Unit
Anti-Realism
Created by Wendy-Marie Martin
7 lessons
This unit gives students an overview of the anti-realism movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century and introduces them to some key theorists, playwrights, and theatre makers involved in this movement. Students will be introduced to the “isms” of symbolism, Dadaism, surrealism, expressionism, and absurdism along with various manifestos and theories as we track the characteristics of each “ism.”
In a culminating project, students will design an “ISMS’’ Theme Park, which they will share with the class at the end of the unit. Their project will feature each of the five “isms” in the form of rides, themed concessions areas, entertainment options, and in-park characters.
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The overview gives an outline of the unit including time management/pacing, and assessment.
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1Lesson 1Historical and Cultural ContextsThis lesson looks at the historical and cultural context of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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2Lesson 2SymbolismThis lesson focuses on symbolism by investigating The Manifesto of Symbolism by Jean Moreas to help inspire students to write their own short manifestos.
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3Lesson 3DadaismThis lesson introduces the characteristics of Dadaism, through Ubu Roi, Dadaism manifestos, Voltaire, and Dada art. Students will learn how to write a Dada poem of their own.
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4Lesson 4SurrealismThis lesson looks at Breton's Manifesto of Surrealism, Atraud's Theatre of Cruelty, and the game of Exquisite Corpse. Students will create their own short surrealist play.
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5Lesson 5ExpressionismThis lesson investigates expressionist theatre and compare to the other movements discussed thus far. Using O'Neill's The Hairy Ape, students will conduct deep analysis on a scene.
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6Lesson 6AbsurdismThis lesson enters the last and final -ism for the unit, with a focus on five iconic absurdist playwrights: Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, Pinter, and Albee.
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7Lesson 7Culminating ProjectThis project combines creativity with analytical thought as students connect ideas and concepts with their imagination in order to create a theme park that embodies all five of the “isms” we’ve covered: symbolism, Dadaism, surrealism, expressionism, and absurdism.
Standards Addressed
Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation - Grade 6
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - High School Proficient
Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art - Grade HS Proficient
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - High School Accomplished
Perceive and analyze artistic work - Grade HS Advanced
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding - Grade 6
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Grade HS Proficient
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding - Grade 6
Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work - Grade 7
Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work - Grade HS Proficient
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding - Grade HS Proficient
- TH:Cn11.2.HSI.a Research how other theatre artists apply creative processes to tell stories in a devised or scripted drama/theatre work, using theatre research methods.
- TH:Cn11.2.HSI.b Use basic theatre research methods to better understand the social and cultural background of a drama/theatre work.
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding - Grade HS Advanced
6.TH:Pr4 Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.
Prof.TH:Cr1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
Prof.TH:Cn10 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
Acc.TH:Cr1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Adv.TH:Re7 Perceive and analyze artistic work.
6.TH:Cn11.1 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Prof.TH:Cr2 Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
6.TH:Cn11.2 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
7.TH:Re9 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Prof.TH:Re9 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Prof.TH:Cn11.2 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Adv.TH:Cn11.2 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
Sixth Grade
Seventh Grade
High School - Fundamental Pathway
- DT.H1.1.1.c Students Can: Generate ideas about a character that are believable and authentic using script analysis.
- DT.H1.1.2.a Students Can: Explore the function of history and culture in the development of a dramatic concept through a critical analysis of original ideas in a drama/theatre work.
- DT.H1.1.3.a Students Can: Investigate how cultural perspectives, community ideas, and personal beliefs impact a drama/theatre work.
- DT.H1.2.3.a Students Can: Apply creative processes to tell stories in a scripted drama/theatre work to connect with audience, community, and ensemble.
- DT.H1.3.3.a Students Can: Implement fundamental theatre research methods to better understand the social and cultural background of a drama/theatre work.
- DT.H1.3.4.b Students Can: Evaluate the aesthetics of the production elements in a drama/theatre work.
High School - Advanced Pathway
- DT.H2.1.1.a Students Can: Investigate historical and cultural conventions and their impact on the visual composition of a drama/theatre work.
- DT.H2.2.3.a Students Can: Execute creative processes to tell stories in a scripted drama/theatre work, to connect with audience, community, and ensemble.
- DT.H2.3.1.a Students Can: Respond to what is seen, felt, and heard in a drama/theatre work to critique artistic choices and justify meaningful feedback based on historical, cultural, and personal context.
High School - Professional Pathway
- DT.H3.2.3.a Students Can: Effectively execute creative processes to tell stories in a devised or scripted drama/theatre work, to connect with audience, community, and ensemble.
- DT.H3.3.3.a Students Can: Present and support an opinion about the social, cultural, and historical understandings of a drama/theatre work, based on critical research.
Speaking and Listening
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Language
Reading: Literature
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Reading: Informational Text
Critical Thinking & Reflection
- TH.68.C.1.5 Describe how a theatrical activity can entertain or instruct an audience.
- TH.912.C.1.5 Make and defend conscious choices in the creation of a character that will fulfill anticipated audience response.
- TH.912.C.1.6 Respond to theatrical works by identifying and interpreting influences of historical, social, or cultural contexts.
Historical & Global Connections
- TH.912.H.1.1 Analyze how playwrights' work reflects the cultural and socio-political framework in which it was created.
- TH.912.H.1.3 Present a design or perform in the style of a different historical or cultural context to gain appreciation of that time and culture.
- TH.912.H.1.4 Interpret a text through different social, cultural, and historical lenses to consider how perspective and context shape a work and its characters.
- TH.912.H.2.1 Research the correlations between theatrical forms and the social, cultural, historical, and political climates from which they emerged, to form an understanding of the influences that have shaped theatre.
- TH.912.H.2.4 Research the intent of, and critical reaction to, artists in history who created groundbreaking, innovative, or controversial works.
- TH.912.H.2.5 Apply knowledge of dramatic genres and historical periods to shape the work of performers, directors, and designers.
Organizational Structure
Skills, Techniques & Processes
- TH.68.S.3.2 Use the elements of dramatic form to stage a play.
- TH.912.S.1.8 Use research to extract clues in dramatic texts to create performances or technical elements, choosing those that are most interesting and that best convey dramatic intent.
- TH.912.S.2.8 Strengthen acting skills by engaging in theatre games and improvisations.
Grade 6 - Connecting
- TA6.CN.1 Explore how theatre connects to life experience, careers, and other content.<br/>a. Identify similarities between theatre and other art forms.<br/>b. Draw conclusions about the relationships between theatre and life.<br/>c. Define tasks associated with a theatre production (e.g. director, stage manager, designer, technician, playwright, actor).
- TA6.CN.2 Examine the role of theatre in a societal, cultural, and historical context.<br/>a. Describe the origins of theatre.<br/>b. Identify and analyze ways in which theatre influences and reflects the culture of a society.<br/>c. Utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to research, create, and support artistic choices.<br/>d. Examine the relevance of cultural and historical context.
Grade 8 - Connecting
- TA8.CN.1 Explore how theatre connects to life experience, careers, and other content.<br/>a. Investigate and prove common themes and structure among theatre and other disciplines.<br/>b. Defend how theatre reflects life.<br/>c. Incorporate multi-disciplinary aspects into theatre performance.<br/>d. Identify and analyze professions associated with different forms of production (e.g. director, stage manager, designer, technician, playwright, actor).
- TA8.CN.2 Examine the role of theatre in a societal, cultural, and historical context.<br/>a. Compare and contrast how theatre evolves through time.<br/>b. Examine how culture is defined through theatre and other media.<br/>c. Apply advanced research skills to obtain appropriate cultural and historical information to rationalize artistic choices (e.g. costuming, make-up, setting of a time period in relation to the play).<br/>d. Discuss theatre’s role in reflecting the culture of a society.
Grades 9-12 - ACTING LEVELS I-IV - Creating
- TAHSA.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.<br/>a. Use script analysis in the development and presentation of formal and informal theatre performances.<br/>b. Examine various theories of dramatic structure.<br/>c. Engage in and apply meaningful cultural, literary, and historical research to create acting choices or directorial concepts.
- TAHSA.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.<br/>a. Examine theatre practices regarding the development, structure, layout, and format of scripts.<br/>b. Use improvisation, personal experiences, heritage, imagination, literature, and history to develop scripts.<br/>c. Perform formal and informal monologues and scenes based on published and original scripts.
Grades 9-12 - ACTING LEVELS I-IV - Connecting
- TAHSA.CN.1 Explore how theatre connects to life experience, careers, and other content.<br/>a. Examine multiple facets of the business of theatre.<br/>b. Examine the methods of pursuing various acting careers, including demonstrating audition etiquette and techniques.
- TAHSA.CN.2 Examine the role of theatre in a societal, cultural, and historical context.<br/>a. Examine and apply theatrical theories, performances, and conventions from a variety of theatrical literature, historical periods, and cultures.
Grades 9-12 - ADVANCED DRAMA LEVELS I-IV -Connecting
Grades 9-12 - FUNDAMENTALS OF THEATRE LEVELS I-IV - Creating
- TAHSFT.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.<br/>a. Recognize and/or employ realistic and conventional speech patterns within dialogue or dramatic verse.<br/>b. Incorporate dramatic elements through improvisation.<br/>c. Recognize and interpret artistic choices in performance.
- TAHSFT.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.<br/>a. Differentiate between dramatic and traditional literary writing and utilize common steps of the playwriting process.<br/>b. Assess the need for script analysis, concept development, and directorial and technical concerns of a theatrical script.<br/>c. Construct and critique elements of dramatic structure, character, and dialogue.<br/>d. Create and perform scenes for audiences.
Grades 9-12 - FUNDAMENTALS OF THEATRE LEVELS I-IV - Responding
Grades 9-12 - FUNDAMENTALS OF THEATRE LEVELS I-IV - Connecting
- TAHSFT.CN.1 Explore how theatre connects to life experiences, careers, and other content.<br/>a. Examine how theatre reflects real life.<br/>b. Analyze how theatre employs aspects of other art forms and disciplines to effectively communicate with a live audience.<br/>c. Demonstrate awareness of the discipline, knowledge, skills, and education required for careers in theatre.<br/>d. Explore various careers in the theatre arts (e.g. performance, design, production, administrative, education, promotion).
- TAHSFT.CN.2 Examine the role of theatre in a societal, cultural, and historical context.<br/>a. Identify and analyze plays and dramas from a variety of historical periods and cultures.<br/>b. Explore the works of milestone playwrights and plays, and the relevance of historical theatre.<br/>c. Recognize historical events that have influenced the role of theatre and how theatrical events have impacted cultural development.<br/>d. Interpret cultural and historical research for use in a production.
Grades 9-12 - MUSICAL THEATRE LEVELS I-IV - Creating
Grades 9-12 - MUSICAL THEATRE LEVELS I-IV - Connecting
Grades 9-12 - THEATRE HISTORY AND LITERATURE I AND II - Creating
Grades 9-12 - THEATRE HISTORY AND LITERATURE I AND II - Performing
Grades 9-12 - THEATRE HISTORY AND LITERATURE I AND II - Connecting
Seventh Grade Present
Beginning High School Connect
Intermediate High School Respond
Accomplished High School Connect
Advanced High School Connect
Advanced High School Respond
- AD.RE.1.1 Analyze aesthetics in various settings, production situations, time periods, or audiences in written and presented theatrical works.
- AD.RE.1.2 Evaluate the impact of theatrical works on intended audiences.
- AD.RE.2.1 Justify personal preferences for theatrical elements acknowledging the influence of history, society, culture, and professional theatre.
Beginning High School Standards - Culture
Intermediate High School Standards - Analysis
Proficient High School Standards - Culture
Advanced High School Standards - Culture
MS 117.211 LI - Foundations: Inquiry and Understanding
MS 117.211 LI - Historical and cultural relevance
MS 117.212 LII - Historical and cultural relevance
MS 117.213 LIII - Foundations: Inquiry and Understanding
MS 117.213 LIII - Historical and cultural relevance
HS 117.315 LI - Foundations: Inquiry and Understanding
HS 117.316 LII - Creative Expression: production
HS 117.316 LII - Historical and cultural relevance
- C.4.A analyze historical and cultural influences on theatre.
- C.4.C analyze and evaluate the impact of live theatre, film, television, and electronic media in contemporary society.
- C.4.D research the influences of world drama and theatre and identify key figures, works, and trends in dramatic literature.
- C.4.E research the influences of the multicultural heritage of drama and theatre in the United States and identify key figures, works, and trends in dramatic literature.
HS 117.317 LIII - Historical and cultural relevance
HS 117.318 LIV - Historical and cultural relevance
- C.4.A evaluate historical and cultural influences on theatre.
- C.4.D research the influences of world drama and theatre and identify key figures, works, and trends in dramatic literature.
- C.4.E research the influences of the multicultural heritage of drama and theatre in the United States and identify key figures, works, and trends in dramatic literature.
Acting Drama 20
Theatre Studies Drama 10 (Greek, Medieval or Elizabethan, and Canadian)
Theatre Studies Drama 30 (Early or Middle or Late drama)
Movement Drama 10
Playwriting - Drama 20
Junior Orientation
Improvisation/Acting Level I - Beginning
Junior Goal I Objectives
Theatre Studies Level II - Intermediate (Theatre History)
Senior Goal I Objectives
- demonstrate a sense of inquiry and commitment, individually and to the group
- demonstrate a sense of responsibility and commitment, individually and to the group
- demonstrate the ability to contribute effectively and constructively to the group process
- demonstrate the ability to initiate, organize and present a project within a given set of guidelines
- develop a sense of inquiry and commitment to learning
Senior Goal II Objectives
GRADE 6 - ARTS - Exploring and creating
GRADE 7 - ARTS - Exploring and creating
GRADE 8 - ARTS - Exploring and creating
GRADE 9 - DRAMA - Exploring and creating
GRADE 10 - DRAMA - Explore and Create
GRADE 10 - DRAMA - Reason and reflect
GRADE 11 - DRAMA - Connect and expand
GRADE 12 - DRAMA - Reason and reflect
Grade 6 - Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts
Grade 8 - Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts
Grades 9 & 10 - Foundations - Context and Influences
- C.2.1 identify ways in which dramatic expression and performance reflect communities and cultures, past and present (e.g., the prominence of socially and/or politically powerful characters in the drama of pre-industrial societies; the use of boy actors for female roles in Shakespearean theatre; the emphasis on religious themes in the drama of many cultures in different eras)
- C.2.2 describe how drama is used for various purposes in a range of social contexts (e.g., to express or celebrate group or community sentiments or values in street theatre or parades; to mark important historical or religious anniversaries of a country or culture; to raise awareness of social, environmental, and political issues; to explore personal relationships or social arrangements)
Grades 9 & 10 - Foundations - Concepts and Terminology
Grade 11 - Creating and Presenting - Elements and Conventions
Grade 12 - Foundations - Concepts and Terminology
Grade 12 - Reflecting, Responding and Analyzing - The Critical Analysis Process
Theatre Arts II: Dramatic Literature And Theatre History
Theatre Arts II: Dramatic Literature And Theatre History
Theatre Arts IV: Advanced Acting And Directing
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