Context elaborations - Level 6 drama

• Contexts for the year
• Drama rich experiences

The most successful drama work is explored and created within a context. The richer the context is, the more possibilities there are to develop skills, and explore the use of elements, techniques, conventions and technologies.

Each context elaboration is coded, using the summary notation recorded with each strand. A bold strand code indicates a dominant strand in the given context. If both or all codes are bold, they are considered to have equal weighting in the given context.

These contexts help students to relate to the content of their learning and make connections between what they are learning (the context) and how it fits into their everyday lives. Key concepts in drama: Relationships and connections.

Contexts for the year

Choose a couple of rich contexts to work in for the year, such as the following examples.

• A play with depth of character and important themes or issues such as The Pohutukawa Tree by Bruce Mason could provide a context, as could Niu Sila by Dave Armstrong and Oscar Kightley, or Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Works by New Zealand playwrights are available for purchase from PlayMarket or The Play Bureau.
• A theatre form or movement can be rewarding, for example, physical comedy, including slapstick, clowning, silent movies, and Commedia dell’Arte.
• A theme or idea can be a rich context: for example, 'The many sides of love' or 'The impact of media on today’s youth'.

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Drama rich experiences

Use classroom teaching and learning time to guide students through exercises and workshops, which gradually expose them to these drama-rich experiences.

Provide students with several opportunities to explore the context in new and engaging ways.

The contexts for learning below provide opportunities for students to work and perform work in role, through research and the committed portrayal of characters and their histories. Key concepts in drama: embodiment.

Use the contexts below to explore many forms of drama and theatre.

• Experiment with using voice, body, and movement to create the different characters from Niu Sila. (PK, DI)
• Act out short scenes from The Pohutukawa Tree, trying to make the characters and situation as believable as possible. (PK, CI)
• Examine The Pohutukawa Tree as an example of New Zealand theatre from the 1950s, and what it reflects of the attitudes of/to Māori and Pākeha of the time. Present your findings to the class in the form of a datashow or poster. (UC, CI)
• Take the opportunity to reflect on the themes and messages of The Pohutukawa Tree in a new/different context by selecting a scene that demonstrates an example of the attitudes of/to Māori and Pākeha and, in a small group, re-write the dialogue of the scene to reflect, challenge, and transform the attitudes of one of the characters. Use improvisation in role to explore possible, alternative attitudes.
• Take an idea or theme from Our Town and, in a small group, create your own short scenes reflecting this idea or theme. Experiment with conventions in the creation and structuring of your scene(s). Explain what you used and why. (DI)
• Make a mask for a Commedia character, practise and perform a lazzi in a pair or threesome, wearing your masks. (PK)
• Mount a whole-class play, or a series of short scenes of different plays on the theme 'The Many Sides of Love', for an invited audience. Follow established rehearsal processes and practices, including technical and dress rehearsals, and present the play with available technologies such as costume, set, lights (if possible), programme, and so on. Reflect on the work afterwards: What worked and why? What needed to be improved? (CI, PK)
• As a class, visit a theatre production. Discuss and make notes and drawings about how the production used elements, conventions, techniques, and technologies to communicate the characters, the time and place and the situation of the play to the audience. (CI, UC)

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Last updated August 4, 2015

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