Students are introduced to the foundation skills and concepts required for Middle School Drama.  Practical, design and written activities provide opportunity for exploration of themes, self expression and a basic understanding of performance skills.  Cooperative group work and evaluative reflection are key concepts of the course. 

GRADE 8 DRAMA

The Grade 8 curriculum is made up of the following mandatory units and a number of
smaller optional units.

1. Monologues, Duologues and Triologues

• Workshop
  
• Script writing and performing
  
• Theatre of realism, super-objective and objective
  
• Performing
  
• Developmental workbook- reflection and evaluation
  

2. Conundrums, Complications and Conflicts

• Developing scenes and exploring structure
  
• Character development
  
• Ensemble work
  

3. Commercials

• Identifying the purpose and techniques of advertising
  
• Operating a video camera and exploring camera angles
  
• Group plan and storyboard
  
• Filming, editing and viewing
  
• Developmental workbook- knowledge, understanding, reflection and evaluation
  
• Exploring style and genre.
  
• Script analysis
  
• Auditions and acting for commercials
  

4. Improvisation

• Theatre Sports
  
• Realistic acting techniques
  
• Anti-realist acting techniques
  

Additional Units
Where time is available small units, taken from the grade 6 or 7 syllabus (used as
revision with different activities) or from the list below, can be introduced.

Script writing on a given theme.

• Polished improvisation based on a given theme or containing given elements.
  
• Exploration of a theme, subject or concept through improvisation.
  
• Theatre/Drama vocabulary quizzes.
  
• Script analysis.
  
• Costume design.
• Set design.
  
• Study of text
  
• Other forms of theatre, for example, Commedia dell’Arte