Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v3 - Primary 3
Staging
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Staging
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Subject: Cultural and Creative Arts
Class: Primary 3
Term: 1st Term
Week: 6
Theme: Performing Arts & Entertainment
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Watch on YouTubeSee Facebook postidentify staging requirements of a play/drama. state the different stages of a play production process.
be simplified into three main stages:
1. Planning/Preparation Stage (Pre-production): Explanation: This is where all the groundwork and creative decisions are made before any performance begins. It's the "thinking and getting ready" part.
Activities: Script Reading/Idea Generation: Deciding on the story or play to be performed.
Casting: Choosing the right actors for each character role.
Rehearsals: Actors practice their lines, movements, and expressions repeatedly until they are perfect. This is a very important part of preparation.
Design and Creation: Planning and making the costumes, props, backdrop, and deciding on lighting and sound. Nigerian
Example: A teacher decides to stage a play about the tortoise and the ant. They choose students to act as the tortoise and the ant, then they practice the story many times. They also decide what the tortoise and ant will wear and what props they will use.
2. Performance Stage (Production): Explanation: This is the actual showing of the play to an audience. All the hard work from the planning stage comes together here.
Activities: Actors perform their roles, wear their costumes, use their props, and deliver their lines on the stage. Lighting and sound operators ensure everything is executed as planned. Nigerian
Example: The school cultural day, where students perform the play they have rehearsed for their parents and other students.
3. Post-Performance Stage (Post-production): Explanation: This stage occurs after the play has been performed. It involves tidying up and reflecting on the performance.
Activities: Takedown/Clearing: The stage is cleared, props are packed away, costumes are stored.
Evaluation/Feedback: The director (teacher) and actors discuss what went well and what could be improved for next time. The audience might also give feedback. * Nigerian
Example: After the cultural day play, students help pack away the backdrops, return borrowed props, and then discuss with their teacher how they felt about their performance and audience reactions. This section explains the core ideas related to staging for Primary 3 learners. A. What is Staging? Staging refers to the overall process of preparing and presenting a play or drama for an audience. It involves arranging the performance area, actors, and all necessary materials to tell a story effectively. It's about making the play look real and interesting. For example, if a play is about a market, staging involves making the performance area look like a market. B. Staging Requirements of a Play/Drama For a play to be presented effectively, several requirements must be in place. These elements work together to create the world of the play and help the audience understand the story.
1. The Stage/Performance Area: Explanation: This is the specific space where the actors perform. It can be a raised platform (like in a school hall), a designated area on the ground, or even an open field for traditional performances. It’s where all the action happens. Nigerian
Example: For a school play, it could be the assembly hall stage. For a traditional festival drama, it might be a clear space in the village square.
2. Backdrop/Scenery: Explanation: These are the visual elements at the back and sides of the stage that create the setting or location of the play. They tell the audience where the story is taking place. Nigerian
Example: A painted cloth showing a bustling Nigerian market, a dense forest, a chief's palace, or a simple village hut can serve as a backdrop.
3. Props (Properties): Explanation: These are the small, portable objects that actors use or interact with during the play. They help to make the story more realistic and help the actors tell their story. Nigerian
Example: If a play is about a village chief, props could include a traditional staff, a talking drum, a fan, or a calabash. For a market scene, props might be baskets of yams, fruits, or local crafts.
4. Costumes: Explanation: These are the clothes worn by the actors to represent their characters. Costumes help the audience identify who the characters are and what their roles might be. Nigerian
Example: An actor playing a king might wear elaborate traditional attire (e.g., 'Agbada' or 'Buba and Sokoto' with royal beads). A market woman might wear ' wrapper and blouse' with a headtie. A school child would wear a school uniform.
5. Makeup: Explanation: This is applied to the actors' faces and bodies to change their appearance, making them look more like their characters. It can enhance features, create tribal marks, or depict age. Nigerian
Example: Makeup can be used to add tribal marks for a character from a particular ethnic group, make an actor look older or younger, or even portray scars for a warrior character.
6. Lighting: Explanation: This involves controlling the illumination on the stage. Lighting helps to set the mood, highlight certain areas or characters, and indicate time of day (e.g., bright lights for daytime, dim lights for night). Nigerian
Example: Bright lights for a festive village celebration scene, or dim lights to create a mysterious forest atmosphere.
7. Sound: Explanation: This includes music, sound effects, and dialogue. Sound helps to create atmosphere, convey emotions, and make the play more engaging. Nigerian
Example: The sound of a talking drum, traditional music, bird chirping in a forest scene, a car horn in a city scene, or the hustle and bustle of a market. C. Stages of a Play Production Process Producing a play involves several distinct phases. For Primary 3, these can be simplified into three main stages:
1. Planning/Preparation Stage (Pre-production): Explanation: This is where all the groundwork and creative decisions are made before any performance begins. It's the "thinking and getting ready" part.
Activities: Script Reading/Idea Generation: Deciding on the story or play to be performed.
Casting: Choosing the right actors for each character role.
Rehearsals: Actors practice their lines, movements, and expressions repeatedly until they are perfect. This is a very important part of preparation.
Design and Creation: Planning and making the costumes, props, backdrop, Teacher Activities: Introduction (10 mins): Review the previous topic on different types of performing arts (e.g., dance, drama, music). Engage students by asking them about any plays or cultural performances they have watched (e.g., on TV, at church, at school, in their community). Introduce the topic "Staging" by explaining that for a play to be good, it needs to be "staged" well, just like cooking a good meal needs good ingredients and preparation. Present the lesson objectives clearly. Explanation of Staging Requirements (20 mins): Using visual aids (pictures of different stage elements: a stage, a backdrop, various props like a calabash, traditional staff, school uniform; images of actors with makeup), explain each staging requirement one by one (Stage, Backdrop/Scenery, Props, Costumes, Makeup, Lighting, Sound). For each element, provide clear, simple definitions and relate them to Nigerian contexts and examples (e.g., "A talking drum is a prop in a Yoruba play," "A painted cloth showing a village square is a backdrop"). Encourage students to identify these elements from the pictures. Explanation of Play Production Stages (15 mins): Use a simple flow chart or numbered steps on the board to illustrate the three stages of play production: Planning/Preparation, Performance, and Post-Performance. Explain what happens in each stage with concrete examples relevant to a school play or a local drama group. Emphasize that rehearsals are a major part of the Planning/Preparation stage.
Student Activities: Brainstorming and Observation (5 mins): Students share what they observed when they watched a play or cultural performance, focusing on what made it look real or interesting. Students identify staging elements from pictures shown by the teacher. Group Activity - "Mini-Staging" (15 mins): Divide students into small groups. Assign each group a simple scene (e.g., a market scene, a living room, a forest path). Each group discusses and lists at least three staging requirements they would need for their assigned scene, using available classroom items (e.g., a chair as a prop, a scarf as a costume). Groups briefly present their ideas and explain their choices. Discussion - Sequencing Play Production (10 mins): Students discuss in pairs what happens first, next, and last when putting up a play, based on the teacher's explanation of the three stages. Students identify which stage involves most of the "practice" (rehearsals) and which stage is the "big show." These questions help reinforce understanding directly related to the performance objectives.
Question: Imagine your class is performing a play about a Nigerian farmer working on his farm. Name two important things the farmer needs to wear and two things he might use as props.
Solution: To wear (Costumes): A simple shirt and trousers, a straw hat, a wrapper tied around his waist. (Any two reasonable items).
To use (Props): A hoe, a cutlass, a basket, a calabash for water, a bunch of cassava or yam. (Any two reasonable items).
Commentary: This question directly targets Objective 1 by asking students to identify specific staging requirements (costumes and props) within a relatable Nigerian context.
Question: Before your class can perform a play on stage, what is the most important activity everyone involved (actors, director) must do many times to get ready? Which stage of play production does this activity belong to?
Solution: The most important activity is Rehearsals. This activity belongs to the Planning/Preparation Stage of play production.
Commentary: This question targets Objective 2 by focusing on a key activity within one of the play production stages.
Question: If a play needs to look like it's happening at night in a forest, what two staging requirements would be most helpful to create that effect?
Solution: Lighting: Dim lights or blue/dark lights to show night.
Backdrop/Scenery: A painted backdrop showing trees and dark shadows.
Sound: Sounds of crickets, owls, or other nocturnal forest animals. (Any two of the above are acceptable).
Commentary: This question tests students' understanding of how different staging elements (lighting, backdrop, sound) contribute to creating a specific atmosphere, linking back to Objective 1.
School Cultural Day & Assemblies: Students can apply their knowledge of staging to help organize or appreciate performances during school cultural events, drama clubs, or morning assemblies. They can identify the backdrops, props, and costumes used, understanding the effort involved in making the performances engaging.
Community and Religious Drama: In Nigeria, many communities and religious organizations (churches, mosques) have drama groups that stage plays for various events. Understanding staging helps students appreciate how these groups bring their stories to life using local resources for costumes, props, and simple backdrops. For example, a church drama might use local fabrics for costumes and everyday household items as props.
Local Nollywood Industry: While complex, even young learners can relate the concept of staging to the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood). Discuss how films also require sets (like elaborate traditional palaces or bustling city streets), costumes, makeup, and sound to create believable scenes, just like a stage play. This connects their learning to a significant part of Nigeria's creative economy.