Roman Theatre Scheme of Work
This scheme of work introduces students to the genre of Roman Theatre. The lesson workshops examine how the main areas of theatre - comedy, tragedy, mime and pantomime - developed their plots and use of stock characters. Drama forms taught include frozen pictures, rhyme, mime, exaggeration, soliloquy, chorus, slapstick comedy and creating and maintaining a character. Through practical workshops and their own independent learning, students gain an insight into how to develop appropriate storylines in the different styles of the genre.
Each lesson plan has clear objectives and learning outcomes. They are structured to include introductory warm up, development and plenary sessions. A homework task is also included.
This scheme of work contains 6 drama lesson plans.
- Lesson 1: An Introduction to Roman Theatre
This lesson introduces the 4 main stock characters to the students, who learn their traits for use in two devised pieces. - Lesson 2: Roman Pantomime
The story of ‘Daedalus and Icarus’ is developed for the basis of a Roman Pantomime and the drama form of chorus is introduced as if reporting the story for the news. - Lesson 3: Roman Mime
A story taken from Roman Theatre is developed as a Roman mime. References to religion and people's reactions to the plot give it a relevant social context. - Lesson 4: Roman Comedy
Starter activities to develop fast paced dialogue and humour kick off the lesson before using the story of ‘Perseus and Medusa’ as the basis for a Roman comedy. - Lesson 5: Roman Tragedy
A very serious tone and plot are explored and developed for this lesson based on Roman Tragedy. Flashbacks are used to help tell the tragic story of a bereaved father. - Lesson 6: Roman Theatre assessment
Lesson 6 is an assessment piece based on Roman Comedy. All key Drama forms learnt and revised in the topic are used to recreate their own story and characters and recorded for self-evaluation.
Supporting materials include
- The Story of Daedalus and Icarus
- The Story of Perseus and Medusa
- 3 Powerpoint files
- 1 Piece of Music
Additional resources are included in the appendices
- Basic Drama Skills Sheet
- End Of Unit Self-Assessment Form
The scheme of work is supplied as a downloadable zip file containing a PDF file, readable on most computers, 1 piece of music (in MP3 format) and 3 PowerPoint files.
