Minds On
Warm Up
Warm up
Find a comfortable position. Focus your attention on one part of the body at a time.
How does that part of your body feel? If possible, take a deep breath and allow your lungs to expand.
Focus your attention on one part of your body. Allow that part to relax before moving on to the next. As you scan through your body, keep breathing deeply. Once you have completed the scan, take a moment to stretch.
Explore this audio recording entitled “Body Parts Breathing” to complete this breathing activity.
Body Parts Breathing
Drama game
Imagine being transported into a new environment. Examine the following images and consider
- What kinds of equipment and clothing would someone need?
- What kinds of activities would someone do in this environment?
- Would the weather suddenly change? Would there be animals in the environment? People?
Try it
Act it out
Act out your answers for one of the environments by using gestures, movements, and/or facial expressions.
If possible, narrate the experience to a partner, or record an audio description.
Consider adding your work to your drama portfolio.
Let’s get started!
If you were asked to name as many types of theatre performance as you could, how would you respond?
Record your responses digitally, orally, in print, or in a method of your choice.
For example, you may share that there are musical and spoken word performances.
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
What are some of the reasons why drama and theatre are important to cultures around the world?
Brainstorm and record your thoughts using the following Mind Map or another method of your choice.
Complete the Drama Across Cultures activity in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts. Consider adding your work to your drama portfolio.
Action
Get ready, get set…
Throughout history, the theatre has been an influential part of society and culture to communities all over the world. The theatre can have social influence in its ability to change beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviours. Stories told on stage can raise awareness of political, environmental, medical, and other social/global issues. It can also contribute to cultural life through celebration, traditional storytelling, communicating, and through cultural teachings.
Press the following tabs to learn more about theatre in Japan, Russian, and Indigenous communities around the world.
There is a variety of theatre performances in Japan. Two types of theatre performances are Noh and Kabuki.
Noh is a traditional Japanese theatre style, starting in the 14th century but still performed today. It is not a narrative drama. Noh performers are storytellers who use their visual appearances (including masks) and their movements to share the message of their tale rather than acting it out. There is often only one lead performer on stage with a few supporting characters and musicians. The performances are often about Japanese culture and tradition.
Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theatre that has been popular for 400 years. It combines singing, miming, and dancing with spectacular stagings and costumes. It allows the performers to share their visual and vocal skills. This form of entertainment has remained traditional.
Russian puppet theatre dates back to possibly the 6th century. Cultural tradition of using masks and dolls in ceremonies that marked the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Other cultures were using puppets before Russian performers, such as China and Italy, but they became very popular in Russia in medieval times.
In the 16th century, minstrels (medieval singers and musicians) began to regularly include puppets on stage during performances. They would tie a blanket at their waist and over their heads with poles so that their hands were free to move their puppets.
Today, the Moscow Puppet Theatre shares a love of children’s literature by performing literary tales to children through their performances, including classic Russian folk tales. The performances include modern stage sets, young performers, and music.
There are three puppets from the Moscow Puppet Theatre. One puppet is a cat, dressed as a pirate. The second puppet is wearing a prisoner’s striped outfit. The third puppet is dressed as a pirate. The prisoner puppet is being held by the other two puppets.
Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have used music, dance, drama and storytelling to carry on the knowledge and traditions of their ancestors. In ceremony, rites of passages and celebrations, performance art was, and continues to be, a vital part of Indigenous culture. However, for many years, Indigenous ceremonies and cultural practices were oppressed after colonization by European Christianity and later outlawed by the Canadian government under such legislation as the Indian Act. Some ceremonies, dances and celebrations were hidden to preserve them, others were altered to adapt to Christian influences, and some were unable to preserved.
For many years, when Indigenous stories were included, they were performed and produced by non-Indigenous people in film and theatre. First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, respectively, resisted and made spaces for themselves in modern theatre so that they could continue to preserve, express and share their traditional and contemporary worldviews in the performing arts with audiences around the world.
In the 1970s Indigenous theatre in Canada began to become popular, with Indigenous playwrights, directors, and actors performing their own creations.
In 1974, the Native Theatre School, now called the Centre for Indigenous Theatre gave exposure to Indigenous artists to trained professionals in the field and gave them a forum to explore their culture and performance traditions.
In 1980, the first Indigenous Theatre Celebration was held in Toronto. It brought Indigenous artists from all over the world and helped to establish the Native Earth Performing Arts in 1982. This company was able to produce plays like Tomson Highway’s award-winning play, The Rez Sisters.
De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig opened in 1984. It was the first professional theatre company built on a First Nations reserve in Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. To this day, it remains the only one. This theatre company dedicates its performances to vitalizing the Anishinaabeg culture and heritage. It does this by educating and sharing their original creative expression with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences.
In 1987, the Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group was founded in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. These live performances include traditional Inuit music, songs, drum dancing, and stories. Tourists, visitors to Pond Inlet and cruise ship passengers are among audiences that take in these performances. The Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group develops its plays through consensus, involving elders as actors and writers, and weaving Inuit culture and language into their stories.
In 1999, the Saskatchewan Native Theatre was founded in Saskatoon. It is now called the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre. This theatre offers youth an opportunity to grow and engage in the arts. It also provides professional programming and co-productions with the Persephone Theatre. This theatre was founded by Gordon Tootoosis, Tantoo Cardinal, Donna Heimbecker, Kennetch Charlette and Dave Pratt. Tantoo Cardinal has been in over 120 movies and has broken barriers for ensuring that Indigenous actors are represented on screen.
The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway, Director Rose C. Stella, Lighting and Set Design, Andy Moro, presented by The Centre for Indigenous Theatre, May 2008 at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (U of T)
Use your learning to answer these questions about theatre and community.
Select the correct answer, then press ‘Check Answer’ to see how you did.
The importance of theatre to community
Humans share an instinct to gather together with one another to share our thoughts, ideas, and experiences and to tell and hear stories. Ever since humans came together to share these stories, there has been theatre.
Theatre and live performance play an important role in society. It allows us to explore a variety of perspectives, as an audience who is experiencing the performance, and the performers who are becoming new characters.
As groups share space with each other, both on stage and as an audience, there is a feeling of togetherness that theatre brings. There is a strong sense of community, both as the crew and the performers who are building a story together, but there is also a sense of community as the audience.
Because of the live nature of theatre, every performance has a sense of uniqueness. The audience is different every performance and brings its own energy. The crew must ensure that everything happens as it should, and the actors need to perform the story to the best of their ability every time they perform live for the audience.
Theatre tells stories that are relevant to the social, political, and cultural issues of the time and place that the story takes place.
Drama and theatre teach communication and similar to other forms of art, drama is a way for people to understand each other. Drama and theatre also teach how to collaborate, how to create and explore. It teaches ways of opening up to new perspectives and it teaches how to use body, voice, and face together to communicate a message.
Use your learning to fill in the blanks. For each sentence, select the missing word from the drop-down menu.
Go!
Bringing theatre to your community or school
Option 1: Bringing theatre to your community
You have decided that you would like to bring theatre to your community. You may already have theatre in your community. If that is the case, you can create a plan of bringing more people to the theatre, or you can pitch an idea (state your case) for a new style of performance or a new element to the current theatre such as cultural representation or raising awareness for social issues. This could be an outdoor space, a theatre festival, etc.
You are going to get a bit of time at your next Town Hall meeting to pitch the idea of why theatre will be important to your community.
Consider including the following in your pitch. Record your pitch using a method of your choice.
Community Pitch
Option 2: Enhancing dramatic arts in school
Similar to the 15-minute pitch (state your case), in this option you will make a pitch to the nearest school board about the idea of making Dramatic Arts a mandatory course in secondary school.
Be sure to include the following messages in your pitch. Record and share your pitch in a method of your choice.
School Pitch
Press ‘Example pitch’ to access one way in which you can create your pitch.
Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.
I am here before you today to ask for your consideration to create an outdoor theatre in Rotary Park. I believe that creating this theatre space will bring an increased feeling of togetherness in our community as we come together and gather for live performances. This new theatre experience will bring together a variety of story tellers, sharing their experiences and stories with an audience. This will allow our community to experience different perspectives, learn about each other, and have important conversations. These performances can provide an opportunity for celebration and to educate each other.
I have been in discussion with the local community theatre company who would love to support this effort and assist in providing expertise in the areas of design, directing, and building of the space.
Advertising for this event can bring more people to our community which will be good for our local economy as well.
Is there anyone in the council who would be able to help with the planning of the space? What would my next steps be for this to become a possibility?
Consolidation
Putting it all together
You have explored the importance of theatre in society and how theatre can educate, entertain, and pass down cultural traditions and teachings to the next generation.
You have prepared a presentation for the local mayor or school board. Now is your opportunity to perform that presentation as a monologue.
Press ‘Monologue’ to access a definition of the concept.
Explore this video entitled “Monologue” to learn more about how actors use monologue to communicate their ideas and emotions to the audience.
You can record your presentation or describe how you would present it in a method of your choice.
As you present, be sure to consider:
- The use of your body, and/or face, and voice as you present your pitch confidently and clearly
- Practising your presentation a few times before recording so that you are able to speak with confidence
Portfolio
Portfolio
Consider adding the responses to these reflection questions to your portfolio.
- Why is it important that dramatic arts be studied as a course in school? What opportunities does it provide to children, youths, and teens?
- In what ways have you benefited from studying dramatic arts? Which of these would you like to continue to study and learn? Why?
- How might learning about communities and cultures outside of your own through theatre help you become a better member in your own community?
Reflection
As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.
I feel…
Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.
When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.