Reading and performing a script based on 'Charlotte's Web' | English

Starter quiz

Fill in the gap. 'Plays are most often performed in ...'
- cinemas
- theatres ✓
- town halls
- parks
Match each stage of preparing a play with why we do it.
- read the script
  
  ⇔
  
  to understand the story and learn our lines ✓
- rehearse the play
  
  ⇔
  
  to practise where we'll stand, how we'll move and how we'll speak ✓
- perform the play
  
  ⇔
  
  to entertain an audience ✓
What does a director do?
- tells the actors how to stand, speak and move ✓
- acts as a character and says the character's lines
- prepares the stage, props, costumes, lighting and sound for a play
Fill in the blank. 'Putting on a play involves a lot of ...'
- work for one person
- work just for the director and actors
- teamwork ✓
True or false? 'If something is live, it is happening right now.'
- 'true' ✓
Which is the correct spelling?
- rehearse ✓
- reherse
- reharse
- rehurse

Which three of these would always be involved in getting a play ready to perform to an audience?
- school children, teachers, headteacher
- actors, director, stage crew ✓
- musicians, actors, acrobats
Match the play script convention to its function.
- title
  
  ⇔
  
  the name of the play ✓
- scene
  
  ⇔
  
  a section or chunk of a play ✓
- scene heading
  
  ⇔
  
  the name of a section or chunk of a play ✓
Match these play script conventions to their functions.
- dialogue
  
  ⇔
  
  the words a character says, both to themselves and to other characters ✓
- character's name
  
  ⇔
  
  what the actor reads to know when they should speak as their character ✓
- stage direction
  
  ⇔
  
  an instruction to an actor for how to speak or move in character ✓
Fill in the gaps. '__________ __________ are the way actors learn, practise and develop their voice, their body and their movements.'
- theatre audiences
- musical performances
- performance techniques ✓
True or false? 'Performance techniques cannot be practised. You are either good at using your voice and body, or you are not.'
- 'false' ✓
Fill in the gap. 'The main job of a director is to give actors helpful __________ for how they can improve their performance.'
- feedback ✓
- answers
- teamwork

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A play is a written text that is acted out by actors in a live performance.
Actors, directors and a stage crew work together to prepare and rehearse a play ready for performance.
Play script conventions help the actors and the director bring the dialogue and action to life.
Performance techniques that help actors connect with the audience can be learnt, practised and developed.

Pupils may think that they are either 'good' or 'bad' at acting.

Ensure that pupils know that **performance techniques** can be learnt, practised and developed and that 'real' actors work hard on their craft.

Play - a written text intended to be performed in front of an audience that is divided into scenes of dialogue and action
Play script conventions - rules that are followed by playwrights to write play scripts that are clear and easy to follow
Performance techniques - the ways an actor uses their body, voice and facial expressions to bring a character to life in a play