Ideas That Work In Drama

Contains classroom exercises for teachers of drama in the secondary school.

Stages is packed with drama exercises and ideas that work, tested on the harshest of critics—high school students. Laid out in a clear, concise manner, they are categorized according to their purpose. Stages is useful to all, from novice or seasoned drama teacher, to theatre professionals leading workshops and master classes. The exercises in this book can be used in isolation to simply fill a spare moment of class time, or to create a drama workshop or entire drama course. Suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities, the ideas can be adapted for young children and teenagers as well as experienced actors.

Packed full of drama games, ideas and suggestions, Drama Menu is a unique new resource for drama teachers.

A source of drama ideas from the directors of the Anna Scher Children's Theatre, Islington.

A true classic with a timeless message! All the other bulls run, jump, and butt their heads together in fights. Ferdinand, on the other hand, would rather sit and smell the flowers. So what will happen when Ferdinand is picked for the bullfights in Madrid? The Story of Ferdinand has inspired, enchanted, and provoked readers ever since it was first published in 1936 for its message of nonviolence and pacifism. In WWII times, Adolf Hitler ordered the book burned in Nazi Germany, while Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, granted it privileged status as the only non-communist children's book allowed in Poland. The preeminent leader of Indian nationalism and civil rights, Mahatma Gandhi—whose nonviolent and pacifistic practices went on to inspire Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.—even called it his favorite book. The story was adapted by Walt Disney into a short animated film entitled Ferdinand the Bull in 1938. Ferdinand the Bull won the 1938 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).

Most philosophy has rejected the theater, denouncing it as a place of illusion or moral decay; the theater in turn has rejected philosophy, insisting that drama deals in actions, not ideas. Challenging both views, The Drama of Ideas shows that theater and philosophy have been crucially intertwined from the start. Plato is the presiding genius of this alternative history. The Drama of Ideas presents Plato not only as a theorist of drama, but also as a dramatist himself, one who developed a dialogue-based dramaturgy that differs markedly from the standard, Aristotelian view of theater. Puchner discovers scores of dramatic adaptations of Platonic dialogues, the most immediate proof of Plato's hitherto unrecognized influence on theater history. Drawing on these adaptations, Puchner shows that Plato was central to modern drama as well, with figures such as Wilde, Shaw, Pirandello, Brecht, and Stoppard using Plato to create a new drama of ideas. Puchner then considers complementary developments in philosophy, offering a theatrical history of philosophy that includes Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Burke, Sartre, Camus, and Deleuze. These philosophers proceed with constant reference to theater, using theatrical terms, concepts, and even dramatic techniques in their writings. The Drama of Ideas mobilizes this double history of philosophical theater and theatrical philosophy to subject current habits of thought to critical scrutiny. In dialogue with contemporary thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum, Iris Murdoch, and Alain Badiou, Puchner formulates the contours of a "dramatic Platonism." This new Platonism does not seek to return to an idealist theory of forms, but it does point beyond the reigning philosophies of the body, of materialism and of cultural relativism.

Structuring Drama Work is the only drama resource that explores 100 dramatic conventions and techniques and provides ideas for how to practise them. This book explains dramatic conventions and what they do, explores how dramatic techniques can be used, provides cultural connections and global contexts and includes examples of the techniques in the context of plays and texts. The compact size and simple format make this book convenient and easy to use. Suitable for IGCSE® students up to A Level, IB Diploma and beyond, this resource will give inspiration and ideas to students and save teachers valuable planning time by providing numerous examples in a global context.

"A wealth of lively and practical suggestions for all teachers, producers and anyone engaged in drama at any age. This is a book of ideas based on work at the famous Anna Scher Children's Theatre in London, which can be adapted and developed for any situation" -- Back cover.