Scheme of Work – Unit One Artaud and Metamorphosis
SESSION
ONE – Intro
to the basic
theory behind
Artaud and
Stanislavski
Learning Outcomes
To participate actively
in designing and
developing a practical
presentation with a
group
To demonstrate a
practical understanding
of the theories of
Artaud or Stanislavski
Content
Speed friending around the circle
Bonding Warm Up Games –
*Tight circle, lean out
*Body parts joined
*Unscramble the circle
*Number of body parts on the floor
Move around the space throwing the
beanbag between students. When
holding the bean bag deliver to the
group one key element of either
Artuad or Stanislavski’s theories,
ideas or practice
Students to work in groups of 4 to
develop a practical presentation on
one of the practitioners to be
delivered to the rest of the group
Q. What were the key points you
learnt about the practitioner from the
last workshop?
Q. How do the theoretical ideas of
this practitioner link into the
practical exploration?
Differentiation/
Equal opps
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
*Students given the
opportunity to take
the lead
Methods/
Resources
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Practical Session
Beanbag
Student
developed
handouts
Assessment
*Observing practical
work
*Structure questioning
to ensure students
understanding of theory
*Teacher in role –
Planning, developing
and leading tasks
*Evaluation and
feedback on practical
activities
Q. How could you use these ideas
when developing and devising a
piece of drama?
All handouts to be photocopied for
the rest of the group and added to
folders
Notes to be updated each week
with clear examples of practical
tasks completed in class connected
to outcome and linked clearly to
theory – Show examples early on
TWO -
To develop a basic
understanding of the
social/historical/politic
al background of
Artaud
To develop a practical
understanding of
Universal theatre and
participate actively as
part of a group to
develop and produce a
performance piece with
the applied theory
Set up classroom with chairs in a
circle in the middle. Dim the lights
and put on music. Invite pupils in one
by one (possibly blindfolded). Go
around the group and make them feel
uncomfortable.
Pupils will respond to the situation
and, within discussion, express how
they felt.
Use of powerpoint to discuss
structure of AS course and methods
of assessment
Social/Historical/Political
background to Artaud – Key facts and
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Whole class
evaluation of ideas
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
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Practical Session
Chairs
Blindfolds
Powerpoint
Exam Criteria
Fairy tale
synopsis
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
*Evaluation and
feedback on practical
activities
information across the circle. Recap
key facts using powerpoint
presentation
Universal Theatre:
What is universal theatre? Class
discussion and feedback
Exercises
* Communicating a story – Verbally
and Non Verbally
*Have the group milling around the
room in a random fashion. As they
come across others they should greet
them, not with actual words but with
polite sounds of pleasure.
On a signal the liking turns more
intense until it reaches love and
finally adoration.
Repeat the exercise, with all the
physicality but using the word ‘hello’.
* Gibberish Exercises
* Silent scenes
* Random word scenes
* Sound only Arguments
* Expressing the feeling of words
* Expressing words physically
Why have we done these exercises?
As an actor how will this help us to
understand and develop ideas on
*Students given the
opportunity to take
the lead
Artuad’s theory?
What is your current view on
Artaud’s theory?
Working in small groups to devised
and develop a well known fairy tale
universally using the exercises
Was it universal?
If yes, which elements specifically
were and why?
Which elements weren’t successful?
As an overall piece of theatre was it
successful?
THREE -
To develop a more
detailed understanding
of Artaud’s theory
To participate with
100% effort in a range
of physical exercises to
develop Artauds
understanding of
pushing the body to the
extreme
Class discussion and feedback on
Artaud’s theory – Discussing ideas
and practices in more detail
Sum up the ideas of Antonin Artaud
in one sentence…?
Recap on Universal Language and
Universal Theatre around the circle.
Working in small groups, take a small
section of Metamosphosis and apply
the ideas of Universal theatre so it
could be expressed without dialogue
Perform, Film and access
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Whole class
evaluation of ideas
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
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Practical Session
Artaud Theory
Booklets
Metamorphosis
script
Ipad’s
Exam criteria
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
* Evaluation and
Feedback on practical
activities
Artaud and Physical Theatre –
Discuss in small groups and feedback
Exercises
* Extremes: Group to find an area in
the room to stand. Introduce the
routine of reaching up high, reaching
to the floor, stretching out with both
hands to the left and then to the right.
Keep a continuous rhythm. Continue
until pupils are fed up and go beyond
this.
*Knee Fights
*Fishing Line Exercise
*Flocking around the space
*Movement around the space
*Rescuer and Rescued
*Fantasy Journey
*People as Props
*Location Sequences
Why are we doing these tasks?
What is the point for both an actor
and a director?
*Individual and
group evaluation
using exam criteria
FOUR
To think about the
larger than life style of
Artaud’s acting and
develop this practically
To participate actively
in a range of practical
activities to train the
body physically in
preparation for further
use of Artaud’s ideas
What do we mean by ‘exaggerating
the Artudian character’? Discuss in
pairs and feedback to class
Exercises
* Slow motion explosion
* Breaking up an action into beats
* Slow motion race
*slow motion choreographed fight
What is important with slow motion
work?
Why are we doing these tasks? How
will this help us as an actor?
Howe could this work be used within
Metamorphosis?
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Paired discussion
and evaluation of
ideas
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
Working in a small group to apply
todays ideas on slow motion to a
small section from metamorphosis
*Students given the
opportunity to take
the lead
Perform and evaluate how effective it
is within this style of theatre
*Individual and
group evaluation
using exam criteria
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Practical Session
Ipad’s
Exam Criteria
Metamorphosis
Scripts
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
*Self and Peer
evaluation using exam
criteria
Access grade for todays lesson using
exam criteria
FIVE
To analyse examples of
written evidence for
understanding
Recap on exam specification and
criteria for supporting written
evidence
To apply the
understanding to their
own writing covering a
range of examples from
the practical work
Group discussion on examples –
What grade do you think tis would
have achieved and why?
Class feedback – What are the key
things to achieve when completing
this controlled assessment?
Continuing to develop notes with
clear practical examples and links to
theory
Recap on exam
specification and
criteria for
supporting written
evidence
Group discussion on
examples – What
grade do you think
tis would have
achieved and why?
Class feedback –
What are the key
things to achieve
when completing this
controlled
assessment?
Continuing to
develop notes with
clear practical
examples and links to
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Written Session
PowerPoint
Example
Booklet
*Structured questioning
to ensure that students
are understanding
practical work
*Evaluation of work –
self and peer using exam
criteria
*Evaluation of work and
feedback on activities –
practical linked to
theory
theory
SIX
To explore the idea of
exaggerated
personalities
To start to link the
theoretical ideas of
Artaud with the
character, and plot of
Metamorphosis
Whole class recap on characters, plot
and storyline of Metamorphosis –
Images of character, location and
family around the space, adding
movement, gesture, sound and
dialogue.
Exercises
*Emotion lines
Ask 7 students to stand in a line at
one end of the room facing the rest of
the group. Give them the emotion
‘panic’. The first in line starts with as
slight a response as possible. The
next in line watches and builds the
response a little further, then the
third builds it further, and so on.
Keep working up and down the line
as long as is necessary. Keep pushing
them to take it further and further.
The next group repeat with word
‘anger’.
Possible continuation to words
‘suspicion’ and ‘love’.
Pupils will present clear physical
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Whole class
evaluation of ideas
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
*Students given the
opportunity to take
the lead
*Individual and
group evaluation
using exam criteria
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
Practical Session
Metamorphosis
scripts
Exam Criteria
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
*Self and Peer
evaluation using exam
criteria
responses to the words and will push
themselves beyond what they believe
to be the stopping point of the
exercise.
*Leading by the body with a
character – Link to Metamorphosis
characters
*Leading by the body within a
location – Link to Metamorphosis
plot
Why are we doing these tasks?
Link to…
- Practitioner
- Play
Access grade for todays lesson using
exam criteria
SEVEN
To explore Artaud’s
theories on the use of
Rhythm and Ritual
within drama and
theatre
To develop a piece of
drama using rhythm
and ritual in order to
To discuss the idea of rhythm and
ritual as a class and feedback. To
view Youtube clips of Balinese Dance
Drama
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
Exercises
Breathing: Sit the group in a circle.
One person in the room begins by
focusing on a particular emotion and
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
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Practical Session
Youtube clips
Percission
instruments
Script
Ipads
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
develop a theoretical
and practical
understanding
trying to establish a breathing
pattern for it. The rest of the group
must try to follow the breathing
pattern.
Discuss how this felt.
Select a different person and they
must repeat the exercise with a
different emotion
The group will, by the end of the
exercise, be working together within
collective breathing and create a
sense of the emotion throughout the
group
* Developing a rhythm in a circle
* Developing a rhythm using
percussion
* Tribal Dances
*Using rhythm to express emotion
Were you able to use your use of
rhythm to infect the audience with
the same emotions as the
performers?
Did you achieve an emotional
response from the audience?
Working in groups to apply ideas on
rhythm to a small section of script
from Metamorphosis
*Mixed group
practical and warm
up activities
*Students given the
opportunity to take
the lead
Perform, Film and access
EIGHT
To explore the use of
images and symbols
within abstract work
To participate with
100% effort in a range
of practical exercises to
cement theoretical
understanding
Class discussion on the power of
imagery – Look at a range of random
images and discuss the feeling it
produces in each individual and why
How powerful is a visual image?
What is the main thing you
remember about the last play you
saw?
How does the visual image work with
total theatre?
Exercises
* Word Association Game
* Creating visual symbols
* Creating visual symbols with
movement and sound
* Expressing a story through symbols
Use Ipad to photograph and film for
assessment and evaluative discussion
How could other elements of Total
Theatre be used to develop the
*Small and whole
group discussion,
evaluation and
feedback
*Students to show
practical work and
peer access and
evaluate
*Individual and
group evaluation
using exam criteria
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Practical
SessionVisual
Images
Ipad
Exam Criteria
*Observing practical
work
*Structured questioning
to ensure students
understanding and link
to practical
*Self and Peer
evaluation using exam
criteria
power of the images further?
Access grade for todays lesson using
exam criteria