Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• Physicality includes movement, stance, facial expressions, gestures, and proxemics; these are essential to communicating character and story in performance.
• Proxemics is the use of space between actors to show relationships and power dynamics.
• Narration is a storytelling technique where a narrator uses pace, pitch, volume, and tone to guide the audience through the story.
• Soundscape is a collection of vocal or instrumental sounds that create atmosphere or setting in a performance.
• Sound effects are specific sounds used to represent objects or actions.
• Physical theatre uses body movement and gesture to tell a story or create mood.
• Melodrama is a style of performance using exaggerated physicality and emotions to clearly communicate roles and story.
• A still image is a frozen moment on stage used to represent a key story moment.
• A rolling tableau is a series of still images transitioning smoothly to show story progression.
• A stimulus is any object, image, or piece of text that can inspire dramatic ideas.
• A fable is a short story, often using animals as characters, that communicates a moral lesson.
• A legend is a traditional story, often featuring heroic characters or mythical events.
• A myth is a story involving gods, heroes, or monsters explaining natural phenomena or cultural beliefs.
• Characterisation skills are important to bring characters and plot to life through physicality and voice.
• Key storytelling techniques include narration, soundscape, physical theatre, rolling tableau, and melodramatic physicality.
• Storytelling can be adapted to suit an audience’s age and needs by changing the vocabulary, pace, vocal expression, physical exaggeration, content, and audience interaction.

• Create and perform storytelling using physicality to clearly represent roles and emotions.
• Use melodramatic physicality confidently to communicate characters and story to an audience.
• Identify and apply movement, stance, facial expressions, gestures, and proxemics in performance.
• Work collaboratively to devise short stories using limited or no speech, relying on physicality.
• Create instant still images, rolling tableaux, and depictions to represent story moments.
• Use voice effectively to narrate stories with appropriate pace, pitch, volume, and tone.
• Develop and perform narrations that engage the audience and clarify the moral or message.
• Create soundscapes and sound effects to build atmosphere and setting in performances.
• Incorporate physical theatre techniques to enhance storytelling through body movement.
• Use stylised vocal work and physicality to develop detailed mythical or legendary characters.
• Plan and perform scenes from myths and legends using a combination of storytelling strategies.
• Evaluate their own and peers' performances, identifying strengths and suggesting improvements.
• Adapt storytelling performances to suit a specific audience’s age and needs by changing the vocabulary, pace, vocal expression, physical exaggeration, content, and audience interaction.