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

Drama: Drama Around the World and the People Behind a Play

B3.1 B3.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe forms of process drama, theatre, storytelling and visual representation from communities around the world.
I can explain how a drama form may reflect the beliefs and traditions of its community.
I can identify the roles and responsibilities of key theatre personnel, like the playwright, director, stage manager and designers.
I can name the areas of a stage.

Words to know

form
A type or style of drama, like process drama, puppetry, storytelling or a scripted play.

tradition
A way of doing something that is passed down from one generation to the next.

visual representation
Showing a story with images, such as shadow puppets, masks, tableaux or painted backdrops.

theatre personnel
The people who work together to put on a play, both on stage and behind the scenes.

playwright
The person who writes the script of a play.

director
The person who guides the actors and makes the big decisions about how the play will look and feel.

stage manager
The person who organizes rehearsals and, during the show, calls the cues for lights, sound and set changes.

cue
A signal for something to happen, like a line that tells the lighting operator to change the lights.

upstage / downstage
Upstage is the back of the stage, away from the audience. Downstage is the front, closest to the audience.

Remember from Grades 3 and 4

In Grade 3 you met forms like mime, puppetry and readers' theatre, and traditions like Beijing opera, Kathakali, Noh, Bunraku and commedia dell'arte. In Grade 4 you compared process drama with theatre productions, from ancient Greek theatre to Shakespeare's Globe, the Stratford Festival and Indigenous theatre in Canada today.

In Grade 5, you will explore more forms from around the world, ask how each one reflects the beliefs and traditions of its community, and meet the team of people who make a play happen.

Stories need tellers

Everywhere people live, they tell stories. Some stories are told by one person by a fire. Some are acted out by a whole town in a park. Some are shown with shadows on a screen, and some are performed in a big theatre with lights, costumes and a crew of fifty people.

Each form grew from its community: its beliefs, its traditions, its materials, even its seasons.

A view from backstage of a theatre, with a rack of colourful costumes and a props table beside a lit stage with a painted forest set. — A play needs a whole team: designers who make costumes, sets and lighting, props people, a stage crew and more. Most of their work happens out of the audience's sight. AI-generated image

Form	Where	What it's like	How it may reflect beliefs and traditions
Wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre)	Indonesia, especially the island of Java	Flat, carved leather puppets on sticks are held behind a lit screen, so the audience sees their shadows. One puppeteer, the dalang, moves the puppets and speaks all the voices, with a gamelan orchestra playing.	Stories often come from the ancient epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which teach about good and evil and how to live wisely. Performances can last all night and are part of community celebrations.
Griot storytelling	West Africa (for example, Mali, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia)	A griot is a storyteller, musician and keeper of history. Griots tell and sing stories, often with an instrument such as the kora (a harp-like instrument).	Griots remember family histories and the stories of their people, showing how much the community values memory, family and history. Griots still perform today.
Ramlila	India	Outdoor performances of the Ramayana story, often over many evenings, especially around the festival of Dussehra. Whole communities come to watch.	It reflects the festival's celebration of good winning over evil, and brings the community together each year.
Pantomime ("panto")	the United Kingdom, and in Canada too	A funny family show, usually in the winter holiday season, based on a fairy tale like Cinderella. The audience shouts back: "He's behind you!" A man often plays the comic "dame."	It reflects a winter holiday tradition of families going to the theatre together, and loves audience participation.
Winter storytelling	many Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee communities, including in Ontario	Some traditional stories, such as stories of the Anishinaabe teacher and trickster Nanabush (also called Nanabozho), are told mainly in winter, when snow covers the ground.	Following when and how stories are told shows respect for the stories and the teachings they carry. These traditions continue today, alongside new plays by Indigenous playwrights.
Process drama	classrooms and community groups, including yours!	Everyone takes part in role; no script and often no audience.	Reflects the belief that drama is a way to learn, explore issues and see other perspectives.

Drama forms around the world

How wayang kulit works: the light shines past the dalang's flat leather puppets onto a screen, so the audience on the other side sees moving shadows.

Asking good questions about a drama form

When you learn about any form, ask:

Who performs it, and who watches?
Where and when is it performed (a season, a festival, a special place)?
What stories does it tell?
What materials does it use (leather, masks, instruments, voices)?
What does it show about what the community values or believes?

Remember to describe traditions respectfully, using the community's own words for things (like dalang or griot), and to remember that these are living traditions that people practise today.

The people behind a play

When you watch a play in a theatre, you see the actors. But many more people make it happen! Here are some key theatre personnel and what they are responsible for.

Job	Responsibilities
Playwright	writes the script: the characters, the words (dialogue) and the stage directions
Director	decides how the play will be performed; guides the actors in rehearsals; works with all the designers so everything fits together
Actors	learn their lines, develop their characters and perform
Stage manager	organizes rehearsals, keeps track of the schedule and the director's decisions, and during the show calls the cues (tells lights, sound and crew exactly when to make each change)
Set designer	designs the scenery that shows where the play takes place
Costume designer	designs what the characters wear
Lighting designer	plans the lights: brightness, colour and where they shine, to show time of day and mood
Sound designer	plans the sound effects and music
Props person	finds or makes the props and makes sure each one is in the right place
Choreographer	creates the dances or planned movement sequences, if the play has them
Producer	finds the money, hires the team and makes sure the show can happen
Front of house (house manager and ushers)	welcomes the audience, helps them find their seats, and keeps them safe

Key theatre personnel and their responsibilities

Stage directions: the map of the stage

Directors, stage managers and actors use special names for areas of the stage. They are named from the actor's point of view, facing the audience:

Stage left is the actor's left (the audience's right).
Stage right is the actor's right (the audience's left).
Downstage is the front, closest to the audience.
Upstage is the back. (Long ago, many stages sloped up toward the back so the audience could see better, which is where the word comes from.)

A stage seen from the audience. The back row of areas is upstage right, upstage centre and upstage left; the front row, nearest the audience, is downstage right, downstage centre and downstage left. Stage right appears on the audience's left, and stage left on the audience's right.

Worked example

Example: How does wayang kulit reflect its community?

Let's use the five questions to describe wayang kulit.

Who? A dalang (puppeteer) performs all the voices and moves the puppets; musicians play the gamelan. Families and neighbours watch.
Where and when? In Indonesia, especially Java, often at celebrations, and performances can last all night.
What stories? Often from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, very old epics about heroes, good and evil.
What materials? Flat, carved and painted leather puppets on sticks, a screen and a light behind it.
What does it show? The community values its long traditions, its music, and the lessons in the old epics about how to live. The dalang is respected as a skilled artist and storyteller.

Wayang kulit is a form of visual representation (shadows) and storytelling that reflects the beliefs and traditions of its community.

Worked example

Example: Who does what? Putting on the Birch Bay play

Your class turns the Birch Bay drama into a short play for the school. Let's assign theatre jobs.

Playwrights: two students write a script from the best scenes of the process drama.
Director: one student decides where actors stand and how the council vote will look, and checks with the designers.
Stage manager: keeps the rehearsal schedule and, during the show, whispers "Lights... go!" when Mayor Grant opens the envelope.
Lighting designer: plans a slow dim before the vote and full bright light for the ending.
Sound designer: finds the ticking sound and the heron call.
Set and props: blue fabric for the marsh, a cardboard heron, a podium for the council.
Actors: play Mira, Luis, Ms. Kowalski, Mrs. Ndlovu and Mayor Grant. Front of house: students greet families at the gym door.

Every job has a responsibility, and the play only works when they all work together.

Just for fun

Why are theatres always so chilly?

Because they're full of fans! 🎭

Hands-on activity

Shadow puppet theatre at home

You need: cardboard (a cereal box works), a pencil, scissors (with a grown-up's help), tape, wooden skewers or straws, a white sheet or large paper, and a flashlight or lamp with an LED bulb (LED bulbs stay cool).

Choose a story: a folk tale, a family story, or a scene from Birch Bay (Mira, a heron, a frog, a bulldozer).
Make puppets: draw side-view shapes on cardboard, cut them out, and tape each one to a skewer or straw. (Grown-ups: trim pointed skewer ends.)
Make the screen: hang the sheet between two chairs. Put the flashlight behind the puppets so their shadows fall on the screen.
Assign theatre jobs in your family: playwright, director, puppeteers (actors), lighting designer (moves the light to make shadows bigger or smaller), sound designer, stage manager (calls "Lights!" and "Sound!"), and front of house (welcomes the audience).
Perform for an audience.
Talk about it: How is your show like wayang kulit? How is it different? Which theatre job did you like best, and why?

Your turn

What does a playwright do?

What does a stage manager do during a show?

In wayang kulit, who is the dalang?

What is a griot?

Is stage left on the actor's left or the audience's left?

Where is downstage?

Give one way a drama form can reflect the beliefs or traditions of its community.

More practice: warm-up

Who guides the actors and makes the big decisions about how a play looks?

Who designs what the characters wear?

What do audiences shout in a pantomime when the villain sneaks up?

What is upstage?

In wayang kulit, what does the audience actually see?

More practice: on your own

How is process drama different from a theatre production, in terms of who is involved?

A play needs a thunderstorm at night. Which two designers would work on it, and what would each do?

Why do some Anishinaabe communities tell certain traditional stories mainly in winter?

An actor is told to "cross downstage left." Where do they walk?

Compare Ramlila and pantomime: one way they are alike, one way they are different.

Challenge

Use the five questions (who, where/when, what stories, what materials, what it shows) to describe griot storytelling.

Explain why a big theatre production needs a stage manager, even though the director has already made all the decisions.

Your class will perform a shadow puppet play of a story from another culture. Give two things you should do to make sure you represent the tradition respectfully.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Who writes the script of a play?

During a performance, the person who calls the cues for lights and sound is the ___.

Wayang kulit from Indonesia is a form of ___.

A griot is ___.

Stage left is ___.

Ramlila performances of the Ramayana, often around the festival of Dussehra, reflect the belief in ___.

Who plans the brightness and colour of the lights to show time of day and mood?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 5 students describe forms of process drama, theatre, storytelling and visual representation from diverse communities around the world and explain how they may reflect the beliefs and traditions of those communities (B3.1). They show understanding of the broader world of drama and theatre by identifying and describing the roles and responsibilities of key theatre personnel (B3.2).

How to help:

If you can, watch a live performance (a community theatre, a school play, a festival) and look in the program for the list of crew: stage manager, designers, director.
Look up short videos of wayang kulit or a griot performance with your child from reliable sources (museums, cultural organizations), and use the five questions in the lesson.
During the activity, rotate theatre jobs so your child tries more than one.

Safety: an adult should handle cutting and skewer points. Use a flashlight or a lamp with a cool LED bulb, kept away from fabric.

Common difficulties:

Stage left and right. Have your child stand facing you (the "audience") and raise their left hand: that's stage left. For you, it's on your right.
Describing other cultures as "weird" or "old-fashioned." Emphasize that these are living traditions practised today, each with its own meaning.
Mixing up director and stage manager. The director makes the creative decisions; the stage manager organizes and runs the show so those decisions happen every time.