Drama Questions and Answers
Drama Questions and Answers
Hi I am a training education student and would like to know lots more about the place of pre-text in process drama. I would also like to explore and gain further information in the many ideas for teaching using drama strategies based on some pre-texts. I was hoping that the ideas would be based around in the kindergarten to grade 6 curriculum.
Do you think you could send some information to these questions? Thanks,
rscales
Answer?
I am looking for monologs and plays suitable for children. Also materials
for children which could be used for auditions. Can you help?
LPGTeaches@aol.com
Answer?
Tues, 23 May 2000
Hi,
You may want to check some of the Drama
Resource Books links on my drama resources page. You could find some
useful stuff. Anyone else with some suggestions?
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
What are some performance space available to actors and directors? eg proscemium
arch.
Steve
Answer?
Hi, I'm looking for dramatic monologues or parts in plays for some college
auditions. I'm best suited for parts for femme fatale or serious roles.
If you have any suggestions please contact me. Thanks.
Michelle
Answer?
Tues, 23 May 2000
Hi Michelle,
You may want to check some of the Drama
Resource Books links on my drama resources page. You could find some
useful stuff. Anyone else with some suggestions?
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Hi, I am an English speaking woman who has been given the honour of developing
a drama course for Icelandic kids (in Icelandic!). I would really love to
get some advice as to how big an ideal drama class should be, how long the
course should be (10 weeks?)and , yes! where to start. the idea from the
parents, was to have a "show" at the end of the course. I would like to
teach some basic principles of drama first, as these kids are rowdy and
energetic --great drama material, methinks. Please advise, somebody!!
Shelagh Smith
Answer?
How do I analize a live theatre production?
Laura
Answer?
Laura, this is not finely detailed or comprehensive, but here is how I have handled such a task in the past. I usually talk a little about the script and playwright, then give a little something of plot summary or at least introduce the scenario, the characters and their motivations. You should talk about the direction: the director's use of "blocking" (ie. movement of the actors about the stage), his/her use of devices to link the scenes (ie, sound and lighting, again blocking). Make reference to the set if it is notable. Was it visually appealing or unique in appearance? Was it representative or realistic? Did it help or hinder the actors' movement on the stage? Did it provide an effective backdrop for the action? Comment on the strength or weakness of the acting - the ability to create believable characters. Hope this helps. Anyone else with other pointers?
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education Site, St. John's, NewfoundlandI'm doing an English Oral on the Three Unities of drama, please can you
tell me about them.
Georgina Monkland
Answer?
Hi There! It's been a long time since I took part in any form of theatre,and
now recently I have been called upon to be a judge for a dramatic competition
in the local secondary school over here.It would be nice if someone could
send me some material about how to judge amateur plays and also where I
can find some quotations and speech material to deliver to the audience
at either the beginning of the competition or at the end.Please do send
your suggestions/advice, I would appreciate it. My email is rusha@emirates.net.ae
Dr. Jacob
Answer?
Can you please send me some ideas for where I can find monologues from
shows. Thank you for your time.
Heather
Answer?
Tues, 23 May 2000
Hi Heather,
You may want to check some of the Drama
Resource Books links on my drama resources page. You could find some
useful stuff. Anyone else with some suggestions?
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Hello, I am a fifteen year old student at Edison High school in California
and one of my assignments is to describe Drama as a literary genre. I am
searching for where the word "Drama" comes from. I had heard it was derived
from a Greek word, but I don't know what that word is or how it came to
be. Do you have an answer for me?
Lyana D'amar
Answer?
Fri, 2 Jun 2000
Hi Lyana,
A good place to start might be a dictionary which may give you some indication
of the etymology or origin of the word. The Oxford English Dictionary is
good for this, but many dictionaries will give you an indication of the
language(s) that a word is derived from. There are many online dictionaries
and encyclopedia that you can access online. Try the one at Look Smart (
http://infoplease.looksmart.com/encyclopdict.html)and enter "drama".
It will give you some info on the history of drama. Another dictionary -
Merriam-Webster's (http://www.m-w.com/)
gave me the following entry on the origin of the word:
Main Entry: dra·maYou might also search some of the drama resources on my drama links page for further info. Good luck with your assignment.
Pronunciation: 'drä-m&, 'dra-
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin dramat-, drama, from Greek, deed, drama,
from dran to do, act
I am a teacher in a primary school. I am doing a part time degree program
with a local university. Part of my term paper is to come up with activities
to teach drama using poetry and short stories.I hope you can give me some
ideas or guide on how to go about this. Thank you.
Grace David
Answer?
Tue, 6 Jun 2000
Hi Grace,
Perhaps you could look into Readers Theatre - "Reader's Theatre is a way
to make books come alive for students of all ages. Very simply, a book is
re-written into a script that involves active dialogue between several characters.
Any story can be transformed into a theatrical performance ..." (Check out
the following -
Reader's Theatre site at Baie Comeau High School, Quebec, Canada. There
are many others on the web as well. Good luck with your assignment.
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Question: What is drama in education?
Question: What is theatre in education?
Question: What is the differance between drama in education & theatre in
education?
Question: What is the differance between drama & theatre ?
OUSHA RAMSAWAK
Answer?
I'm studying Michael Gow's "Away" for my HSC this year, but found its storyline
completely boring and lacking substance. I'd like to enjoy this play...but
its irrelevance bothers me. Any insight into this play???
Sally
Answer?
Tue, 6 Jun 2000
Hi Sally,
I have not read this play myself but perhaps the answer to Question
#18 above may be useful to you. In any case, I have found a Bulletin
Board where people seem to be discussing and trying to get their heads around
this play (Check out the bulletin board at
Cyber-Essays). Good luck!
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Dear Mr. Coady,
My name is Shubhra'di and I'm currently a volunteer at one school here in Vientiane , Laos.
My experience with the children is that thinking does'nt come easy to them. After thinking what to do to help these children I come up with the idea of having a drama workshop for them after reading by chance a guide book for drama.
I am by no means an actor but I tried it with them and we had fun on the first day. Now more children are coming to the workshop and I am more inspired to do it..
For more ideas I surf the net which is not my cup of tea really.
Next month , we are going to celebrate Lao New Year and I tried to surf the net unsuccessfully to find out something like "the benefits of drama" to be posted in our bulletin board together with the children's photos so our parents will be encourage to inspire their children to join us.
I wonder if you can give me a proper site where I don't have to spend more time sitting in the computer as also my internet knowledge is limited or maybe if there's already prepared article on this I would appreciate very much if you can send it to me..
I hope to hear from you .. All the best and thank you so much...
Regards..
Shubhra'di
Answer?
Mon, 12 Mar 2001
Hi Shubhra'di,
After a quick search at www.google.com
with the search string "Benefits of Drama", I found the article below by
Brenda Corwin "The Benefits of Drama": http://oceanstatefamily.com/web%20categories/articles/drama.htm
Also if you explore some of the language used on The Drama Kids website (http://www.dramakids.com/), you can get a sense of the same benefits being realized by your own drama programme. You can be sure that the benefits your students receive from involvement in your program include articulation, increased confidence and self-esteem, creative problem solving skills, group interaction skills, and public speaking experience.
Good luck with your drama programme and your search!
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education
Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Hi,
My name is Grace and I am planning on doing a monolougue that requires
me to end the peice by committing suicide. I don't actually say I'm committing
suicide but it's suppposed to be obvious to the audience that that's what
I do. Do you have any idea how I would do this?
Thanks a million,
Answer?
Tue, 20 Aug 2002
Hi Grace,
I don't know the monologue and there may be some clues or suggestions in
the text. For instance, is there anything in the text which specifies the
method of suicide? Does the text suggest that you are experiencing the death
throes of your chosen method of suicide on stage. If so, then you must effect
that method. But, as you indicated in your question, no suggestion of suicide
is really made, so that gives us more freedom.
I would suggest that whatever method of suicide you choose that you not act the actual death or death throes. I would hint at the death or foreshadow the death by perhaps having the implements of suicide present throughout the performance and then going through the motions of setting up the suicide scenario and let it end there. This would be a lot cleaner if there was lighting in use and hence you are able to "go to black". For example, if you choose wrist-slitting, then you could be playing with a knife throughout (that is, if it does not interfere with the text or performance of the piece) and just put the knife to your wrist, then turn back on to the audience and show with your body that you have cut yourself. You could perhaps fall to your knees after that, if you don't think it's too dramatic. For a suicide by overdose, you could have the pills present the whole time and start to take them at the end, perhaps walking off stage swallowing them. For hanging, you could have the rope and a chair with you at the top of the piece and be fashioning a noose for yourself throughout the piece. Then at the end, with it obvious to the audience that you have made a noose, simply pick up your chair and with noose hanging from hand or trailing along the stage, walk off stage. Having the implements with you can lend an element of mystery or intrigue for the audience during the performance. It adds to the suspence. And to a certain extent, you should leave them with the their suspence and questions of "did she do it?!". As one of my colleagues puts it, "The threat of a volcano erupting is always more menacing or effective than the actual eruption." Hope this helps.
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
Reply:
Tue, 20 Aug 2002
This is exactly the advice I was looking for, I can't thank you enough!
Grace - gracevaughey@eircom.net
Hi,
How might studying drama be useful and/or interesting?!?!? HELP!!!! any help will be very much apreciated! It's gotta be finished in a few days! Any famous quotes will be extra helpful. Thankyou.
Answer?
Mon, 06 Jan 2003
Hi Naomi,
After acting now for over 10 years, I would have to say that studying drama
would have to be one of the greatest ways to build confidence and communication
skills. Learning drama equips you with skills that will serve you well in
any walk of life. It provides you with or at least refines your ability
to ...
- interact with people on different levels
- communicate effectively both verbally and non-verbally: improve oral skills; read body language and use your own body to communicate effectively
- make other people "feel"; provoke emotional responses in others;
identify emotional responses and communicate emotions more clearly - "Acting
deals with very delicate emotions. It is not
putting up a mask. Each time an actor acts he does not hide; he exposes
himself." - Jeanne Moreau (b. 1928), French stage and screen
actor.
- live vicariously through other characters and explore aspects of yourself
which you have found in those characters - "Acting is a question
of absorbing other people’s personalities and adding some of your own
experience." - Paul Newman (b. 1925), U.S. screen actor.
or
"Acting is not that far from mental disease: An actor works on splitting
his character into others. It is like a kind of schizophrenia."
- Vittorio Gassman
- analyze human motivations and reactions, perhaps enabling you to understand humanity on a deeper level. This is very likely not what Marlon Brando was talking about when he said "Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse ... The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis."
That's about all the insight I have in me right now.
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Michael Coady, The Drama in Education Site, St. John's, Newfoundland
