Curtains Up Curriculum
CORE CONCEPTS

DEVELOPING YOUR INSTRUMENT: Body Awareness/Vocal Projection

Students should know how to project their voices with proper breath support.
Students should be able to imagine his/her surroundings in order to move appropriately, and to communicate a sense of place to the audience.
Students should understand that a character’s role and situation will determine how they move and speak on stage.

STAGE TECHNIQUE: Moving and Standing on Stage/Stage Conventions

Students should know the parts of a stage and basic stage directions.
Students should know how to stand and move onstage in order to stay open to the audience.
Students should know how to stand and move onstage so that others onstage can been seen.
Students should understand the terms “staying open,” “cheating out,” and “blocking.”
Students should understand the word “mime” and be able to demonstrate basic mime principles.

CONCENTRATION: Focus, Listening and Responding

Students should know how to focus on the task at hand without being distracted.
Students should know how to be “in the moment”—listening and responding spontaneously and appropriately to others on stage.
Students should know how to hold a “freeze” onstage without moving.

COMMITMENT: Making bold choices and performing with energy

Students should understand the concept of commitment while performing a role.
Students should be able to perform wholeheartedly—giving themselves fully to their character.
Students should be able to perform a character’s action with energy.
Students should be able to make bold choices while performing as a character—without appearing hesitant or anxious.
Students should be able to perform with differing levels of emotional energy—appropriate to their character’s situation.

TEAMWORK: Working as an Ensemble

Students should experience working as an ensemble with other actors.
Students should be able to work together on stage cooperatively—understanding they are only one part of a whole.
Students should be able to observe the other actors on stage and adjust their actions and energy to match the group.
Students should be able to create unified scenes with other actors.
Students should be able to support and affirm their fellow actors.

CHARACTER: Creating a Character

Students should practice techniques that help create interesting and convincing characters.
Students should understand how to observe others and incorporate their behaviors into characters they create.
Students should be able to answer specific questions about the characters they create—details of age, occupation, situation, personality, etc.
Students should be able to demonstrate how character will affect the way they move and speak.
Students should be able to demonstrate a variety of emotional states as a character.

MOTIVATION: Moving and speaking with purpose

Students should understand the meaning of the word “motivation.”
Students should understand and be able to demonstrate the concept of “subtext.”
Students should be understand that there should be a reason for everything their character says and does on stage, and that reason will shape the way they move and speak.

STORY: Learning how to recognize and create narratives

Students should be able to identify the parts of a story - beginning, middle, and end.
Students should be able to create simple, coherent stories with others.

IMAGINATION: Bringing creativity to your acting

Students should know how to envision an environment clearly enough to react to it in character.
Students should know how to envision and environment clearly enough to convey it to an audience.
Students should practice making creative and entertaining choices on stage.
Students should practice basic improvisational skills—and know how to join in with a scene partner’s ideas and creatively add to them.