Yr 7 Drama
Status
on The
Stage
Today’s Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will:
 Be able to explain what status is.
 Understand how important status is on
the stage.
 Recognise and use various drama skills
that help us to show drama on stage.
 Begin working on a script extract.
We will be working between
Wildern Drama Levels 2 and 4
In pairs…
One of you is the boss
of a multi-million dollar
company.
The other person is a
student, who is very
short of cash!
Improvise a job
interview situation
between the two
characters.
What happened?????
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How did the characters speak?
How did they stand or sit?
How did they use their voice?
What were their facial expressions like?
How did they move around the space?
Was one person higher than the other?
WHO WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT
CHARACTER???
The character with the most importance is the
character with the most….
STATUS
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Status is how important a
person/character is.
It is associated with how
much power they have, or how
much control of the situation.
In society, the person with
the most status is our Queen.
Someone with low status
might be a homeless person.
In drama, status is related to
how much power the
CHARACTER has.
Can you think of any
examples?
The Key
Factors in
showing status
on stage are…
LEVELS
USE
OF THE
SPACE
GESTURE
FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS
VOICE
Levels
• The higher someone is, the
more status they have.
• They may be on a rostra
block, or simply standing over
the other character.
Use of The Space
The more space you use,
the more status you have!
Gesture
What you
do with
your hands
and arms
Facial Expression
Use your facial
expression to
show what
emotion your
character is
feeling, and
how important
you are!
Voice
• How loud will you be?
• What tone of voice will you use?
• How many pauses will you leave?
Blue Remembered Hills
• This play is by Dennis Potter.
• It is quite often used as a GCSE text.
• It is about a group of young boys and girls
(8/9 years old).
• It tells the story of what happens to them
during one summer of the Second World
War.
• The play was written for adults – what
problems does this cause?
Your Task……
• In pairs, you need to rehearse the
opening extract to the play between Peter
and Billy.
• You MUST make it clear to the audience
who has the most status, using the 5
techniques I have outlined.
• Do not stand still reading the script. Go
through a couple of lines, learn them,
decide how to stage it, then move on.