At every level, the AACMS Theatre curriculum reinforces the fundamentals of theater, including basic vocabulary, stage directors, movement for the actor, developing the actor’s voice, and improvisation.
Fifth Grade
Theater Workshop meets for one 90-minute period each six-day school cycle.
Theatre Workshop students study the basics of theater, including fundamental vocabulary and stage directions. Students develop their performance skills through participation in theater games, improvisation activities, and choral speaking. Students also focus on spatial awareness, learn and perform short monologues and scenes, and study the creation of human tableaux. Students also prepare scenes to be performed at part of the Fifth Grade Arts Showcase and conclude the year with an introduction to puppetry.
Sixth Grade
Sixth Grade Theater classes meet for 95 minutes during the school day.
Primary Theater meets four times every six-day school cycle.
Secondary Theater meets twice every six-day school cycle.
Following a review of basic theater terminology, stage directons, and types of stages, sixth grade Theater students explore a wide range of key skills including movement for the actor, development of the actor’s voice, breath control, articulation, and projection. Over the course of the school year, students also study improvisation, pantomime, clowning, choral speaking, characterization, performance of monologues, writing limericks and prop construction. In the spring, students study ancient Greek theater. Students routinely perform for their peers as part of the class, with evening performances for friends and family held periodically.
Seventh Grade
Seventh Grade Theater classes meet for two hours during the school day.
Primary Theater meets four times every six-day school cycle.
Secondary Theater meets twice every six-day school cycle.
After reviewing basic theater skills and terms, seventh graders continue to refine their skills in movement, improvisation, characterization and character development. The seventh grade class produces AACMS’s annual production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol each December, focusing on additional scene work in the spring. Students also study monologues, Commedia Dell’Arte, fundamentals of audition preparation, and slap poetry.
Eighth Grade
Eighth grade Theater meets for 150 minutes each day of school.
Eighth grade students review and refine skills learned in earlier grades, applying them to more advanced concepts, texts, and projects. Extended class periods allow students to explore a wide range of topics, including short and long form improvisation, characterization and character development, costume design, methods of acting, acting for the camera, the business of theater and slam poetry. Students also spend a significant amount of class time writing, analyzing and performing monologues and scenes as well as developing audition preparation skills. The school year concludes with an introduction to Shakespeare and the production of a spring play.