Starter quiz
- What is an audience?
- a group of people
- a group of people who stand in a theatre
- a group of people who sing
- a group of people who watch and actively listen to something ✓
-
- What happens in a theatre? Fill in the blanks. 'In a theatre, an __________ watches and __________ to a play or live performance.'
- audience, listens ✓
- actor, listens
- director, listens
-
- True or false? A play is watched on a screen.
- 'false' ✓
- What is an actor?
- someone who writes a play
- someone who acts out lines in a play ✓
- someone who tells people where to stand in a play
- someone who watches a play
-
- What is a director?
- a person who performs the lines in a play
- a group of people who watch a play
- a person who is in charge of the lights that are used in a play
- a person who tells actors where to stand, how to move and how to speak in a play ✓
-
- Fill in the gaps: 'If you __________ something, you always do it in front of an audience.'
- perform ✓
- practise
- read
-
Exit quiz
- What is a play?
- a story with a beginning, middle and end
- a text written to be performed in front of an audience ✓
- a group of people who watch and actively listen to a play
-
- Fill in the blank: 'A play __________ is the written text of a play that includes dialogue, stage directions and setting descriptions.'
- script ✓
- skript
- schript
-
- What is a playwright?
- a person who performs a play
- a person who directs a play
- a person who writes a play ✓
- a person who watches a play
-
- Where are plays most often performed?
- in a school hall
- in a theatre ✓
- in someone's home
- in a park
-
- Order the process of getting a play ready to perform.
- 1⇔read the play script
- 2⇔respond to the play script
- 3⇔rehearse the play
- 4⇔perform the play
- Match the role to the job they do.
- director⇔tells the actors how to stand, speak and move ✓
- actor⇔acts in character and says the character's lines ✓
- stage crew⇔prepares the stage, props, costumes, lighting and sound for a play ✓
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- A play is a written text that is intended to be read aloud and acted out by actors in a live performance.
- A play script is written by a playwright.
- Plays are most often performed in theatres.
- Actors read play scripts to bring them to life; directors tell actors how to speak, move and look when saying lines.
- There are certain conventions that are always written in play scripts that help the actors and the director.
Common misconception
Pupils may think that plays are put on quickly without much preparation or work.
Ensure that pupils understand how much work from a dedicated team of actors, directors and stage crew goes into putting on a play. You could tell pupils that professional theatre companies take, on average, between 8-16 weeks to put on a play.
Keywords
Play - a written text intended to be performed in front of an audience that is divided into scenes of dialogue and action
Play script - the written text of a play that includes dialogue, stage directions and setting descriptions so that actors and directors can bring it to life on a stage
Playwright - the person who writes a play
Audience - a group of people who watch and actively listen to a play
+