Stories on Stage · Term 3

Setting the Scene

Understanding how the place where a story happens affects the action of the characters.

About This Topic

Setting the Scene introduces students to the concept of 'place' in drama and how it influences character behavior. Under ACARA Year 2 Drama, students explore how the elements of drama, such as space, light, and sound, can be used to create a setting. They learn that a character moves differently in a crowded market than they do in a quiet, spooky cave.

This topic also touches on the 'stage' itself and how actors use different levels and positions to show relationships. In an Australian context, students might explore settings like the outback, a coral reef, or a suburban backyard. By 'building' these scenes using their bodies and simple classroom items, students understand that the setting is a character in itself. Student-centered strategies like 'gallery walks' of frozen scenes allow students to analyze how setting is communicated through physical choices.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how specific environmental elements, such as a dark forest or a sunny beach, influence a character's movement and dialogue.
• Design stage elements, including sound cues and lighting changes, to represent a specific time of day, like morning, on stage.
• Explain how the spatial relationships between actors, such as proximity or distance, communicate their characters' connections.
• Identify how the physical space of a setting, like a small room or a large field, impacts dramatic action.
• Create a short scene demonstrating how different levels (high, medium, low) can represent character status or mood within a setting.

Before You Start

Elements of Drama: Body, Space, Voice

Why: Students need a foundational understanding of how their bodies, the space around them, and their voices can be used to communicate ideas before exploring how setting influences these elements.

Character Development Basics

Why: Understanding how to create a simple character is necessary to then explore how the setting impacts that character's actions and choices.

Key Vocabulary

Setting	The place or environment where a story or dramatic action occurs. It includes the physical location and the atmosphere.
Space	The area on the stage where actors move and interact. How actors use this area, including levels and pathways, communicates meaning.
Sound Cue	A specific sound effect or piece of music that is played at a particular moment in a drama to enhance the atmosphere or indicate a change.
Lighting Cue	A change in stage lighting, such as color, intensity, or direction, used to establish time, mood, or focus attention.
Levels	The use of different heights on stage, such as standing high, sitting medium, or lying low, to show relationships or create visual interest.

Active Learning Ideas

Gallery Walk: Frozen Settings

Groups create a 'statue' of a specific setting (e.g., a windy beach). Half the class walks through the 'statues' as tourists, describing what they 'see' and 'feel' based on the actors' poses.

⏱ 25 min·Whole Class

Generate mission

Simulation Game: The Environment Walk

The teacher describes a changing environment (thick mud, deep water, hot sand). Students must move across the room, showing through their body tension and speed how the setting is affecting them.

⏱ 15 min·Whole Class

Generate mission

Inquiry Circle: Light and Sound Scapers

In small groups, students use a torch and one sound-maker to turn a corner of the classroom into a specific setting. They then explain to the class why they chose those specific 'mood' tools.

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Real-World Connections

Theatre set designers use their understanding of space, light, and sound to create immersive environments for audiences, like the detailed sets seen in Broadway musicals or local community theatre productions.

Film directors and cinematographers carefully choose locations and use lighting to establish the mood and setting of a scene, influencing how viewers perceive the characters' actions and emotions.

Theme park designers create specific environments, using props, sounds, and lighting, to transport visitors into different worlds, such as a pirate cove or a futuristic city.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

You need a big painted background to show where you are.

What to Teach Instead

Students often think 'scenery' is the only way to show setting. By using 'physical theatre' (using their bodies to be trees or walls), they learn that the actors create the world for the audience.

Common Misconception

Setting doesn't change how a character acts.

What to Teach Instead

Children might play every scene the same way. Simulation exercises help them realize that a character who is 'brave' might still walk carefully if the setting is a 'slippery mountain ledge'.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Present students with images of different settings (e.g., a busy market, a quiet library, a stormy sea). Ask them to draw or write one sentence describing how a character might move differently in each setting and why.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a card with a scenario (e.g., 'It is very early morning,' 'Two friends are arguing'). Ask them to write down one sound cue and one lighting cue that could help show this on stage.

Discussion Prompt

Place two students a large distance apart and then have them move closer together. Ask the class: 'What does the changing space between them tell us about their relationship? How could they show they are still close friends even when far apart?'

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 'Elements of Drama' for Year 2?

At this level, we focus on Role, Situation, and Space. Setting the Scene specifically targets 'Space' (where the action happens) and 'Situation' (what is going on).

How can I use 'levels' to show setting?

Encourage students to use chairs (high), the floor (low), and standing (medium). High levels can represent mountains or treetops, while low levels can represent tunnels or being underwater.

How does student-centered learning help with scene setting?

When students have to 'build' a scene themselves using only their bodies and a few props, they become active problem-solvers. They have to think critically about the most important features of a place (e.g., 'What makes a forest look like a forest?') which leads to much deeper artistic engagement.

How do I teach 'atmosphere' to young children?

Relate it to feelings. Ask, 'If this room was a spooky castle, would it feel warm or cold? Would we move fast or slow?' Atmosphere is just the 'feeling' of a place, created by light, sound, and movement.