Page 144 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: The Arts, 2010

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | The Arts
techniques. (1) Methods or procedures used in drama for specific purposes (e.g., use of the voice, facial expressions, gestures, movement, breath control, warm-ups). (2) Specific theories about and/or methods for creating and exploring characters in dramatic work. Examples include the Alexander technique; the Stanislavski method; the Meisner technique; and the theories of Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg, and Rudolf Laban.
technology. In drama, machinery, including electrical or digital equipment, that is used to help implement or enhance a drama production (e.g., lighting equipment, sound equipment, recording equipment, projector).
tension. See elements of drama.
text. A spoken, written, or media work that
communicates meaning to an audience.
theatre in the round/arena stage. A type of stage situated in the centre of the space, with the audience facing it from all sides. The placement of the audience quite close to the action creates a feeling of intimacy and involvement.
theatre of the absurd. Theatre associated with the work of mainly European playwrights of the 1950s and 1960s and motivated by a percep- tion of the “absurdity” or meaninglessness of the human condition. Plays often use broad comedy to comment on the predicament of characters in hopeless situations, as well as innovative forms and distortions of conventional speech to challenge complacent attitudes. Playwrights include Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, and Harold Pinter.
theatre of the oppressed. A form of popular theatre established in the early 1970s by Brazilian director and Workers’ Party activist
Augusto Boal and created by, about, and for people engaged in the struggle for liberation.
thought tracking. A strategy in which the teacher circulates, tapping students on the shoulder to prompt them to focus on their inner thoughts and feelings. Thought tracking helps students in role to draw on thoughts and emotions that lie beneath the surface, enabling them to deepen their response and/or contrast outer appearance with inner experience. The strategy can be used effectively with students in tableaux.
unity of time. One of three “unities” associated with Aristotle’s discussion of Greek theatre in the Poetics. A play whose action occurs within a single twenty-four-hour period is said to have unity of time. The other two unities are “unity of place” and “unity of action”. A play set entirely in one location is said to have unity of place. A play that focuses on one main action
or story with no subplots is said to have unity of action.
voice. The distinctive style of expression of a character, an author, or an individual work con- veyed through such means as the use of vocab- ulary, sentence structure, and imagery, as well as through auditory elements such as volume, timbre, projection, diction, dialect, tone, pitch, articulation, and rhythm and pace of speech.
voices in the head. A convention used to deepen students’ understanding of a conflict or a diffi- cult choice facing a character in the drama.
The student representing the character remains silent while others standing behind speak out to express the thoughts and feelings the character might be experiencing at this point. See also corridor of voices.
writing in role. Writing done from the point of view of a character in a drama in order to deepen the writer’s understanding of the character and create or develop scenes that reflect this under- standing. Some examples of forms that may be used include diaries, letters, and reports on specific events that indicate the character’s responses to those events.
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