Drama students bring together many forms of art, from performance to design.
A drama project is a wise way to bring students together to express their artistic nature and talents. Drama classes -- from grade school to college -- often involve textbooks, from which reading passages, quizzes and tests are assigned. While textbooks and other traditional learning methods are important, the culmination of a drama class involves a performance project. Actors, directors and technical theater students must assess three major components when grading a drama project: rehearsal, preparation and performance.
Instructions
1. Review rehearsal, preparation and performance methods, an important prerequisite for drama projects. Go over relaxation exercises to show actors release unnecessary tension before rehearsing and performing. Teach sense memory or "Magic If" techniques, for example, to enhance the actor's and director's involvement with the creative work. Sense memory teaches students employ their five senses to boost their imagination, while the "Magic If" is a rehearsal tool actors and directors can use to stimulate their imagination by asking, "If I were in my character's shoes, how would I react to the given situation?"
2. Tell students upfront about the project and how they will be graded. Set deadlines for the rehearsal process and establish a date for the performance. Acting students should have their lines memorized by a certain date, for example. Explain how the final grade will be determined. One way to do this would be to give 30 points to rehearsal, 20 points to preparation and 50 points to the actual performance.
3. Monitor the rehearsal process. Note which students give their all and which just go through the motions. Observe whether acting students have memorized their lines by the specified date and whether they are employing acting techniques you introduced in class. Watch how directors handle actors and if they are using rehearsal exercises and methods they learned. Make note of any students misbehaving and interrupting the process, as well.
4. Observe each student's preparation on performance day. Watch which acting students use previously learned relaxation techniques or preparation methods to stimulate the creative state of mind. Note how each student behaves independently of the fellow students. Are they showing respect and remaining quiet when others are performing? Are they cramming to memorize lines due to misused rehearsal time? Notice which students come in prepared -- with props and wardrobe pieces -- and which fail to do so.
5. Assess the performance. Notice each actor's immersion in the role, emotional involvement in the work and whether actors are really listening to fellow players. Look at the creative choices actors make in expressing their characters and note the authenticity and appropriateness of their choices. Observe how the play is staged technically. Note how the lighting and set design contribute and complement the mood and themes of the play. Assess the direction of the play. Watch how actors are staged -- where they are positioned throughout the performance and how they move -- to assess the directorial side of the performance.
