Drama Basics
What is drama?
Drama is creating and performing characters, situations and stories for an audience.
What does improvisation mean?
Improvisation means creating and performing something without a prepared script.
What does improvisation mean?Name the four parts of an actor’s voice we learned about.
Tone, pitch, pace and volume.
Name one way an actor can show an emotion without speaking.
volume.E.g. facial expression, gesture, posture, movement or body language.
Show a confident character using only your body.
Look for: upright posture, purposeful movement, head up, eye contact.
Name three tools actors can use to communicate meaning.
Any three: voice, facial expression, movement, gesture, posture/body language.
True or false: In improvisation, you should plan and memorise exactly what you will say.
False. Improvisation involves responding and creating in the moment rather than memorising a script.
What does volume mean?
Volume is how loud or quiet your voice is.
How could you show that your character is nervous without saying “I’m nervous”?
E.g. fidgeting, avoiding eye contact, tense posture, hesitant movements or worried facial expressions.
Say “What are you doing here?” as though you are angry.
Look for: appropriate tone, volume and expression to communicate anger.
What makes a character or performance believable? Give two examples.
E.g. staying in character, using appropriate voice, facial expressions, movement and responding naturally to others.
Your partner introduces a new idea during an improvised scene. What should you do?
Accept their idea and build on it rather than stopping or rejecting the scene.
Explain the difference between pitch and pace.
Pitch = how high or low your voice sounds. Pace = how quickly or slowly you speak.
Why are facial expressions important in drama?
They help the audience understand a character's feelings, reactions and intentions.
Say “Oh, that’s good” in a way that makes it sound like you actually think it is bad.
Look for: tone/expression that contradicts the literal meaning of the words.
Why is it important for an actor to stay in character?
Staying in character makes the scene believable and helps the audience understand the character and story.
Name three things that make improvisation successful.
E.g. listen carefully, accept ideas, build on ideas, stay in character, respond naturally and keep the scene moving.
How might you change your pitch, pace and volume to play an excited character?
E.g. higher pitch, faster pace and louder volume could communicate excitement.
How can the same words communicate different meanings?
Changing tone, pitch, pace, volume and facial expression can change the meaning of the same words.
Perform the same sentence twice, changing your voice so it has two completely different meanings.
Students should make the same sentence communicate two clearly different emotions or meanings.
An actor has memorised all their lines but their performance still isn't believable. What could they change and why?
They could improve their voice, facial expressions, gestures, movement and reactions to other characters so the performance feels more believable.
During an improvised scene, your partner says something you weren't expecting. How could you keep the scene going successfully?
Listen, accept what their partner has introduced, respond in character and build on the new idea to keep the scene moving.
You are playing a character who is scared but trying to hide it. How could you use your voice to show this?
E.g. slightly shaky or hesitant tone, changing pace, quieter volume or pauses — while trying not to make the fear too obvious.
Without using the word itself, demonstrate an emotion. Your team must identify it and explain the clues you used.
The class should identify the emotion and justify it using clues such as facial expression, posture, gesture, movement and/or voice.
Say “I can’t believe you did that!” as though you are shocked, then say it again as though you are angry.
Students should clearly change their tone, pitch, pace, volume and facial expression to communicate the two different emotions.