Drama notes for teachers and students
Drama involves creating a script based on characters and a story.
Script topic
Brainstorm
In your group brainstorm onto a large piece of paper all your ideas around the topic. Remember, 'Any idea is a good idea!' Write them all down. Think about funny, sad, inspirational or maybe sad stories of what happened for your family or stories where your family faced problems or perhaps hardship and overcame this to settle here. As a group you will decide together what story you think will work best for your video.
Focus
Focus on one of your ideas. Can you come up with a story from that idea which illustrates the theme and has a clear beginning, middle and end? For example,
- Beginning:
- David cannot speak English; he has no friends and doesn't want to go to school.
- Middle:
- David learns English through playing games, studying hard and watching TV.
- End:
- David has friends who like him for who he is, his English has improved and he likes school.
You are going to script your story in 'classical narrative mode', this is a rather fancy way of saying your film will tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. Each scene will lead clearly to the next. If it sounds tricky, look at one of the script outlines and you will see it is not so hard to grasp.
Questions to consider
Can you answer these questions about your story?
- Who is the main character?
- Does your main character have a journey?
- How will you show the character's journey with pictures?
Important points
Some things to be aware of when choosing and writing your short drama:
- You need to think about limiting your characters because there are only five of you and somebody has to operate the camera! Perhaps you might wish to get a family member to be an actor for your group?
- This is the drama option so you can change facts and people and places if it helps you to create a 'tighter' story.
- You do not have the budget or the time to create complex sets – so you have to work with what you have got to get what you want? This does not mean you cannot set your film in 1950 say – but how can you do this without causing big headaches for your art department?
Choose an idea
If the idea you have focused on does not work out, try another one. Keep trying until you have an idea that works for everyone. You should now have the basic structure of your story.
Improvisation (or improv)
Improvisation means making things up.
Choose actors from your group to improvise action and dialogue around the beginning, middle and end of your story. One or two people from your team are going to write as much of what they see and hear from the improvisation as they can. You can improvise any of the sections more than once if you like.
Use the worksheets provided.
Write your script
Once you have decided the story you are going to tell, you need to write it down as a film script. Look at the ideas you have come up with in the improvisation. Choose the best ideas to tell your story. Write your script based on these ideas. Remember, you are writing the action as well as the dialogue.
Here is an example of a script:
Intermediate School – corridor – daytime
David stands alone, his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. Lots of children walk past, groups of friends talking to each other. David watches them pass. He looks at his feet. A teacher (Mr Falepau) notices him and approaches.
Mr Falepau
The bell has rung, what class are you in?
David looks at Mr Falepau, he doesn't understand.
Mr Falepau
(In Samoan) Your class, where are you supposed to be?
David
English
Mr Falepau
Well you better get moving
David turns and walks away. Mr Falepau catches up and walks beside him.
Mr Falepau
(In Samoan) Remember David, be proud of your culture, you aren't a Palangi. English will make it easier for you to understand your new home.
David smiles at Mr Falepau before walking into his class.
Practice your script with your actors.
Making it happen checklist!
Check and double check you have everything required to make your drama happen:
This is your checklist:
- props
- location
- camera
- sound
- wardrobe
- travel
- art department
- actors
- shot list
- script