Websites
Unwrapping the Arts
The New Zealand Curriculum Exemplars: The Arts
- Drama: Level 4: Busted
Working in role: Researches roles with different characteristics from their own (DI). - Drama: Level 4: The Orphan Train
Working in role: Researches a role with different characteristics from their own by building on a clear sense of the role’s past and future (PK, DI)
Other online resources
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New Zealand monologues for Years 11–13
NZ monologues for years 11–13. This website offers a selection of monologues from New Zealand plays for classroom drama performance and for study. This material supports the teaching of drama in The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum.
Being Eve
The Being Eve teaching notes exploring character and role. This section includes information about the characters in Being Eve and the actors who play them and interviews with the lead actors. The activities contain ideas based on building characters.
For practical activities that give students the opportunity to play characters from Being Eve and to develop them further for themselves, go to the Activities – Being dramatic.
The Bellbird – The actors and their roles
The resource “The Bellbird – The actors and their roles” is based on the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Stephen Sinclair’s New Zealand play The Bellbird. It includes a cast and character list, profiles of actors, and interviews with them about their characters and the play. Related classroom activities follow.
- Download a PDF of The Bellbird – The actors and their roles (PDF 236KB).
The Play about the Baby
The resource “The Play about the Baby –The actors and their roles” is based on the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Edward Albee’s The Play about the Baby. The actors are interviewed about their roles, with a focus on the difficulties of playing nameless or representative characters, of performing a role that requires nudity, and of exploring the function of the stereotyped characters. Related classroom activities follow.
- Download a PDF of The Play about the Baby – The actors and their roles (PDF 217KB).
Travesties
This resource “Travesties – The actors and their roles” is based on the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Tom Stoppard’s play Travesties. It explores how the actors worked to develop their characters and how they dealt with a very dense script. There are actor profiles and interviews about their characters and the play. Related classroom activities follow.
- Download a PDF of Travesties – The actors and their roles (PDF 298KB).
Purapurawhetū and The Pohutukawa Tree
These resources explore plays by New Zealand playwrights Briar Grace-Smith and Bruce Mason. They include detailed classroom activities for approaching, understanding, and performing pivotal scenes in the two plays.
- Download a PDF of The Pohutukawa Tree – Rehearsing and performing (PDF 95KB).
- Download a PDF of Purapurawhetū – Rehearsing and performing (PDF 107KB).