Lesson 7: Architecture

Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints of Space by completing a worksheet and quiz based on the activities in class.

Standard L1.T.R.8: Apply appropriate theatre terminology to describe and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of one's own or the group's work.

Essential Questions

• How does the way we move convey meaning?
• Where does meaning in performance come from?

Enduring Understanding(s)

• Movement conveys meaning
• Artistic differences between symbolic and didactic movement
• The way we interact with time tells a story 

Materials: 

• 2 Hi-Chew candies
• The Student Spotlight Response Sheet
• Printed copies of the Viewpoints of Space Worksheet for each student
• Extra pens and pencils for student who forget
• Viewpoints of Space Quiz

Warm-up: Viewpoints of Space Basket

• Similar to Fruit Basket Upset. Have all students grab a chair and assemble them into a circle, with all the chairs facing inward, and each student sitting in a chair. Stand in the middle of the circle, and assign each person a Viewpoint of Space, Spatial Relationship, Gesture, Shape, Topography, Architecture, so they are evenly spread around the circle. 
• Double check to make sure each student knows which Viewpoint they are assigned. The person in the middle will call out one of the Viewpoints at a time, and all the students who are assigned to that Viewpoint will stand up and switch seats, while the person in the middle tries to sit in one of the emptied chairs. 

• The game continues with the caller constantly switching. 

  • EXTRA RULE: if the person in the middle calls “Viewpoints!” Everyone in the circle must swap seats. 

Spotlight

• Pull up the Student Spotlight Responses Sheet and choose a student who has not been spotlighted yet.
• Without reading their name, go through all of their answers. After reading all their answers, have students guess which student is the spotlight for today. Once correctly guessed, give the guesser and the student spotlight one Hi-Chew each. 
• Allow the class to ask a few questions of the student spotlight to get to know them better.

Review

• In groups of 4-5 people, have students review definitions for each viewpoint of space (spatial relationship, gesture, topography, shape)

  • **Tell them that I will randomly call on a group to give a definition for each!**
  • If needed, come together as a class and review together, focusing on asking the students to help clarify definitions for each other, rather than giving them all the answers. 

Viewpoint #5- Architecture

Instruction 

• Introduce Architecture viewpoint: 

  • Write it on the board with a simple definition: Architecture-  Building, location, costume, set pieces will change how you can move
  • Ask: How does changing this change a story? 

Exploration 

• On their own, each student will grab a chair and find their own space in the room. For 5 minutes, they need to explore every way they can use the chair (keeping themselves and their peers safe. 

  • When students have one minute left, encourage them to expand their imagination even more, and for the last minute to try new things that they have yet to try with their chair. 

Anything but a Chair

• Gather all the students into one large circle, with a single chair in the middle. The goal of the game is to use the chair as anything but a chair. One student at a time will enter the circle and interact with the chair for 10-15 seconds, and communicate what they are using the chair as instead of a chair. 

  • Side-coaching: anything is possible, use your imagination. Think about things you use everyday! You can use sound effects, but no words!

Rehearsal

• Write all five Viewpoints of Space on the board and have all the groups sign up for the viewpoint they want to create a performance of. 

  • Rules of the Performance: Nonverbal (2 minutes!!!!) Create a story, create a conflict, NO WORDS. Work for 10-15 minutes. 

Potential Conflict Ideas for Students:

• Robbing a museum and something goes wrong. (Alarm goes off, something breaks, car won’t start) How do you resolve it?
• Struggling restaurant has a surprise visit from a food critic on the day their pipes burst. How do you resolve it?
• Fire fighters who are afraid of fire need to extinguish a fire. How do you resolve it?
• Wedding proposal goes wrong when the ring is lost. How does it get lost? How do you resolve it? 
• Lion escapes at the zoo. How did it escape? How do you resolve it? 
• The Secret Service needs to rescue the President. How did the president get taken? How do you resolve it? 

Performance

• Before everyone performs, instruct everyone to get a pencil/pen, and send up one person from their group up to the front to grab a Viewpoints of Space Worksheet for each group member

  • Explain worksheet expectations: full sentences, and specific moments from the performances
• Each group performs, and everyone completes the worksheet as they perform 

Assessment

• Instruct students to grab their Chrombooks and open up Canvas
• On the projector, show them where they can find the Viewpoints of Space quiz. Instruct them to take the quiz silently, and work quietly without distracting others once they finish. (they can also retake Viewpoints of Time/Self-Reflection if want to)