SOLUTIONS FOR ALL – CREATIVE ARTS | GRADE 7

Drama

Chapter 1: Warm-ups and relaxation

Warm-ups:

• Warm-ups help get your body warm and loose, so you’re ready for movements.
• We also need to warm-up our voices, so we can speak clearly. It is also important to
breathe deeply.
• When we produce sound, it is because our vocal chords are vibrating in the spaces in our
head, throat and chest. This is called resonance.
• Resonance exercises include humming scales and practicing vowel sounds.
• We also use our mouth, lips, teeth and tongue to speak. This is called articulation, and
these parts of the body also need to be warmed up.
• Articulation exercises include horse blows and practicing moving between different vowels
and consonants.
• Some warm-ups involve imagery, so that you can prepare your imagination for the drama.
Relaxation:

• Relaxation is important to get ready for drama activities.

• Relaxation exercises include roll-downs and deep breathing exercises.
• Types of stretches such as stretching up like a puppet and imagining you are “cutting your
strings” can help you relax your body.
Chapter 2: Creating a scene
Elements of a story:

• Different elements come together to make a good story. There are characters, action and
dialogue.
• A story has characters that speak, act and react to one another. What happens to the
characters is the plot of the story.
• Stories have a three-part structure: a beginning, middle and end.
• The beginning of a story tells us who the story is about and where it takes place.
• The middle of a story is where the problems and conflicts arise. Characters do things that
move the story forward.
• The end of the story is where the message of the story is made clear.
Improvisation:

• It is important to watch and listen carefully.

• Pay attention to what the characters are doing, how they interact with one another and the
audience.
• Look at how the space and levels are used on the stage.

Chapter 3: Careers on the stage

Actor

• Actors perform in stage plays, films, TV shows and advertisements.

• It is important for an actor to be able to use their body and voice to portray characters.
• You need to be able to learn lines, perform a role and project your voice.
• You can train at a university, Technikon, or college.
• The field is very competitive and many actors struggle to make a living.

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Drama

• Practice using your voice and body to portray different characters.

Dancer:

• There are many types of professional dancers, who dance in the theatre, for TV shows or
for events.
• It is important to be a talented dancer with a strong and healthy body.
• Many dancers started from a very young age, and some types of dance, such as ballet,
have special schools.
• It is a very competitive field and injury may mean you can no longer work.
• Practice your dance skills and remember to warm up and cool down!
Singer:

• Singers perform in front of people as part of a band, a theatre production, a cabaret or at

events such as weddings.
• It is important to have a strong and musical voice, and it helps to be able to read music
and play a musical instrument.
• There are singing courses at universities and Technikons and with private teachers.
• There are not many full-time jobs for singers and the field does not pay very well. It is
important to sing every day, and it is good practice to join a choir.
Clown:

• Clowns perform skits and routines to make people laugh.

• They do slapstick routines, tell jokes, mime and perform acts such as juggling and
acrobatics.
• There are special colleges for clowning, but some universities teach some clowning skills
as well.
• There are not many full-time jobs for clowns, and often in public places people may ignore
clowns. It is important to make your own job opportunities.
Stand-up Comedian:

• Comedians stand up in front of crowds and tell jokes and short stories from real life.
• You need to make people laugh, and remember your jokes and stories.
• There is no specific training, but a drama background is helpful.
• It takes a long time to develop this skill. Audiences can be very harsh if they don’t find your
work funny.
• It is important to learn techniques from watching others, and write down and practice your
own material.
Chapter 4: Warm-ups
Relaxation exercises:

• Examples of relaxation exercises are the “Roll-down-walkout”, the “jelly shake” and
“swimming”
• These exercises help relax different muscles in your body, especially your neck, shoulders
and back.

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Drama

Breathing exercises:

• Breathing exercises include yawning and saying different sounds like “fff” and “hah”.
• These exercises help to bring oxygen into the lungs and loosen the jaw.
Resonance exercises:

• A good exercise for resonance is to breathe in and then exhale on different vowel sounds.
• Focus on how the sound vibrates in your throat and mouth.
Articulation exercises:

• Articulation exercises include “chewing” and saying funny sounds and tongue twisters.
• These exercises help warm up your tongue and lips for speaking.
Chapter 5: Folk Tales
Storytelling:

• Before books, people shared stories through performance and narration – this is called
oral tradition.
• Stories have been told for thousands of years and are a way to pass on knowledge and
history to the community.
• Each of South Africa’s indigenous groups has their own stories about their histories and
beliefs.
• When you tell a story, you have to keep your voice interesting by changing pitch and
volume, and using inflection, pause and emphasis. This makes the story fun to listen to.
• You should also use your body language and facial gestures to perform the story – this
can show feelings and attitudes.
Folk Tales:

• A folk tale is a traditional story that does not have a single known author, but has been
passed on through oral tradition from generation to generation.
• Originally folk tales were not written down, but now you can find collections in books or
online.
• Each country has unique folk tales and the characters and places match the animals,
people and places in that country.
• Greek folk tales focus on myths and legends about gods and goddesses.
• Central and West Africa folk tales often involve a cunning spider called Anansi.
• South African folk tales feature animals such as snakes, lions and jackals.
• Native American folk tales involve animals like ravens, coyotes, eagles and buffalo.
• Stories from Europe often feature kings and queens, witches and woodcutters, and the
stories often take place in forests.
Chapter 6: Careers: the creative team
Producer:

• The producer decides what productions to put on, find the money for the production and
manage the creative team. They create budgets and work with marketing staff.
• Producers need good people skills and work with others. They work with money and make
their “big vision” a success.
• Producers have a mix of business and theatre training.

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Drama

• This is a position with responsibility and high risks, because there is often a lot of money
involved.
Lighting Designer:

• The lighting designer decides on the equipment needed to light the production and designs
a plan for lighting the stage. The lighting designer also rigs the lights and controls the
lighting equipment during the production.
• It is important for lighting designers to understand the technical equipment.
• You can complete a lighting design course at Technicon or university
• Often lighting is being rigged at night when the theatre isn’t in use, so the lighting designer
works long hours.
Set Designer:

• The set designer designs the set for the production and builds models.
• It is important that the designer reads the script and can design a set on a budget. They
also instruct the builders and have knowledge of design principles.
• Some set designers have training in drama while others trained in architecture.
• Set designers have to work long hours, and often the pay is low.
Costume Designer:

• The costume designer designs costumes, props and accessories.

• They have skills in designing and drawing costumes as well as sewing.
• Courses are available in clothing design, and it is useful to have drama training.
• The hours are long and the pay can be low.
• It can be difficult to make costumes on a tight budget.
Writer:

• The writer writes the scripts and creates the characters for productions.
• There are scriptwriting courses available, but often writers just practice their skills
themselves.
• Once you have written a play, you need to work with a producer or produce it yourself.
Often writers don’t get paid for written work, and only get paid when the work is produced.
Director:

• The director comes up with ideas for putting the script into a production and works with the
actors, set designers, lighting designers and costume designers to make this happen.
• It is important for directors to be decisive and work well with people. Directors need good
leadership skills and understanding of plays.
• You can train to be a director through a college or university.
• The hours are long and the director has a lot of responsibility.
Choreographer:

• The choreographer creates dance moves for productions.

• They must have dance skills and be able to teach others the dance moves. They must
work well with people and understand how dance and music work together.
• Courses are available in dance and choreography at universities and colleges.
• Hours are long, and the work is hard but often pay is low.

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Drama

Chapter 7: Trusting each other

• It is important for team members to trust in one another’s beliefs and rely on one another.
• Trust building activities help us develop drama skills and work together, building respect
for one another.
• When you trust one another, it is easier to come up with new ideas and have fun doing
drama.
• Exercises such as “the human knot” and trust falls can help build trust.
Chapter 8: Creating characters

• Characterization is the process and techniques involved in creating and performing a

character. You have to think about the inside and outside of a character.
The inside:

• Think about whom a character is and what makes them that way.
• Ask yourself what the character likes and dislikes, and what they want.
• Think about how the character relates to other people.
• Think about how your character responds to challenges.
• What are your characters weaknesses?
• What are your characters strengths and what is their intelligence?
The outside:

• How does your character stand and move?

• How does your character breathe and what kind of voice do they have?
• What does your character do with their face?
• Think about your characters body form and gestures.
Acting and reacting:

• When you act or improvise a scene, everything you do or say is an offer to other actors:
they must work with what you do, and you must work with what they do.
• In order to make offers, you must make choices.
• Choose a situation, an action and a character.
• Be sure to make choices by listening to what the other characters are doing and saying.
Chapter 9: Elements of drama

• Drama elements are everything that goes into making a performance, such as the lighting,
costumes, props, music and special effects.
• These drama elements occur in the theatre and in our daily lives, such as at cultural and
sporting events.
Rites of Passage:

• Rites of passage are symbolic events that mark us moving from one stage of life to the
next. Main rites of passage are birth, initiation, marriage and death.
• Rites of passage involve the elements of drama. For example, people wear specific clothes
at events such as weddings.

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Theatre and spectacle:

• “Spectacle” comes from a Latin word which means to watch. A spectacle is an event that
we remember because of its visual effect.
• We describe plays and films as spectacular when they are very impressive.
• People have been creating events that others watch throughout history, such as ritual
performances by shamans, circuses and carnivals, gladiator tournaments and fireworks
displays.
• Modern spectacles include music concerts, parades and opening ceremonies for sports
matches.
Chapter 10: Careers: the support team
The Stage Manager:

• The stage manager co-ordinates all aspects of a theatre production to make sure it is
successful. This includes managing all the people involved in the production including the
performers, creative team and support staff.
• Stage managers have many responsibilities such as planning a rehearsal schedule,
organising set changes, managing the budget, taking care of safety issues and managing
the backstage area during the show.
• Stage managers need a technical and artistic understanding of theatre.
• Most of the training is done on the job, but there are short courses available.
• The stage manager is on duty all the time.
The Stage Hand:

• The stage hand assists the stage director in setting up the stage and organizing props.
• They need to be organized, follow directions and keep things calm in a crisis.
• Most of the training is done on the job.
• The job is very physically demanding.
Make-up Artist:

• Make-up artists make sure the performer’s hair and face look right for the stage.
Sometimes this is just basic make-up but at other times special effects make-up is done.
• Make-up can be used to make actors look old, give the impression of wounds, or make
actors look like animals or imaginary characters.
• Training is done at a Beauty College.
• The job is exciting because the characters change for each new play or TV show, but you
must come up with new ideas and be willing to work with people.
The Wardrobe supervisor:

• The wardrobe supervisor may have to buy or hire costumes, or work with the costume
designer who is making the costumes to ensure that the wardrobe is suitable for
performances and fit the actors.
• Wardrobe supervisors must be able to draw sewing patterns, take measurements and sew
as well as use what is available to create the costume.
• Training is done on the job, as well as training as a designer and taking sewing courses.

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Props Assistant:

• The props assistant helps the manager to make sure that the props are in the right place
before each performance and that they are stored properly. They also have to repair any
broken props.
• Useful skills include woodwork and painting skills, as well as problem solving.
• Training is done on the job.
• Often things go wrong right before a performance, so it is important to work well under
pressure.
Light and sound technicians:

• These people assist in setting up the sound and lighting equipment for the show.
• It is important to have a strong technical understanding of the equipment.
• Many come from an engineering background and have done specific training.
• It is a very demanding job as effects have to occur at specific moments.
Front-of-house staff:

• The front-of-house is the part of the theatre where customers come in and tickets are sold
and checked.
• Front-of-house staff involve people in ticket-sales offices and ushers.
• You need good people skills as you interact with the audience, and may have to deal with
irate customers.
• Training is done on the job.
Chapter 11: the spoken word

• Poetry is not just written, but can be performed. It is important to speak clearly and
enunciate your words so an audience can hear the poem properly.
• A performance poet is someone who speaks their poetry in front of an audience.
• A sub poet speaks their poetry over dub music.
Chapter 12: Choral verse

• Choral verse is poetry spoken together in a group. Verse is another word for poetry.
• The group uses a range of vocal and physical techniques to keep the poem interesting to
perform and watch.
Body Percussion:

• This involves clapping, stamping your feet, clicking and using your body to make rhythmic
sounds.
• Body percussion gives the poem a sense of rhythm and depth.
Vocal Techniques:

• In choral verse, members of the group must listen and respond to one another.
• There is a mixture of sharing lines, speaking in unison and solo lines.
• The group may speak in a call and response style. This is called antiphony.
• The group may speak in a cumulative manner, building from one voice to many.
• Repetition may be used to highlight important parts of the poem.
• Pace and volume is varied to keep the poem interesting. Pause is important.

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Drama

Chapter 13: Careers using drama skills

• Drama teaches you important skills such as critical thinking, literacy, teamwork, time
management, researching and presenting.
• Many jobs use these skills outside of the theatre.
Presenters and reporters:

• You can work on TV or radio as a presenter, voice artist or news reporter.

Therapists and teachers:

• A drama therapist can use drama games and activities to help people overcome personal
difficulties and express things they struggle talking about.
• Therapists may work in groups or individually, with adults and children.
• A speech therapist works with someone who has difficulty speaking or producing different
sounds. They may work with children or older individuals who have difficulty due to a stroke
or hearing loss.
Workshop facilitators:

• Workshop facilitators run workshops and classes to help other people develop drama skills
and work together.
• Workshops are needed in many fields, such as social work and community.
Agents:

• An agent works with a professional cast and crew and helps find them work.
• There are casting agents for actors and production agents for crew members.
• Producers and directors send briefs to the agents, to let them know what kind of staff they
are looking for, and the agent sets up interviews.

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