Learning opportunities, curriculum links
Dramatic space is the physical space in which the drama takes place, converted by imagination into the place and time of the participants’ choosing.
When creating dramatic space, students work across the four strands of The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum:
- Developing Practical Knowledge in Drama (PK)
- Developing Ideas in Drama (DI)
- Communicating and Interpreting in Drama (CI)
- Understanding Drama in Context (UC).
As students create and work within dramatic space, they will be able to:
- recognise differences between the dramatic space and the real classroom (level 1)
- use and define imaginary or real boundaries or obstacles (level 2)
- shape dramatic space by positioning or moving bodies and objects meaningfully within it (level 3)
- make symbolic use of roles, objects, materials, light, and sound and frame a devised work for performance (level 4)
- organise, dress, and light a dramatic space, that supports symbolic interactions between the elements of drama (level 5).
The New Zealand Curriculum Exemplars: The Arts (the drama matrix).
Students at levels 6–8 can use space as an element and a technique and can manipulate space by using dramatic conventions. Students become increasingly aware of the choices they are making and of the effect these choices will have on an audience. As they progress, students can use space in combination with other elements and techniques for a range of purposes.
For more detail on the key aspects of learning that inform progression in drama, refer to The Arts (drama matrix).