Theatre Programs

Theatre is a fundamental way of exploring and knowing the world. Young children learn to walk and speak primarily through imitation. They learn their personal histories and group identities through family photographs, videos, and stories. Children integrate this information with data from other sources in their environments to form their own self-identities through activities such as dramatic play. In many ways, theatre and the other arts are among children’s first languages. Rhyme, rhythm, color, texture, movement, and sound are among the ways young children first learn.

The focus of elementary theatre is creative drama, a form of theatre in which teachers guide learners to imagine, enact, and reflect. Creative drama uses literature, history, and current events to spark students’ imaginations and original thinking. The success of creative drama depends on the teacher’s choice of relevant, appropriate resource materials and how the improvisations are introduced and structured. In kindergarten through grade 5, teachers and students may use printed materials and current or historical events as resources to stimulate creative thinking. For example, a children’s trade book may provide the basis of a re-creation or improvisation of the story.

The skills and knowledge of creative drama are carefully structured throughout the elementary curriculum. To build perceptual and communication skills, young students:

• Imitate and re-create the world around them

• Develop body awareness and sensory and emotional perception

• Gain deeper understanding of themselves, others, and the environment

• Explore sound and space

• Use expressive, rhythmic movement.

Instruction in beginning theatre techniques can also involve:

• Unison play in which the teacher provides a stimulus and each child plays the same role simultaneously, yet independently of the other children

• Pair playing, the basis for a dramatic plot, wherein two students work together to decide how to stage a scene

• Group playing, similar to pair playing, in which 3-5 students work together

• Warm-ups to help students focus and express themselves

• Theatre games to develop engagement and other theatre skills

• The teacher plays a character to engage students further in the drama or intensify the problem or conflict

• Side coaching begins with the teacher suggesting actions or ideas from the sidelines.

Following the Theatre TEKS continuum, students advance from teacher-directed activities to projects in which they demonstrate independent thought and action within the structure of a peer group.

Theatre provides excellent opportunities for children and young adults to explore and experience connections to other historical periods and cultures. The Theatre TEKS can be taught in conjunction with other related subjects in the elementary school, such as English Language Arts/Reading and social studies. Teachers, then, have opportunities to teach theatre processes and knowledge while developing students’ understandings of the world around them.

Alternating as players and observers in creative drama lessons, students begin to learn appropriate audience behavior. Classroom conversations that include critiques of drama experiences builds the foundation for independent reflection about dramatic events. Scaffolded, or sequenced, theatre instruction helps children develop the concepts, techniques, and skills that serve as the basis for evaluating productions.

Scheduling

Students achieve their highest potential in theatre course content when there is adequate time for teachers to teach and for students to learn. Scheduling theatre instruction in an already-crowded elementary schedule may be challenging; however, as part of the enrichment curriculum, school districts must provide instruction in creative drama. Chapter 74 gives districts the option of flexible arrangements and class setting, including mixed-age programs, as long as the instruction is appropriate for all students. In theatre, as in other content areas, students learn and develop skills through regular daily instruction.

Facilities

While the standard classroom is suitable for many creative dramatic activities, an alternative facility, such as a clear space, accommodates large group activities and minimizes distraction to neighboring classes. A formal theatre is not necessary since students engaged in creative drama activities do not generally perform for a formal audience.

In middle school, students begin moving from creative drama to more formal theatre. The emphasis in sixth grade remains on creative drama. In seventh and eighth grades, the curriculum and instruction in focus on interpretation and performance. As they advance, students gain a deeper understanding of theatrical elements, principles, and conventions. Young actors begin to dramatize more complex characters. Building on elementary school creative drama, students continue to build improvisation skills in unscripted theatre work.

Seventh and eighth graders continue creative drama work and begin to examine scripts, learn basic acting techniques, and explore aspects of technical theatre. By reading scripted materials, students analyze characters, study dialogue, and design stage movements. Middle school students acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful in theatre through research, creative thinking, problem solving, and improvisation.

Scheduling

The TEKS for sixth graders continue to emphasize creative drama. In grade 7, the introduction to formal theatre makes it feasible to combine seventh and eighth graders in a mixed-age class. Beginning and intermediate theatre students can be in one class as long as the teacher differentiates instruction for the various stages of skill development. Flexible grouping can also be used as a tool to support increased student learning.

Other considerations for scheduling and class size include:

• Space limitations

• Safety of participants

• Age and maturity of students

• Range of instructional activities included in the curriculum

• Amount of student-to-student interactions through discussion, peer evaluations, and group projects.

Facilities

Middle school theatre can use a variety of facilities, equipment, and materials for classroom instruction, though the following types of performance spaces are most effective at this level:

• Standard classroom. A classroom with moveable desks or tables and chairs provides a clear space for instruction and rehearsals.

• Flexible theatre space (i.e., a theatre room, a black box theatre). A large room with a high ceiling can be used for rehearsals, laboratory scenes, and small-scale productions. This setting provides a close connection between performers and the audience, limited scenery needs, and platforms and lighting instruments for various stage configurations.

A grade 6 theatre program benefits from an alternative facility, or clear space, to best accommodate creative drama activities. In grades 7 and 8, a classroom may be used for instructional purposes, but a performance facility is also necessary. A flexible theatre space is preferable to a traditional proscenium theatre that seats a large number of people, has acoustical challenges, and may limit exploration of alternative staging and performance styles.

Students who beginning actors are usually more at ease performing for smaller groups, and a small space demands less of the adolescent’s developing voice. Seventh and eighth graders develop self-confidence, perceptual awareness, and basic principles of acting and script interpretation. A small, flexible theatre space allows students to foster these concepts and skills most effectively.

The four strands of the Theatre TEKS are the basis of high school theatre curricula and instruction. Theatre courses in grades 9-12 allow students to develop and apply knowledge of theatrical elements, principles, conventions, and skills. Students participate in the areas of acting, directing, and design in order to:

• Refine sensory awareness in dramatic presentations

• Perform in small and large groups

• Understand cultural heritages and traditions and the influences of theatre, film, television, and technology on media and society

• Reflect on and evaluate personal, peer, and professional work.

The theatre courses listed in the TEKS include:

• Theatre I

• Theatre II-IV

• Technical Theatre I-IV

• Theatre Production I-IV

Theatre I classes build on the foundations established in preceding grades. Theatre I is a survey course and the prerequisite for all subsequent theatre studies. Theatre I curricula form a solid base for future theatre education and encompass:

• Theatrical vocabulary, elements, conventions, and basic concepts

• Experiences that develop a broad knowledge base and technical skills

• Historical and cultural backgrounds of various works and genres

• Strategies for evaluating theatre experiences.

Subsequent courses expand on the Theatre I experience and refine specific techniques and skills. Due to the rigor of each course, the scope of the four strands, and increased expectations for student achievement, all theatre courses, excluding production courses, should be awarded one credit upon demonstration of achieving the TEKS for two full semesters. Theatre Production may be awarded .5 or 1 credit.

Scheduling

Upper-level theatre classes (Levels III and IV) enable students to work on individual projects and goals. If enrollment is limited, mixed-level classes may be offered with approval of the theatre teacher. For example, a teacher who is conscious of individualizing activities, strategies, and techniques to accommodate the different skill levels of students may teach Technical Theatre III and IV at the same time.

The overall class size of performance courses is an important consideration in scheduling high school theatre classes. The rigor of the Theatre TEKS and the need for intense individual and small group instruction may necessitate a lower pupil-teacher ratio. Theatre classes, such as production, will likely require a great deal of out-of-class time. Consequently, this course may be scheduled to meet during a lengthened class period or outside of regular school hours. Block scheduling with longer class periods is highly conducive to theatre production classes.

Other considerations for scheduling and class size include:

• Space limitations

• Safety of participants

• Age and maturity of students

• Instructional activities included in the curriculum

• Amount of student-to-student interactions.

Facilities

A variety of facilities, equipment, and materials are appropriate for quality high school theatre programs, including:

• Standard classroom—a classroom with moveable desks or tables and chairs that can provide space for instruction and rehearsals

• Flexible theatre space (i.e., a theatre room, a black box theatre)—a large room with a high ceiling for rehearsals, laboratory scenes, and small-scale productions. This setting provides intimacy between performers and the audience, limited scenery needs, and flexibility in arranging platforms and lighting. Alternative flexible theatre spaces allow students to build different theatres by restructuring the room into various configurations. A small performance space can also challenge and enrich theatre education and enable the staging of little-known plays that attract smaller audiences. Students can generally use the same support facilities, such as a scene shop, costume shop, storage, makeup and dressing rooms, for both the traditional theatre and the flexible space.

• Complete theatre facility—theatre seating for 500, which is preferable to a multipurpose auditorium that seats 1,000 or more. The most common configuration is the proscenium stage, though other configurations include the thrust, arena, and open stages. The traditional proscenium theatre provides space for shows with large casts and large audiences. Complex scenic and lighting equipment allow for instruction in the TEKS of technical theatre. Careful attention and maintenance can provide a safe learning environment. Flexible theatrical lighting and sound equipment, a box office and lobby, scenery and properties shop, costume shop, makeup and dressing rooms, and secure storage areas are essential parts of the facility. Numerous large storage areas protect the theatre department’s scenery, properties, costumes, makeup, lighting and sound equipment, tools, and raw materials. Secure storage space reduces the possibility that supplies will be lost or damaged.

These three types of facilities and an instructor’s office with a telephone accommodate classroom instruction, experimental laboratory work, and full-scale theatrical productions related to the Theatre TEKS.