B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Characters in Time and Place

B1.1 B1.2 B2.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can take on a role and stay in role (keep believing in my character).
I can change my voice using pace, volume, pitch and clear speech (enunciation).
I can show how the time and place of a drama change how my character moves, talks and acts.
I can use drama words to explain how time and place helped build a role.

Words to know

role
The part you play in a drama. When you pretend to be someone, you are in role.

staying in role
Keeping your character going: you keep the voice, body and thoughts of the character, even when something funny happens.

time and place
When and where a drama happens. Another name for this is the setting.

pace
How fast or slow you speak or move.

volume
How loud or soft your voice is.

pitch
How high or low your voice is.

enunciation
Saying each word clearly so the audience can understand you.

Remember from Grade 2

Last year you stepped into a character's shoes. You showed a character's point of view and attitude, spoke dialogue, and wrote in role. You also built simple settings with blankets and chairs.

This year you will learn how time and place change a character, and how to stay in role like a real actor.

Hop in the time machine!

Pretend it is a cold winter morning. You need water to wash your face.

Today: you walk to the bathroom and turn on the tap. Easy!
About 200 years ago, on a farm in Upper Canada (the old name for part of Ontario): there are no taps. You pull on your boots, go out into the snow, and carry a heavy bucket of water back from the well.

You are the same child in both scenes. But when and where you are changes everything: what you wear, what you hold, how you move and even what you talk about.

A snowy log house with smoke rising from its stone chimney and a stone well with a wooden bucket in front. — A pioneer farm in winter, at a heritage village today. Imagine you are a character who lives here: how would you move when you carry a heavy bucket from the well through the snow? AI-generated image

Time and place build a role

Before you play a character, ask two big questions:

When am I? Long ago, today or in the future? What season? What time of day?
Where am I? A farm, a city apartment, a forest, the Arctic, a boat, a busy market?

Then think: What would I see, hear and hold here? How would I move? What would I talk about?

A heavy bucket makes your arms pull down. Deep snow makes you lift your knees high. A noisy market makes you speak louder. The time and place give your body and voice clues!

The same role: a child doing a morning chore	What the child does	How the body and voice change
a farm in Upper Canada, about 200 years ago, winter	carries water from the well and firewood for the stove	slow, heavy steps in deep snow; arms pulled down by the bucket; breath puffing in the cold
an apartment in a Canadian city, today, winter	takes the recycling down the elevator	quick steps; pushes the elevator button; waves hello to a neighbour; speaks quietly in the hallway
an imaginary space station, in the future	waters plants growing under lamps	floats slowly; holds onto handles; speaks into a headset

One role, three times and places

The same child doing a chore in three times and places. When and where change how the body moves.

Your voice is a tool

In Grade 3, actors learn to change their voice on purpose. There are four voice tools:

Voice tool	What it means	Example
pace	fast or slow	An excited child talks fast. A tired old sailor talks slowly.
volume	loud or soft	Calling across a field is loud. Telling a secret is soft.
pitch	high or low	A tiny mouse might speak high. A big bear might speak low.
enunciation	saying words clearly	Even when you whisper, say every sound so the audience understands.

Four voice tools

Each voice tool is like a slider you can move. Actors choose where to set each one for their character.

Staying in role

Real actors stay in role even when something unexpected happens.

If you giggle, take a breath and go back to your character's face and body.
If you forget a line, say what your character would say.
Keep believing: "I really am this person, in this place."
When you need to step out, say "Out of role" or take off your prop, so everyone knows.

Stories from many places and times

Dramas can come from your imagination or from stories from many communities. For example:

Anansi stories, about a clever spider, come from the Akan people of Ghana in West Africa. They are also told in the Caribbean and around the world.
The Mitten is a folktale from Ukraine, set in a snowy forest.
Stories of pioneer and First Nations life in Upper Canada help us imagine what life was like long ago in Ontario.

Each story has its own time and place. Noticing them helps you play the characters well.

Worked example

Example: Building a role from time and place

Let's build a character: Mary, a girl on a farm in Upper Canada, about 200 years ago, on a snowy winter morning. Her job is to bring in firewood.

When? Long ago (no electricity), winter, early morning. It is cold and still a bit dark.
Where? A farm with a log house, a woodpile and deep snow.
What would she hold and wear? A heavy wool shawl, boots, an armful of logs. Prop idea: a blanket as a shawl.
How would she move? She lifts her knees high in the snow, hugs the logs, and stamps snow off her boots at the door.
Voice: puffing from the cold, a little out of breath: "Brrr! Mother, I brought the wood. The snow is up to my knees!" (medium volume, a bit fast because she is cold, words said clearly).

The time (long ago, winter morning) and place (a snowy farm) gave us clues for Mary's props, body, voice and words. That is how time and place support a role.

Worked example

Example: Talking about it with drama words

After the scene, your grown-up asks: "How did time and place help you play Mary?" Let's answer like a drama expert.

Name the element: time and place.
Say what you did: "I lifted my knees and puffed my breath."
Say why: "because the drama happened in deep snow, on a cold winter morning long ago."

"The time and place helped me build my role. I lifted my knees and puffed because it was a cold winter morning in deep snow, and I carried logs because there was no electricity long ago."

Just for fun

What if... Mary, the girl from 200 years ago, visited your home today and saw you turn on a tap? She might think you were doing magic: "Water that comes out of the WALL? And no snow?!"

Hands-on activity

The time-machine chair

You need: one chair, a few simple props (a scarf, a hat, a bowl, a wooden spoon, a blanket) and a grown-up.

The chair is a time machine. Sit on it and close your eyes.
Your grown-up calls out a time and place, for example: "A summer market long ago", "A sugar bush in early spring, today", "A canoe on a lake at night", "A busy city bus, today".
Step off the chair in role. Choose one prop. Show where you are with your body and voice.
Your grown-up asks you questions in role ("Where are you going? What is that you're holding?"). Answer as your character. Try to stay in role for one whole minute!
Say "Out of role", sit back on the chair, and travel somewhere new.

Talk about it: "Which time and place changed your body the most? Why?"

Your turn

What are the two big questions to ask about time and place?

Name the four voice tools.

You are a child on a sailing ship long ago, in a storm. Show how you would walk across the deck.

Say "Is anybody there?" in a dark, quiet forest at night. Then say it in a noisy, busy hockey arena.

What does it mean to stay in role?

Your character lives long ago, before electricity. Name one prop that fits and one that does not fit.

Why should you speak with good enunciation even when your character whispers?

More practice: warm-up

Which voice tool is about fast or slow?

Which voice tool is about high or low?

True or false: Time and place is another way to say setting.

Show how you would walk in deep snow.

What can you say to show you are stepping out of role?

More practice: on your own

Your character is a voyageur paddling a canoe on a long trip in the fur-trade days. Name two things you could show with your body.

Play a grandparent telling a bedtime story. Which pace and volume fit? Why?

You giggle in the middle of a sad scene. What should you do?

Same role, different place: a lifeguard at a beach in July and the same person working as a crossing guard in January. Name one change in costume and one change in body.

Use drama words: finish the sentence "Time and place helped my role because..." for a scene in a hot desert at noon.

Challenge

Plan a role for an Anansi story. Anansi is a clever spider in stories from the Akan people of Ghana. Name the time and place you imagine and describe Anansi's body and voice.

Your grown-up says: "You are a child on the first day of school, but the drama is set 200 years ago in a one-room schoolhouse." How would your character be different from you on your first day today? Give two ideas.

Why do you think actors find it easier to stay in role when they know the time and place well?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Time and place in a drama means ___.

Which voice tool is about loud or soft?

Your drama happens long ago, before electricity. Which prop fits best?

A scene happens in a library. What volume fits best?

Jamal keeps his character's voice and body going even when his sister laughs. Jamal is ___.

Which sentence uses drama words to explain a choice?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: In Grade 3 the drama focus is on how time and place support the development of a role (B1.2). Children engage in role play exploring themes, characters and stories from diverse communities, times and places (B1.1), and use drama words to describe how elements shape the work (B2.2). They also learn to sustain a role and vary their voice (pace, volume, pitch, enunciation).

How to help:

Use the Grade 3 Social Studies link: life in Upper Canada about 200 years ago makes a great setting. Picture books about pioneer, Métis and First Nations life give ideas for props and actions.
Play the time-machine game often, and keep the props simple: one scarf or spoon is enough.
When your child steps out of role, ask, "What did the time and place make you do?"

Common difficulties:

Giggling and breaking role. This is normal. Practise short scenes (30 seconds), then build up. Praise every time they recover.
Same voice for every character. Pick one voice tool to change at a time: "This time, change only the pace."
Modern objects in a long-ago scene. Ask, "Did they have that 200 years ago?" It's a fun way to think about history.