INSTRUCTOR: Kristin Richins

DATE: 3/3/2012

COURSE TITLE: Theatre Methods

LESSON #: 1

UNIT: History in Plays and

Musicals

SPECIFIC TOPIC: Introduction to

History in Plays and Musicals

INSTRUCTIONAL GOAL:
-Students will see that history and theatre are intertwined.
-Students will understand how historical topics impact plays and
musicals.
-Students will gain a greater understanding of a specific time in
history based on their musical or play project.
-Students will understand how to develop a character, set, costume,
and make-up depending on the history aspects of the play/musical.
PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE:
-Present projects that demonstrate their understanding of history and
a specific time period.
-Research the details within the time period and how it relates to
a character, set, costume, and make-up.
LESSON CONTENT:
Question for the class: What are some plays or musicals that
focus on a specific event or time in history? For class
involvement let the students be the ones that write the names
on the board. Quickly discuss the plays/musicals that are on the
board. How is a historical event or time period addressed in
these works?
Question: Why is it important to know the time period of a
play/musical?
Activity: Split into groups consisting of 4 people. Within the

groups each student is given a role of: actor, set designer,

costume designer, make-up and hair designer. Scenes will be
passed out from plays. (The scenes are from plays that deal with
historical themes.) From this limited information the students
will prepare a poster that presents their play and what the ideas
they have about their play, without the information of the time
period.
o Actor: Using the character biography sheet: Creates a
background to the characters in the scene.
o Set Designer: Using the set design sheet: Designs the set
for the scene. Include: furniture, backdrop, and other set
pieces.
o Costume Designer: Using the costume design sheet:
Designs the costumes for the each character in the scene.
o Make-up and Hair Designer: Using the make-up and
hair design sheet: Designs the make-up and hair for each
character in the scene.
After this is completed the students will be given the historical
information for their scene. From this the students will do the same
project again but this time do it using the new information they were
given. There will be books and magazines for each group that
illustrate what the look of each of the time periods should look like.
The students will be given time to research.

The students will present their posters and show the differences
between their first draft and their second draft.
Journal entry and class discussion: After this activity how
has your understanding of how knowing the history and timeperiod of a play/musical make a difference in how a play is
designed and performed?
EVALUATION PROCEDURES: (How you will measure outcomes to
determine if the material has been learned?)
-Poster board presentations
-Journal entry and class discussion
MATERIALS AND AIDS:
-Scenes from the following plays:

-Poster board
-Design sheets (character biography sheet, set design sheet, costume
design sheet, make-up and hair design sheet)
-Colored pencils
-Books with examples of historical design elements