Drama

Welcome!

I hope you are looking forward to a fun and exciting year! There are lots of opportunities to get involoved like the Fall Play, The Crucible, and the Spring Musical, All Shook Up! ~ Mr. McChesney

Please explore the Drama Club and other Drama pages to learn more about, see pictures and videos of Drama activities.

 

Drama Rules And Guidelines

Drama Classes:

Basic Drama

The full year of Basic Drama will introduce students to Theatre through the rudiments of acting and stage knowledge: voice and movement exercises, improvisations, theatre games and activities, character and scene analysis, journals and performances. The study of theatre as an art requires active and consistent
participation in an atmosphere of trust.

Play Production And Performance

This full year course is designed to reinforce
and refine skills of Basic Drama by learning in detail the production aspects
of video production, make-up, costume, scene design, in preparation for the
following performances: period plays, children’s theatre, monologues, and
scenes.

Advanced Acting And Directing

This advanced full year course is designed to reinforce and refine skills of Basic
Drama and/or Play Production & Performance through the study of acting,
dramaturgy, performance ensemble, Theatre education, Theatre History,
playwriting & directing. The advanced student is empowered to pursue
theatre as a lifelong personal interest.

Stagecraft

Stagecraft is the merging of the many technical elements of play production and the
director and playwright’s vision of the finished play. Students who study
Stagecraft acquire an intimate knowledge of design, construction, painting,
costuming, properties, sound, lighting, rigging and all other technical aspects
of theater production. They are afforded “hands-on” practical experience
through PARTICIPATION that may lead them into technical careers.

Why Drama Education?

Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between drama involvement and academic achievement. In addition to having higher standardized test scores than their peers who do not experience the arts, student who participate in drama often experience improved reading comprehension, maintain better attendance records, and stay generally more engaged in school than their non-arts counterparts. Schools with arts-integrated programs, even in low-income areas, report high academic achievement. Students involved in drama performance scored an average of 65.5 points higher on the verbal component and 35.5 points higher in the math component of the SAT Students who took courses in drama study or appreciation scored, on average, 55 points higher on verbal and 26 points higher on math than their non-arts classmates. In 2005, students involved in drama performance outscored the national average SAT score by 35 points on the verbal portion and 24 points on the math section. Research indicates that involvement in the arts increases student engagement and encourages consistent attendance, and that drop-out rates correlate with student levels of involvement in the arts. A series of studies on the arts and education revealed a consistent causal link between performing texts in the classroom and the improvement of a variety of verbal skills, including especially significant increases in story recall and understanding of written material. In addition to building social and communication skills overall, involvement in drama courses and performance has been shown to improve students’ self-esteem as well as their confidence in their academic abilities. A study published in Champions of Change (1999) cites theatre arts, including performance, classes, and participation in a drama club, as a source for “gains in reading proficiency, gains in self-concept and motivation, and higher levels of empathy and tolerance towards others” among youth of low socio-economic status. Information provided by the American Alliance for Theatre & Education at the following website: http://www.aate.com/effectsresearch.asp