Preparing to View Live Theatre :: King Lear

Preparing to view live theatre Your kaiako will have organised for you to see King Lear by William Shakespeare as part of your drama programme this year. In Drama there are important reasons why viewing live theatre is essential to your learning: - The opportunity to see actors in a professional, semi-professional or amateur theatrical context. - The ihi, wehi and wana that you, the actors, and the audience that surrounds you in the theatre, feel as you watch the performance. - The opportunity to have an emotional, physical and theoretical response to a performance. - To respond to the director, designer and actor’s intentions that are put forth during the performance. - To be inspired by the work you see and use the dramatic components in your own work back in the classroom. Before you head to the theatre to experience King Lear you might want to do all or a selection of the following activities to ensure that you are getting the most out of the performance, both personally and as a part of your NCEA assessment programme. Before you begin preparing to visit the theatre you will want to set up a space to collate your work; to store your notes from your teacher, reflections, sketches, brainstorms, audio recordings, practice exam answers and digital education packs. This could be: - A digital space such as a google site or folder. - A written journal or portfolio - A designated space in a binder or clearfile - A combination of all of above Activity One: A personal understanding of the learning Brainstorming as a whole class or in smaller groups use the bullet points outlined above and the following ideas to guide your conversation. “Why is it important to see live theatre?” “What skills do I need to develop to ensure I am going to get the most out of this theatre viewing experience?” “Using the information provided - what is the play about? What do you know about the play already? Are there connections you can make with the topic/story?” “What are you excited about?”