab people dress.)
PowerPoint:
Once their lists are fully written, project the prepared PowerPoint to introduce the dramaturgy unit to the class. This PowerPoint will give an overview of the things they’ll be learning in the next few days. Slides include set design, props, hair, makeup, and costuming. Have the students take notes as each slide is shown describing the element’s importance to the show. After its importance is identified, ask students for examples they’ve seen in previous productions they’ve participated in or attended.
Setting – affects the lighting that will be used. (For example, Little Mermaid has blue lighting for the underwater scenes. A morning scene may have hints of orange, pink, and possibly purple to help show that the sun is rising…)
Props – need to be historically accurate. (Aladdin shouldn’t have a smart phone. You Can’t Take It With You should have the right kind of music player in the living room…)
Hair and makeup – help display that it’s a different culture with their own style. (Every time period has a different hair and makeup style. 1920’s hair was slick and wavy, 1980’s were big and curly. The makeup in the 1920’s was simple, elegant, and pale skin with bold lipstick. 1980’s had bold, very vibrant colored makeup with a slightly abstract feel.)
Costumes – represent the culture once again as well as social status. (If someone is poor and rundown, they’ll have torn and tattered clothing. If a man is rich and well-known, they are likely to be wearing a suit and be very well put together. Think of the difference of costumes in the show Annie where you have orphans as well as wealthy characters.)
Wrap up:
Inform the students that they’ll be creating a bulletin board that displays the basic dramaturg research points for a production at the end of this unit. Divide the students into groups by tables and have them brainstorm different show ideas. Each group should create a list of different show possibilities.
For the last five minutes of class, have each student decide on a show they will be researching for this unit. They will be researching that specific show in any personal work time they are given throughout the unit.
Have the students turn in their scavenger hunt list at the end of class.
Assessment (10 points): Students listed 5 items that met the criteria for the production of Aladdin on their scavenger hunt list. Students also wrote at least 1-2 sentences describing why it fits in the show. One point is taken away for every item under 5, and one point is taken away for every item without a justification.
Lesson 2:Proper Prop Usage
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of appropriate prop selection by identifying five props that would support the historical and cultural context of their selected production.
Materials Needed:
Projector
YouTube clips(see below)
Hook:
Watch different versions of the song “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” from Annie. (It isn’t necessary to watch the entirety of each clip. Be sure to show enough so students can see that there are different props being used, even if the clip is set in the same time period [aside from 2014 version.]) Before watching, challenge the students to make a list of as many props as they can identify in each clip. These lists will be used for the discussion afterwards.
1982 -
1999 -
2014 -
Follow up discussion:
Using the lists the students created, compare and contrast the different versions of the same song. In the case of the 1982 and 1999 version, they were supposed to take place in the same time period. Did they succeed? What differences were found between the two older versions? How was the 2014 version different?
Instruction:
It’s important to use appropriate props for productions. If something takes place around the time of the Great Depression, like Annie, then you need to be sure the telephones, cleaning supplies, and toys reflect the kind of items they’d have back then.
Teach students the difference between props and set design dressing.
-Props are essentially anything that an actor touches or uses. A good rule of thumb is that props can usually be moved by one person. Like a handheld mirror, food, or cleaning supply.
-Set dressing is anything in the background. For example, the curtains, couches, or rugs.
Props can be used to symbolize an entire production. Examples of iconic props used in shows: Yorick’s skull in Hamlet, whip in Indiana Jones, glass slipper in Cinderella, the ring in Lord of the Rings, newspaper in Newsies, white mask in Phantom of the Opera…
Ask students if they can identify any other iconic props. How do these props fit with the time period of each individual show? What does the prop say about the character that uses it?
For example - There is the crutch that Crutchy uses in Newsies. It is made of simple wood and supports the fact that Crutchy has a small disability.
Assessment:
Students are to find an iconic prop for the show they’ve selected to research for this unit. It should reflect the time period of the show and the character that uses the prop. By the end of class, students will have five props that they could use for their show and be able to justify why they selected that prop. Pictures or drawings of these props will be posted to their bulletin board.
Lesson 3: Becoming Beautiful Historically
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of historical hair and makeup by creating a beauty tips newspaper article that accurately describes the trends of a time period.
Materials Needed:
Projector
YouTube clips-Singing in the Rain -
Hairspray - )
“Becoming Beautiful Historically” PowerPoint
Mannequin heads (optional)
Hook:
Watch and compare a clip from Singing in the Rain and Hairspray. Before watching the clips, instruct the students to pay attention to the differences between the characters’ hair and makeup specifically.
Singing in the Rain -
Hairspray -
Follow up questions –
Based on the hair and makeup, what time period was Singing in the Rain set in; give specific examples of clues you saw.
Possible answers: 1920’s; the bob hairstyle on Cathy, slicked hair on Don, flawless makeup on Cathy.
Based on the hair and makeup, what time period was Hairspray set in; give specific examples of clues you saw.
Possible answers: 1960’s; Tracey’s big hair, the beehive Amber wore, the slicked back hair on Corny Collins or Link (slicked, but still had volume).
We’ve seen obvious style differences with these two productions, why is period-appropriate hair and makeup important to a production?
Possible answers: it helps the audience know what time period the production takes place in, it helps the production seem authentic, actors will more likely act according to that time period as they look the part.
Instruction:
There are very specific style trends to each time period. We’re going to look at the 1920’s, 50’s, and 80’s today and identify a few things that made each time period unique.
*Bring up the PowerPoint*
Students can take notes on the differences between time periods; it may help them keep the time periods straight for the assessment at the end of class.
1920’s: Starting with the first 1920’s slide, have students identify what’s unique about that time period’s look. They should point out things like short hair, thin eyebrows, bold lip color, light blush, and pale complexion. The slides that follow will solidify some of the things they pointed out.
1960’s: Do the same thing with the 1960’s pictures. Possible things the students will observe are that the hair is bigger and straight, eyeliner is bolder.
1980’s: Finally, have students analyze the 1980’s pictures. Possible observations will be that the hair is big and curly, bright colors are incorporated in the makeup, the makeup is less realistic and more stylized.
Quick Assessment: To check for understanding, ask students to list off specific trends of each time period discussed within this PowerPoint.
Follow-upQuestions:
- If you were given the task to research the hair and makeup trends of a production, what kind of resources would you use? Why is that resource helpful?
- Possible answers: google images, newspaper articles, magazines, films set in that time period…
- How would you learn how to do the hair and makeup? Why is that resource helpful?
- Possible answers: YouTube videos, a licensed beautician, books, magazines…
Assessment:
The final slide of the PowerPoint is a list of musicals from different time periods. Instruct the students to create a “beauty tips newspaper article” that one of the musical characters would read and use. The article should identify at least two specific trends of that time period and a made-up way to achieve that look. Students are allowed to research on their phones or computers to help find period accurate looks. Tell the students that the instructions they write about how to achieve the look don’t need to be realistic. The article should be about a half page in length. Pictures to support the article are encouraged, but not required.
Optional Additional Lesson Material:
If you have extra time, or students finish early, bring out one of the mannequin heads and show the class how to do finger waves, victory rolls, a beehive, or a big 80’s ponytail. If you do this at the end of class, let students who have turned in their papers try to create the style they wrote about.
Lesson 4: Character Costuming
Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate their ability to make appropriate, period accurate, costume decisions by creating two costume designs for a character within their selected production.
Materials Needed:
Western costume (on display)
Renaissance costume (on display)
White board
Dry-erase markers
Drawing Paper
Colored pencils/markers
Hook/Warm up: Have students take the first 10-15 minutes of class to observe the displayed costumes and create a background story that uses these costumes. They should be able to justify their story with specific observations they made about the costume. For example, the character they are creating is a hard-working mother on a farm because she has an apron that is slightly soiled.
Examples of what costumes you could display: