• Theater

    Laura McQueen

    lmcqueen@ madison-schools.com

    E-mail address

    (601) 859-0376

    Welcome to GMS Theatre! 

    The purpose of the course is to give students an overview of theatre in general with the ultimate goal of “bringing it all together” at the end of the year in a culminating project or performance!

    Topics covered are:

    • What is Theatre? 
      • Students are introduced to the difference between theatre and film and explore who’s who in the theatre.
    • Stage Movement 
      • Students learn stage directions and how to move on stage.
    • Pantomime 
      • Students explore movement, body language, simple mime and storytelling through pantomime.
    • Voice
      • Students explore how sound is created and how they can strengthen their own speech through breathing, articulation, and projection.
    • Greek Theatre
      • Students explore Greek Theatre as the foundation of western theatre. 
    • Improvisation Objective
      • Students understand and demonstrate 5 important guidelines of improvisation.
    • Commedia Dell’Arte
      • Students will learn about Causes and Effects of Commedia (History), Stock Characters, and Commedia Performance Practices.
    • Script Analysis
      • Students understand the Stanislavsky concepts of objective, obstacle, tactics, and stakes. Students understand how to analyze a script for character information. 
    • Elizabethan Theatre
      • Students will be introduced to Shakespeare and they will then further study dealing with unfamiliar language and context clues.
    • Playwriting
      • Students take what they learned about analysis and apply it to the creation of a script. They explore dialogue and how a script is different than prose, etc. 
    • Scenic Design
      • Students explore the creation of an environment through the art of scenic design. Students learn how to: analyze a script for scenic information, and create a scenic rendering. They’ll also learn how to create a simple ground plan. Finally, they’ll create a prop list and understand the various categories of stage props.
    • Stage Makeup
      • Students will learn the basics of use and application of makeup and special effects.
    • Front of House
      • Students are exposed to the areas of theatre in what’s known as “the front of house” with an emphasis on marketing.