(UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE PREPARATION –ADA3M- LEVEL WITH SEVERAL ADAPTATIONS FROM OPEN – ADA30 LEVEL)
This course requires students to create and to present dramatic works. Students will analyse, interpret, and perform works of Deaf drama from various cultures around the world, including contemporary theatre such as docudrama and forum theatre. Students will interpret and present works in a variety of dramatic forms; create and script original works; analyse and reflect on dramatic works; and develop their communication skills.
Note: Deaf experience is distinctly different among various Deaf cultures around the world. As the local culture influences Deaf experience significantly, it can be shown via Deaf theatre. By exploring Deaf experiences from various cultures through Deaf drama, it will allow students to identify and assess common and distinct characteristics of Deaf experience and Deaf drama techniques that are found across cultures.
Reference: For a list of links, please click on “Dramatic Arts Resources”.
Overall Expectations
By the end of this course, students will:
- demonstrate an understanding of various aspects of the elements, principles, and techniques of dramatic arts;
- describe the background and conventions of dramatic forms, sources, and scripts from various Deaf cultures around the world;
- apply appropriate techniques to create and reinterpret a variety of roles/characters in individual or collective creations;
- create, adapt, and script dramatic presentations, making appropriate use of research, improvisation, workshop techniques, and rehearsal;
- use technology appropriately in the presentation of drama;
- analyse and evaluate the creation (i.e., the process) and the presentation (i.e., the product) of dramatic arts, using appropriate dramatic arts terminology;
- explain how dramatic arts represent, influence and contribute to Deaf culture and society;
- explain how role playing and character development fosters self- and global awareness;
- evaluate dramatic performances presented by different Deaf cultures around the world.
Specific Expectations
By the end of this course, students will:
- describe the process of creating a character (e.g., script analysis, character analysis, experimentation with movement, facial expression and signing style);
- describe acting strategies developed by Deaf theatre teachers and/or play writers (e.g., Gil Eastman, Bernard Bragg, Willy Conley, and Raymond Luczak);
- describe methods of re-creating roles and characters in a script, and of presenting them convincingly (e.g., methods involving observation, analysis, improvisation, rehearsal);
- describe and apply appropriate signing, facial expression and movement techniques in rehearsal and performance;
- describe how different Deaf world cultures incorporate similar movement and non-verbal communication to portray Deaf characters, to define relationships among characters (Deaf with Deaf, Deaf with hearing), and to communicate dramatic tension;
- describe the influence of cultural values on ways in which Deaf dramas of various world cultures have used the elements, principles, and techniques of dramatic arts (e.g., Atom theatre group from Japan);
- create an original or adapted dramatic presentation from any Deaf world culture, using a variety of strategies (e.g., research, improvisation, workshop, techniques);
- explain how skills, concepts, and theories in dramatic arts are applied in the creation and performance of a Deaf drama;
- analyse stereotypes and prejudices portrayed in plays and assess their impact on the audience;
- describe the origins and characteristics of different types of Deaf drama, including docudrama (e.g., Children of a Lesser God), anthology (e.g., The Tactile Mind), and issues-based theatre;
- interpret a variety of roles from a range of sources and scripts with an emphasis on Deaf playwrights (Bernard Bragg-US)
- interpret and present a dramatic text, using only ASL or movement techniques (e.g., techniques used in reader’s theatre or dance drama – refer to Invisible Hands, Rathskeller);
- demonstrate an understanding of how empathy functions as a component of role playing (e.g., Deaf actor in the role of a Deaf character from another country or a hearing character)
- identify universal Deaf culture concepts and themes from a study of theatre works from Deaf world cultures, and analyse their personal, social, and cultural significance;
- identify community/audience interests and needs, using a variety of methods (e.g., researching, interviewing, surveying), and present dramatic productions that are suitable for Deaf audiences;
- explain the connections between the theatre, themselves, and society (e.g., relevance of cultural rituals in the development of self-awareness; functions of issues-based theatre)
- explain connections between their own lives and universal truths expressed through drama (e.g. truths derived from the stories of Deaf individuals from another generation and how that relates to them)
