What is Drama class like?
Drama for many is a break from the norm. It’s a space where we learn to not be so serious, to overcome nervousness, to meditate and to learn that “Playtime is not over”. We learn to take things not just at face value but learn about what is behind the scenes and what lies beneath the words. If you have any questions please email alex.stamp@tdsb.on.ca.
ADA1O/ ADA1O4/5 (Grade 9 Drama is offered in English and in French Immersion / Extended French) You don’t need a background for this course as many are beginners.
What we do Lots of Games, Stage Combat, Make videos, In-School plays, Role plays as famous people.
ADA2O (Grade 10 Drama) - Does not need a prerequisite if you didn’t choose it in grade 9.
What we do: Scenes and working with published scripts, Role play, Job preparation, Monologues, On the stage, Dramatic readings, Hot seating
ADA3M (Grade 11 Drama) - You can take this with either Grade 9 Drama and/or Grade 10 Drama. An M course has the same value as a U course as it means Mixed or U + C
What we do: “Broken” Theatre, Acting Theory, Site-specific theatre, Classical North Americain theatre, First nations theatre
ADA4M (Grade 12 Drama)
What we do: Absurd Theatre, Children's Theatre, Canadian Sketch comedy, Theatre as a social justice tool for change, Canadian Theatre, Grade 12 One-acts
Dramatic Arts Extra-Curricular at Lawrence Park Follow @LPCIdrama for updates!
In addition to the curriculum, students at Lawrence Park have many opportunities to view performances and perform themselves. We are very proud of our rich history of performances. Here are some of our key events. We invite all future students to come out for a preview of the many performance opportunities at Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute.
Improv Club
Every Tuesday at lunch we have an improv club in the auditorium for newbies and experienced alike. We alternate from one week to the next as to what we do. Some Wednesdays we do drop in sessions where you can be taught an easy fun game and then get a chance to play it yourself. Other Wednesdays we do a full competitive improv show with two teams competing for audience votes as to the best team.
Fall Show
This year our fall play is Puffs: a farce on the Harry Potter novels. Previous years we performed Clue On Stage and The Snow Queen: a Freezing farcical, an interactive comedy / farce in the style of British Pantomime. This was performed for Lawrence Park students as well as some of the schools in our community including audiences of children.
Dance Show: Jan or later
Every year Lawrence Park offers an opportunity for the dancers (and non-dancers) to showcase their talent on a night of excitement, fun and good cause through this extra-curricular activity. Students have a chance to test their skills and take the unique opportunity to choreograph a piece and have it performed by their fellow students. The proceeds of the ticket sales go towards a different charity designated every year. Dance show has always been a tradition at Lawrence Park and it is an incredible way for students from every grade to create bonds and find a community within the school. Dance show encourages students to step outside their comfort zone in the most supportive and positive way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXUWSbJ08Y
United Artists for a Cause: February
United Artists for a Cause is a night full of all the arts combined performed by Lawrence Park students. Different acts include music, dance, film, drama, and also the fashion show with student models and designers. Although the night does a wonderful job of promoting and displaying the amazing talent of the student body, the main purpose of the event is to raise money for a chosen cause. Our event is one of the key contributors to the school's charity week, through our ticket sales, as well as many extra donations. The planning for this event starts right at the beginning of September, as the students begin auditions in October. Once rehearsals begin there are countless members of the school that are involved including Stage Crew, The Production Team, Drama Council, Staff supervisors and of course the performers. In the end after many hours of preparation, the students deliver a truly incredible show. It's a great way for students to get involved while supporting the many important issues in our world today.
NTS (formerly Sears) Drama Festival: March
The NTS drama Festival is a drama festival of one act performances that are directed and performed all by students. We are proud to be among the few schools who submit multiple plays, as opposed to just one, and host the event each year. Students get the opportunity to work in a group of their peers to see the dramatic process from beginning to end. Sears Festival is a competition between schools to create the best dramatic performance, however, it is much more than that. Sears is an acting and directing opportunity to play with dramatic elements and build an understanding and love for dramatic creation. It gives the students the ability to try new and exciting acting and directing techniques on a manageable scale. The student directors choose the one act plays that will be done, this year we will be entering two performances into the festival. One of the performances is about commemorating a lost friend and the other is about the value in remembering a rich family history. Students are encouraged to get it of their comfort zones and experience the vast world of drama.
School Play : April
Lawrence Park’s School Play is a yearly event that happens around the end of each school year. This years play is Little Women. In the past few years, some plays we have done include The Dining Room, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, Les Miserables, The Miracle Worker , Arsenic and Old Lace and Departures and Arrivals, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. Student actors and crew as well as a teacher director gather together around mid-October to start rehearsals. Months and months of rehearsals are held and costume and props come to rehearsals around December to start deciding the props and costumes needed for the specific play. Tons of energy, time, and effort goes into the process of a successful play. Students spend countless hours after school and a few weekends running over scenes until they are close to perfect, our awesome set designers spend many hours designing and staging, and our always helpful stage crew never disappoints. All of this couldn’t be done without our teacher and student directors whom we are always so thankful for.
