Curriculum Drama

Staffing 2022

Drama is taught by a specialist teacher, Mrs Anna Usher (Years 3 - 8).

LAMDA lessons is taught by separate teachers and all enquiries should be forwarded to a.usher@walhampton.com

The Drama Department's Aims

* To develop the ability to communicate effectively through their use of space, movement and choice of words

* To promote confidence in pupils own abilities working independently and in a team increasing verbal and non verbal communication

* To increase an understanding of characterisation and imagination in devising and performance skills

* To enhance learning in subjects such as English and History by providing children with the experience of living in the text or the past

* To extend evaluation skills when observing the work of others as well as own work through providing evidence in verbal responses

Drama is a particularly useful resource and works particularly well across the curriculum. Our aim over the next few years is to see how we can support other departments in our drama lessons both in Senior, Middle and Junior Drama to enhance cross curriculum learning.

English and History:

Drama is the Spoken Language part of the English Curriculum and therefore we will be working closely with the English Department to help illustrate and creatively develop the set texts they are exploring in class as well as developing crucial public speaking skills

• We will work on speaking in public and presentation tasks and competitions.

• Bringing set English texts, History genres alive through drama exercises and role play.

• Analyse and critiquing performances.

• Creative writing through play scripts and devising.

IT :

• Public Speaking presentations using IT programmes such as Prezi and Power Point as demonstrated in a recent Speaking in Public LAMDA exam.

• To continue to use Scholars for the visual and marketing side of our productions as demonstrated in Turn of The Screw where we worked closely with an IT Scholar on her blog for the show. This could also be extended to the Junior Classes.

• Using film and multi media in Senior Drama classes.

Art:

• Art scholars are creating our costumes by drawing design concepts and then practically finding those within the costume cupboard.

• Extending this to set design, props and backdrops supporting future Junior, Middle and Senior shows.

• Art as a stimulus for devising

Prep Drama:

To represent and support what is being learnt in class. Work on themes / books that are being studied in class and workshop them / create productions that solidify what has been studied in class e.g. acting out a scene as Egyptians, Celts, Romans etc.

Music Department:

• Collaboration on productions

• Music as a devising stimulous

• Linking singing and drama

Interview techniques:

This can now be taught in Senior Drama sessions with workshops and one to one interview practice to help prepare our pupils for entry to their next school as well as a valuable life skill.

Stretch Drama Club

To set a Practioner or identify a performance genre for each term and for this to then be realised in a yearly production

Examples of this are:

• Method Acting (Turn of the Screw)

• Expressionism and Shakespeare (production A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Drama and the National Curriculum

All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. The drama curriculum for Walhampton is centered around the following all of which are incorporated into our Drama and LAMDA lessons:

1. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role.

2. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences,

3. Pupils should be given the opportunity to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances.

• Role Play: Role-play and other drama techniques can help pupils to identify with and explore characters. In these ways, they extend their understanding of what they read and have opportunities to try out the language they have listened to.

• Devising: Drama and role-play can contribute to the quality of pupils’ writing by providing opportunities for pupils to develop and order their ideas through playing roles and improvising scenes in various settings.

• Language and Presentation skills: Pupils should become more familiar with and confident in using language in a greater variety of situations, for a variety of audiences and purposes, including through drama, formal presentations and debate.

• Evaluation and critiquing skills: Reading, re-reading, and rehearsing poems and plays for presentation and performance give pupils opportunities to discuss language, including vocabulary, extending their interest in the meaning and origin of words. Pupils should be encouraged to use drama approaches to understand how to perform plays and poems to support their understanding of the meaning. These activities also provide them with an incentive to find out what expression is required, so feeding into comprehension.