Learning Activity

Stage Directions Simon Says

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Overview

Students will play Simon Says to practice their knowledge of the nine general stage directions in Theatre. With this activity, students will become proficient in learning the areas of the stage.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 09-12 - Theatre

AE17.TH.PRO.5

Investigate the collaborative nature of the actor, director, playwright, and designers and explore their interdependent roles in a drama/theatre work.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.TH.PRO.6

Vocabulary

Analysis
  • Contextual Reading
  • Characterization
  • Dramaturgy
Design
  • Using information in plays to inspire design choices.
  • Using technology to influence design and prepare students for career pathways.
Research
  • Using historical facts and images for ideas and inspiration
  • Using cultural facts and images for ideas and inspiration.

Theatrical Hierarchy and how it works in the classroom.

Essential Questions

EU: Theatre artists work to discover different ways of communicating meaning.
EQ: How, when, and why do theatre artists' choices change?

Skills Examples

  • Students will design the set, sound effects or costumes for the play To Kill A Mockingbird. They will use historical images of that time period to create the visual aspects of the play.
  • Students will participate in a lecture on the history of Technical Theatre. They will pick a time period and design a set, lighting, sound or costume design using only the tools available in that time period.
  • Students will create a visual character board for the character that they are representing in a class play or assigned monologue.
  • Students will write a scene. They will break into roles of Director, Actors, Designers and Writer.
  • Students will use their written scenes in rehearsal. Designers will use provided supplies to create a set for their scene.
  • Students will memorize lines, make character choices, perform for the director for notes and finish creating their set.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to follow stage directions when given by the director or fellow classmates. 

Activity Details

Students will stand facing the "director" with at least one arms' length in front of and beside each student.

Ask each student to imagine that they are standing on their own small private stage. [Students may stand on posterboard to represent their personal stage.]  If you have a tiled floor, they should imagine that the square they are standing in is CENTER stage. The square in front of them is DOWNSTAGE CENTER. The square behind them is UPSTAGE CENTER. And so on. 

The "director" will call out commands such as Cross Downstage Center, Cross Upstage Left, etc.  

Students ONLY follow the command if the director says, "Simon Says..." [Simon says cross Downstage Right, Simon says cross Upstage Right, now cross back to Center Stage, etc.]

If a student moves when the director does NOT say Simon Says, they sit in their spot. If a student steps in the wrong direction, they sit in their spot. 

Continue until only one student is standing. 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

Observe students during the activity to do quick assessments of their understanding. 

After the activity, give a written quiz: Have students draw a square on a sheet of paper, then draw a tic-tac-toe board inside it, creating nine areas. Tell them to write the word audience below the square to indicate the actor's orientation. (You may ask them to draw the audience beside or above or tell them to write the audience wherever they choose, depending on how challenging you want the quiz to be.) 

Ask them to label the nine areas using stage direction abbreviations C, DC, UC, DR, etc. 

OR

Ask them to write their NAME center stage, draw a HEART DR, draw a STAR DC, write the name of their favorite TV show UR, etc. 

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

Teach them the stage directions using this diagram. 

Remind them that stage directions are for the actor's use, not the audience's. The audience can live the rest of their lives never knowing where Stage Left is, but the actor cannot function without knowing. Therefore, Stage Left is the actor's left, and Stage Right is the actor's right. 

Explain to them that Downstage and Upstage are terms that were created because some older stages were built "on a rake" or a slight incline. The front part of the stage, closest to the audience, was slightly lower, or downstage, and the back part was slightly higher, or upstage so that the audience could see things that were farther away. 

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

appatel
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