THIS TERMS THEME
Theatre! What is it? Where did it come from? Why do we make it? How do we make it? Why do we go and see it?
For years we have taken theatre for granted (thousands of years in fact!) It’s just been there; in great big auditoriums, in rooms above pubs, in village halls and community centres and even on the streets. But in the last couple of years theatre has had a setback like no other (except when the Puritans closed it down after the English Civil War.) Even during wars and revolutions and bombing raids theatre has usually kept going.
Every term has a theme that teachers work through, bringing their own individual teaching style. This term at YATI we are going to celebrate all things theatrical and try and answer the questions above.
Theatre started in ancient Greece and would have looked very different to our eyes; masks, choruses, strange music and dancing and strict rules about structure. We will explore chorus work and masks and how they make a contemporary audience feel. Theatre in Britain started in churches as a way of bringing worship to life and much of early British Theatre relied on stories of the bible and moral themes but also the rituals of religion. The oldest known fragment of an English theatrical text however is actually the story of Robin Hood. We will explore the origins of theatre and how it has changed and developed over the centuries. What was theatre like when women weren’t allowed to play female characters? We will explore how theatre is the same as film and yet totally different because it is live. We will explore how to act and how to act in different styles; comedy, tragedy, farce, puppetry, political theatre, musical theatre, mime, improvisation, naturalism, expressionism, physical theatre and more. We will explore the use of lighting, of costume, of props and of theatre design. Music, sound effects. We will experience being an audience and talk about how theatre makes as feel both as theatre makers and theatre watchers. Why are stories told through drama so important in our lives? We will come away knowing why theatre is vital and must never be left to die.
