Dramatic Interpretation of a Play
For this assignment, students will have the opportunity to be the director of their own play production. After the start of the class period, discuss with the students about the various components that go into a theatrical production. Each of the elements are important:
• Plot / Theme – what is the story really about?
• Protagonist/Antagonist – who is / isn’t going to drive the plot?
• Character Development – static and flat / well-rounded?
• Scenery – backdrops, sets, furniture
• Setting – time period, location
• Costumes – based on setting, age, wealth
• Props – anything the actors interact with
• Lighting/Sound – set the mood
• Circumstances/Predispositions – age, socioeconomic class
• Make up – what do the characters need to look like physically?
When the students have an understanding of each of the above elements listed that are necessary to consider in a dramatic production, have them select a short play or skit. (A box of old one-act play scripts will be provided for their convenience.) Once they have chosen the skit or short play that they will be doing, instruct the students to then come up with the details of how they would produce the play. They will need to consider each of the components listed above in order to be successful with this assignment. As a final project they will put together a presentation for the class, providing a brief synopsis of their play as well as bringing visual aides to help illustrate their “vision” of what they would want things/people to look like. In coming up with the visual aides, the students are encouraged to use clips from magazines, fabric swatches, color swatches, drawings of their own, etc… (It works well to use a poster board to display all of their examples.)
With this kind of assignment, often times, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer. It’s about how the play is interpreted. Encourage the students to use a lot of creativity in coming up with their ideas for the play – just make sure they understand that they’ll need to have reason for doing whatever it is they do (how they interpret the character/plot/theme/symbolism). Have fun!
Kit Mentzer
Fall 2009