Lesson

Plan

Lesson Title: Blank scenes

Reference to Level 4 Drama
NZC: -Initiate and refine ideas with others to plan and develop drama
-Use conventions to structure drama
-Present and respond to drama, identifying ways in which elements, techniques,
conventions and technologies create meaning in their own and others work
Intended Students are learning to understand subtext and context in short scenes;
learning and how they can create tension and mood.
outcome

Success Students can develop a character in relation to their partner
Criteria Students can create a scenario for a short script
Students can identify the effect of different subtexts on a scene

Resources 7 Short blank scenes-Printed
Students need pens


Timing: Roll Call + Question:
3 mins Q-Whats your dream job?

5-10mins Game: Director Says
(Similar to Captains Coming/Simon says)

Commands:
Stage Left | Students go to stage left
Stage Right | Students go to stage right
Upstage | Students go upstage (closest to the back)
Downstage | Students go downstage (closest to the front)
Sweep the floors | Students pretend to sweep the floor
Curtains | Students pretend to pull a pully system
Monologue | Students hold their chin and stick out their arm
Duologue | Students grab a partner and stand back to back
Workers out! | Students say Thank you workers! Lights off
Quiet on set! | Students must freeze and hold their finger to their lips

Students in pairs (or threes if numbers dont work) will be given a
scene. They will have two minutes to come up with two contrasting
characters.
After two minutes is up, students will then come up with at least two
contrasting ideas of what is happening in the scene.
Rehearse these two (or more) ideas for 10 minutes
Students who feel confident to perform in front of class. Showing us
their two contrasting scenes. Then I will give each student a
provocation (they wont know each others one) and get them to replay
the scene.
 Lesson Plan

Audience to comment





Evaluation:

Warm up game was really good for focus and engagement. It picked up the energy in the
classroom, as it was previously a bit flat. Last week of term is always a challenge!
The scripts prompted some deeper thinking for year 9s, about subtext and context, but
some students struggled with this concept. Their struggle was understanding what subtext
is, which may have been an ambitious thing to try and teach in just one lesson but I think
that this provides an opportunity to extend their learning in another lesson. I also shouldve
done more development on their characters so they could come up with a goal/objective, or
hopes and desires.

Had a breakthrough with the student who has anxiety issues, and I made sure to give her a
scene where she would just have to do movement and show her thoughts through
movement. She seemed relieved that she didnt have to do any speaking, but later told me
she found the task boring because the script didnt give her much information (which was
the point of the script). However, she expressed something honestly to me which is great to
see.

In the final performances, some students I gave provocations to repeat their scene with new
objectives. This extended those students understanding of what subtext can do in a scene
that has the same dialogue. I got the students in the audience to try and guess what was
happening in each scene, and this prompted lots of different answers; showing students
how audience interpretation can differ depending on your clarity in performance.

All in all, I felt this was a good starting lesson and can be continued through further class
time. Ive also realised that my learning objective was much too ambitious, and instead it
should be focusing around communicating a character and setting in role.