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Learning through Faith and Vision

ARTs Years 5 & 6, TERM

Subject DANCE DRAMA MEDIA MUSIC VISUAL ARTS

Unit Title: Theatre-Sports All Stars

Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 6, students explain how dramatic action and meaning is communicated in drama they make, perform and view. They explain how drama from different cultures, times and places influences their own drama making.

Students work collaboratively as they use the elements of drama to shape character, voice and movement in improvisation, playbuilding and performances of devised and scripted drama for audiences

Content Descriptions Elaborations

Explore dramatic action, empathy and space in improvisations, play building and scripted drama to develop characters and situations.

● experimenting with empathy to develop characters and relationships in drama and considering perspectives, exploring responses and challenging stereotypes

● exploring physical, fictional and emotional space to create characters and situations and imagined feelings

● manipulating dramatic action and use of available theatre technologies to create different meanings

● comparing different ways improvisation and scripted drama create characters and action, and evaluating drama from other cultures and considering how they can use specific techniques in their own work


● considering viewpoints – forms and elements: For example – How is the voice, movement, gesture and the body used to represent a character, situation or idea? How did the performers use the elements of drama? How can the devised drama be developed to communicate meaning?

Develop skills and techniques of voice and movement to create character, mood and atmosphere, and focus dramatic action.

● varying use of voice, for example, projection, dynamics, pace, pause and pitch, to create and communicate characters’ intentions

● trialling different ways to move in character and situations● considering viewpoints – evaluations: For example – How did the

performers use the elements of drama and design elements effectively? For what purposes did they make drama? What evidence supports your judgment about the drama?

● altering voice and movement to show change in mood and atmosphere, and to create images, effects and an engaging delivery

● rehearsing, interacting and negotiating with others in interpretation of scripts to create characters and their relationships

Rehearse and perform devised and scripted drama that develops narrative, drives dramatic tension, and uses dramatic symbol, performance styles and design elements to share community and cultural stories and engage an audience.

● creating narrative and tension to communicate dramatic meaning● focusing communication with the audience by, for example,

remembering lines, moves and cues in rehearsal and performance● showing understanding of the purpose of rehearsing drama and the

need for collaboration and group work● using props, costumes, instruments and available technologies such as

light, sound and multimedia to create dramatic symbols and enhance dramatic action

Identify intended purposes and meaning of drama, starting with Australian drama, including drama of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, using the elements of drama to make comparisons

● reviewing their own drama, outlining how they used elements of drama and narrative structures and the consequences of collaborative processes


● identifying and discussing different performance styles and the portrayal of different roles and relationships in the drama

Learning Framework Community ContributorLeader and Collaborator

Active InvestigatorEffective Communicator

Designer and CreatorQuality Producer

Cross Curricular Priorities

Catholic EthosAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Histories and Cultures

Social Emotional LearningAsia and Australia’s Engagement with

Asia

Inclusive EducationSustainability Education

General Capabilities LiteracyCritical and Creative Thinking

NumeracyEthical Behaviour

Information and Communication Technology

Personal and Social Competence

Links to other LA’s English – Speaking and Listening

Learning and Teaching Experiences and StrategiesWK Content Learning and Teaching Resources Assessment

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Theatre Sports are team based events where teams of four engage in ‘games’ where they must create a scene out of a ‘theme’ or ‘idea’ given to them just prior to performing. It requires them to use performance skills (such as voice, movement, character, mood and focus) to develop improvised narratives. The

dramas10theatresports:http://dramas10theatresports.wikispaces.com/file/view/

Formative - ensuring that the students know how to play each game properly and offering


games are normally held (but not limited to) as a part of a competition.

On the website dramas10theatresports, there is a downloadable Handbook. On page 17, there are the Theatre Sports Ten Commandments. For some of the definition of these terms, go to the Living Playbook.Lesson:

1. Ask the students if they have ever seen the TV show ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’. Explain to them that the segments on this show are Theatre Sports. Explain further that they are not sport, but rather that they are drama performance games that are played as a part of a competition in front of an audience. Explain that it will require them to work as part of a team, and to learn how to develop a storyline, all whilst improvising.

2. Share the Theatre Sports 10 Commandments and discuss what they mean.

3. In Theatre Sports you can never be sure what game you are going to play, or what scenario you will be given. Explain that in the following lessons, to prepare for their own class competition, students will learn 2 games per lesson and then will be randomly assigned which game they get to have a try of (they will watch other groups perform, so it doesn’t matter too much if they don’t have a go at creating both).

4. Explain the rules for the first game: Park Bench. In the game of Park Bench, it requires only two members of the team to perform. 2 chairs are set up at the front-centre part of the stage space. One of the students (Partner 1) sits and doesn’t know what character they are; it is up to the other student (Partner 2) to determine who their partner is and to convey it to them when they approach. (For example, Partner 2: “Oh my gosh! It’s the Cookie Monster!”) It is then up to Partner 1 to accept the situation and continue on with it (Partner 1: “Me want cookies! Nom, nom, nom!”). It is up to Partner 1 to convey that character with their voice, movement and language that they use. Partner 1 and Partner 2 have a conversation, and

TSC_Handbook_2009_downloadable_web_file.pdf/94496014/TSC_Handbook_2009_downloadable_web_file.pdf

Living Playbook:http://www.unexpectedproductions.org/living_playbook.htm

Improv Encyclopedia:http://improvencyclopedia.org/

feedback where necessary.

Formative - students reflecting on the performances of others’ to gain greater insight of how they too can improve.


1 or both of the characters have to come up with a legitimate reason to leave.

5. Explain the rules for the second game: Typewriter. In the game of Typewriter, all 4 members of the team are involved. 1 chair is set off to the front-side of the stage, and 1 member of the team sits on this chair (Partner 1). The other 3 members of the team stand nearby, ready to begin the drama. Partner 1 pretends to be typing on a typewriter and tells a story. As Partner 1 tells the story, the rest of the team begins to act it out (For example, Partner 1 speaks: “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Sally. Sally had long golden hair that she brushed all day long. One day, her mother the Queen, decided that Sally’s hair was too long and that it must be cut immediately…”. As Partner 1 tells the story, another member of the team takes centre stage and begins to act out the part of Sally who is a Princess and who likes to brush her hair. When Partner 1 mentions the Queen who wants to cut Sally’s hair, another member of the team also comes onto centre stage and acts out the scene with Sally). The actors are not able to speak, it is entirely up to Partner 1 to ensure that any dialogue is explained. Like any story, there must be a clear beginning, middle and end.

6. After explaining how to play the games, have students form teams of 4 (or as close as you possibly can) and randomly assign the teams either Park Bench or Typewriter. Have them perform in front of the class. If there is time, have the groups have a go at the other game too.

7. Reflect on the stand out performances and performers of the session and discuss why they stood out.

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Lesson:1. Explain the rules for the first game: Alphabet. All 4 members of the team

play this game, but only 2 are on stage at a time. The 2 members are having a conversation with one another, but each new part of the

Formative - ensuring that the students know how to play each game properly and offering


conversation needs to begin with the next letter of the alphabet. (For example: Member 1: “I can’t believe that you bought a monkey!”; Member 2: “Jeez, well you weren’t going to buy it for me, so I had to get it myself.”; Member 1: “Keep it up! Blame me for all of your stupid decisions!”). The game can be started on any letter, but must go through all 26 letters of the alphabet. As it can be difficult to remember what letter comes next, it is recommended that the teacher stands nearby and prompts which letter comes next. This game is actually very difficult to play, so when a member on stage is stumped as to what to say, they are able to puts their hands up and say “DIE” and walk off stage. Another member of the team must come on stage and pick up the conversation where it last took place (same letter, same theme etc). Emphasise to the students that the conversation must continue to have a logical flow (for example, you can’t be talking about how your brother stole your shoes and then randomly mention a zebra). They must also aim to wrap up the story at the end of the 26 letters.

2. Explain the rules for the second game: Emotional Replay. All 4 members of the team play. At first, the team members play a scene neutrally (For example, a visit to the zoo). After they have acted out their story the audience gives them a suggestion on how they have to play it differently (For example: sad, happy, fast forward, like they need to go to the toilet, like they have gobstoppers in their mouth etc). They need to follow the same storyline, but will make modifications to suit their new style. The audience will suggest one more new style and they modify the neutral version again.

3. After explaining how to play the games, have students form teams of 4 (or as close as you possibly can) and randomly assign the teams either Alphabet or Emotional Replay. Have them perform in front of the class. If there is time, have the groups have a go at the other game too.

feedback where necessary.



4. Reflect on the stand out performances and performers of session and discuss why they stood out.

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Lesson:1. Explain the rules for the first game: Sports Commentator. All 4 members

of the team participate. In this game, teams are given 1 minute to come up with a game plan. 1 or 2 members of the team are the commentators and 2 or 3 members of the team are the competitors. The team decides on an ‘everyday’ activity that they can turn into a competitive sport (brushing teeth, texting, eating etc). Teams can choose to have a lead up to the activity where the competitors explain the competition and who the competitors are (perhaps even interviewing them), or can get straight into the action (describing the action that is taking place, much like regular sport commentary). They could choose to incorporate a slow motion replay etc and they can choose to end the competition with interviews, or just a commentator wrap-up.

2. Explain the rules for the second game: Supermen. All 4 members of the team participate. In this game, teams are given 1 minute to come up with a game plan. Partner 1 of the team plays a ‘damsel-in-distress’ when something ‘bad’ happens to them. This ‘bad’ thing is to be very insignificant, like a broken fingernail or a phone battery dying. When they become the damsel-in-distress, Partner 1 must overreact and really ‘ham up’ their distress (for example, falling to their knees and yelling “NOOOOOOOO!!!). They call out: “Who will save me?” and Partner 2 jumps out pretending to be a superhero. Partner 2 (and also Partners 3 and 4) has a name like Fan, Tree or Book, and will need to take on the characteristic of that name (For example: “Never fear, Tree Girl is here!” and swaying arms above head like a tree). The first superhero tries to help the damsel-in-distress, but actually makes the situation worse with their super power (For example, the dead phone battery is made worse

Formative - ensuring that the students know how to play each game properly and offering feedback where necessary.



by the tree growing branches through the middle of the phone). The damsel gets cross at the first hero, and the first hero visibly goes from high status (being confident) to low status, and calls for the help of another hero. The second hero arrives and follows the same process as the first: saying who they are whilst physically displaying the characteristic; attempting to make the situation better with their super power, but making it worse; going from high status to low status; calling on the help of a third superhero. With the third hero, they enter the same way as the other 2 heroes (introducing themselves and taking on the physical characteristic); however using their superpower they not only fix the main problem but also the problems that the other two heroes created.

3. After explaining how to play the games, have students form teams of 4 (or as close as you possibly can) and randomly assign the teams either Sports Commentator or Supermen. Have them perform in front of the class. If there is time, have the groups have a go at the other game too.


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Lesson:1. Explain the first game: Space Jump. All 4 members of the team

participate. Partner 1 starts on the stage by himself. They act out a scenario on their own (for example, eating an ice cream cone, milking a cow etc). At any point the teacher calls out “Space Jump!”, at which point Partner 1 has to freeze in place. Partner 2 comes on stage and interprets how Partner 1 has frozen. Choosing a scenario that makes sense from how Partner 1 is frozen, Partner 2 begins a new scenario that involves 2 people and Partner 1 must actively participate. This scenario continues until the teacher calls “Space Jump” and the process begins again. All 4 members of the team eventually end up on stage participating.

Formative - ensuring that the students know how to play each game properly and offering feedback where necessary.

Formative - students reflecting on the performances of others’ to gain greater insight of


Encourage the students to stay away from jumping into a teacher with students - it is boring and predictable. Encourage them also to change levels (on the ground, on their knees etc) and how they use their body so that way each new jump is fresh and open to new possibilities.

2. Explain the second game: Gibbersish. All 4 members of the team participate. 2 members ‘act’ and 2 members are interpreters. Partner 1 and Partner 2 stand in the centre of the stage, and Partner 3 and Partner 4 stand slightly off to the side. Partners 1 and 2 stand facing each other having a conversation in gibberish, which Partners 3 and 4 need to interpret (For example: Partner 1: “Hlkdhvhd, adjhskjchkjh, iadjhjb?”; Partner 3: “Oh my gosh, have you seen the new Batman movie?”; Partner 2: “Gjknskjhachsh adjkhadkh dha;dkjglahd!”; Partner 4: “No! Don’t tell me though, I wanna see it later!”). Whilst having the conversation and having it interpreted, Partners 1 and 2 should always be acting. Both the ‘actors’ and the interpreters will have to adjust what they are saying and doing to match what the other one is saying and doing. Like any story line, Gibberish needs to have a beginning, middle and end. It is suggested (to make it easier for the interpreters) that the ‘actor’ and their interpreter stand diagonally from one another so that they can hear each other properly and to see facial expressions more clearly.

3. After explaining how to play the games, have students form teams of 4 (or as close as you possibly can) and randomly assign the teams either Space Jump or Gibberish. Have them perform in front of the class. If there is time, have the groups have a go at the other game too.


how they too can improve.

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Lesson:1. Explain the first game: The Random, The Good, The Bad and The

Ugly. All 4 members of the team participate. There are 4 chairs in a row

Formative - ensuring that the students know how to play each game


across the stage. The team members sit in the chairs facing the audience. Someone in the audience asks for advice (For example: “How do I ask a girl out?). The person in the first chair must give a piece of advice that is completely random (For example: “What you want to do is, take an avocado seed and under the light of a full moon, plant it under a mulberry tree. You will have avocadoes all year round.”). The person in the second chair gives good advice. (For example: “Get to know her, find out what she likes. Then when you calmly, sweetly go and talk to her, offer her a date that is packed with fun things that you know she likes to do”.) The person in the third chair gives bad advice. (For example: “What you want to do is when she is with all of her friends, call across the room, ‘Hey! Ugly!’,and when you have her attention tell her how ugly and gross she is and tell her that out of pity you will take her out on a date.”) The person in the fourth chair has to give ugly advice. (For example: “What you do is go up to her with a bottle of kerosene and a match, declare your love for her and set her hair on fire. She will be yours forever.”) The Ugly advice needs to be worse than the Bad advice, so advise the students not to ‘ramp it up’ too early. When they have all given advice, they rotate on to the next chair and the audience asks for a new piece of advice. You go through until each member has had a turn of giving each kind of advice (4 times). It is really funny when the team pretends to be experts and use phrases like: “Oh yes. I have experienced this before.” or “Don’t listen to my team mate - they have no idea what they are talking about. I am the one that you want.”

2. Explain the second game: Props. All 4 members of the team participate. The group has been given 4 props (For example: a brush, a chair, a pencil and an apple). Students need to act out a scene and incorporate all 4 of the props into their story without using the props for what they are actually intended. For example: using the chair backwards as a jail cell; using the pencil as a key etc. The story must have a clear beginning,

properly and offering feedback where necessary.



middle and end.3. After explaining how to play the games, have students form teams of 4 (or

as close as you possibly can) and randomly assign the teams either The Random, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly or Props. Have them perform in front of the class. If there is time, have the groups have a go at the other game too.


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Lesson:1. Competition time. Have the students put themselves into groups and

come up with a team name. Write all of the team names up on the board with columns labelled Round 1, Round 2 etc.

2. Have all of the game names written down (at least twice) and have them available to be chosen randomly. With the game names it is recommended that there are also scenarios already written down for the student to act (For example: Park Bench - Cookie Monster; Typewriter - elves and fairies etc). (Appendix A). By having scenarios that the children aren’t familiar with, it almost ensure that you will be viewing fresh material and that you are able to see how accomplished they are at improvisation. The reason that they haven’t done this the whole way through the unit is because but having them come up with their own material it has allowed them to focus on how to play the games and to increase their confidence.

3. Start the competition. Each team chooses a game randomly and performs. Afterwards the teacher gives the team a score out of 5 (focusing on things like Narrative - storyline, plot and character development. Did the scene have a cohesive story with a beginning, middle and end?; Technique - improvisation skills (offers; accepting; yielding and extending offers; advancing the scene; creating characters; and relationships) and general acting ability; and Entertainment - strong

Video Recorder

Appendix A

Summative - Teacher assesses students’ performance abilities with the criteria sheet.


dramatic and comic moments and performances. Was the scene entertaining?) At this stage, this is not formal assessment, but rather for the fun of the competition.Note: ENSURE THAT YOU ARE RECORDING THE COMPETITION. Formal assessment will be observed from these recordings.

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Lesson:5. Continue with the competition, still making sure to record. Finish

the competition.

Video Recorder

Appendix A

Summative - Teacher assesses students’ performances abilities with the criteria sheet.

8 4 Lesson:6. Watch the competition recordings with the class. As the class is

watching the recordings, have them complete a Reflection (Appendix B) on what they learnt about Theatre Sports; what they think their strengths and weaknesses were as a performer and why; what game they liked best and why; what their favourite scene was and why (this does not have to be one that their group did, but it is ok if it is); and which performer/s stood out and why.

Appendix B Summative - students reflect on the Drama experiences

Summative - teacher assesses students’ Reflection


Appendix ASuperman – Solving a math problem. Window, mirror, grass.

- Air conditioning not working on a very hot day. Singlet, necklace, bag.

- TV not working just before your favourite TV show starts. Iron, milk, fan.

- How to turn on a laptop. Notebook, phone, belt.

- You get soaked by heavy rain whilst walking to school. Shoes, fire, lamp.

- Shoelaces tied together. Kettle, clock, flower.Sports Commentator

- Making a bed

- Building a sandcastle

– Giving a haircut

- Planting a tree

- Typing an email

- Changing the batteries in a remote control

Gibberish - Walking through a haunted house

- Two athletes from opposing teams talking before the final

- Two astronauts discovering a new planet

- Opening a treasure chest


– Running away from the police

– Being embarrassed about both dressing up as Spiderman

Emotional Replay – Getting fired from your job

– Mum has packed you the wrong lunch

– Apologising to someone you bumped into

– Aliens have landed

– Reading a book and someone spoils the ending

– Your friend has just made fun of your favourite band – you can no longer be friends.

Space Jump – Setting up a tent

– Jumping in puddles in the rain

– Being chased by a bee

– Looking for your lost child

– Stretching before a race

– Stubbing your toe

Park Bench – Harry from 1 Direction

– Peppa Pig

– a person that is very obviously injured


– your school Principal

– a former thief buddy

– Homer Simpson

Typewriter - Emu

– meeting a celebrity

– an illness where you fall over

- love

– a giant

– a race

Alphabet – Here we go again!

– See, I told you that would happen!

– Wow. That really doesn’t look good on you.

– I said I was sorry – what more do you want?

– Start at the beginning – what happened?

– All I want is for everyone to treat me like a celebrity – is that too much to ask?

Props - There is a new baby in the house and everyone needs to be quiet

- Someone has just bitten into a rotten apple


- Stranded in a desert

- A game of paintball skirmish

- Nobody knows how to use the computer

- You are lost

Appendix B Theatre Sports All Stars Reflection Sheet

Think about roles, relationships, language, time, movement, place and space.

1. What did you learn about Theatre Sports? _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What were your strengths as a performer? Why were they strengths? _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What areas could you improve in? How? _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What game did you like the best and why? _______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________


5. What scene in the competition did you like best and why? ___________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which performer/s stood out? What did they do that made their performances special? ____________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

CriteriaA B C D E

Explore dramatic Rules of game followed; Rules of game followed; Rules of game followed; Offers made and Offers largely blocked;


action, empathy and space in improvisations, play building and scripted drama to develop characters and situations.

strong improvisation skills demonstrated (accepting, extending, yielding, advancing); strong acting; strong physicality and stagecraft; inventive.

solid improvisation skills demonstrated (accepting, extending, yielding, advancing); solid acting; good physicality and stagecraft.

basic improvisation skills demonstrated (accepting, extending, yielding, advancing); some character acting; some physicality and stagecraft.

accepted; rules of game followed; some characters presented; limited physicality and stagecraft.

no real extending or advancing of the scene; no identifiable characters; rules of game only partly followed.

Develop skills and techniques of voice and movement to create character, mood and atmosphere, and focus dramatic action.

Great pacing to scene (we were fascinated by the characters and their journey); strong dramatic or comic moments; highly engaging characters; sophisticated manipulation of audience engagement; originality.

Good pacing to scene (we were interested in the characters and their journey); strong dramatic or comic moments; engaging characters; substantial audience engagement.

Some pacing to scene (we want to see what happens next); dramatic or comic moments; some engaging characters; adequate or sound audience engagement.

Limited pacing; some dramatic or comic moments; mildly engaging characters; limited or basic audience engagement.

No real pace to scene; no dramatic or comic moments; no engaging characters; minimal or no audience engagement.

Rehearse and perform devised and scripted drama that develops narrative, drives dramatic tension, and uses dramatic symbol, performance styles and design

Scene built to a climax; clear problem set up and dealt with; characters were rich and changed; had a strong beginning, middle and end.

Discovered and dealt with problem; a character was changed; had a strong beginning, middle and/or end.

Discovered problem and dealt with it; characters slightly changed; had a clear beginning, middle and/or end.

Characters performed task of some sort; characters unchanged; had a beginning, middle and/or end.

Minimal or no story (didn’t make sense, difficult to follow); characters unchanged/did little; did not have a clear beginning, middle or end.


elements to share community and cultural stories and engage an audience.Identify intended purposes and meaning of drama, … using elements of drama to make comparisons

Perceptively analyses and evaluates all given dramatic elements in own and others’ improvisations using detailed examples drawn from the scenes to strongly support their discussion.

Analyses and evaluates all given dramatic elements in own and others’ improvisations, using examples drawn from the scene.

Satisfactorily analyses and evaluates use of some dramatic elements in own and others’ improvisations using some relevant examples drawn from the scenes.

Makes cursory analysis and evaluations of own and others’ improvisations.

Provides personal comments only about own and others’ improvisational skills.

Assessment Performance TaskStudent Name:Year Level: 5/6Name of Task: Theatre Sports All StarsTeacher:Learning Area/s: The Arts - DramaAssessed By: Classroom TeacherDate Commenced: ______/______/______Date Due: ______/______/______Type of Task: ☐ Performance ☐ Written ReflectionTask Conditions: ☐ In class ☐ Group/IndividualAssessed By: ☐ Teacher ☐ Self

Task Description


Students will learn a variety of Theatre Sports games and will then perform them in small groups in front of the class. They will complete a written reflection on their own performance and the performances or their peers.

ProcedureTo complete this task you must:

1. Participate in class activities where you learn all of the games and how to play them well. At the end of each lesson, reflect on the performances of the day.

2. On competition day/s, join with others to form a team. Decide on a team name together. Although you will be working as a team and performing as a team, you will be assessed INDIVIDUALLY.

3. Compete in the competition.4. Complete the Reflection Sheet on your performance and Theatre Sports experience, and the performance of your peers.

Planning for Differently Abled Students

Student/s Different Ability Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors

being addressed

Learning and Teaching Strategies Assessment Strategies

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