Upper School Curriculum Guide
Students will be registering for courses with their Advisor. We encourage students and families to make use of the Curriculum Guide to investigate their choices, check prerequisites, and confirm entry requirements. Current teachers, Advisors, Department Chairs, and Grade Deans should also be consulted as resources. When you read the below policies, please disregard references to signatures, sign-ups, and approvals. Once course selections are made, each Department will review them in order to approve or recommend another approach.
Overview
Overview
"I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."
- Oscar Wilde
The Drama and Dance Department was established in 1984 to promote a more well-rounded arts education program within the fine and performing arts curriculum at Rye Country Day School.
In the Upper School, students are required to complete a minimum of 1.5 credits within the Drama, Dance, Visual Art, and/or Music curriculum. The Drama and Dance Department offers the following courses in the Upper School: Public Speaking, Acting for Stage & Film, Advanced Acting for Stage and Film, Introduction to Improv, Play Production, Costume Design, Digital Drama, Intermediate Dance, Advanced Dance, and Advanced Topics in Theatre/Dance. Students also have the opportunity to work on independent study projects in areas of specialized focus. The Department encourages specialized work and helps students develop projects that will most appropriately advance their ability and interests.
Students are encouraged to apply the skills they acquire in the courses through performance and technical work on the major theatrical productions staged during the academic year. A typical performance season in the Upper School includes four main stage productions; Upper School Fall Play, Upper School Winter Musical, Upper School Spring Fringe Festival, and Middle Upper School Spring Dance Concert.
The Drama and Dance Department is critical in supporting the school’s mission to “achieve maximum potential through creative endeavors.” Our program is designed to be inclusive and provide students with the tools to see and appreciate multiple perspectives. Drama and Dance students at Rye Country Day School are given the time to take creative journeys. They are encouraged to take risks, make mistakes and learn that the greatest results can come from challenging themselves. The ultimate goal of all courses and productions at RCDS is for students to use the skills of drama and dance as the vehicle through which they can become more confident, mature, poised, thoughtful, collaborative, and creative.
Policies
Policies
COURSE SELECTION GUIDELINES
All Drama and Dance classes are considered electives and are eligible to receive arts credit towards graduation.
The following electives have no prerequisite:
- Public Speaking
- Acting 1
- Costume Design
- Intermediate Dance
- Play Production: Behind the Scenes
The following courses require departmental approval:
- Advanced Dance
- Advanced Topics in Theatre
- Advanced Topics in Dance
- Design Concepts
- Acting 2
Curricular Sequence
Curricular Sequence
The core experience classes offer groundwork for future study in either the Theatre and/or Dance program. For students who are particularly interested in musical theatre, many student take Drama/Dance along with a Choir class.
This curriculum is carefully designed to establish common vocabulary, instill the Department’s core values, encourage students to become aware of and overcome personal obstacles, and explore students’ untapped potentials. These classes include:
- Intermediate Dance
- Acting 1
- Public Speaking
- Costume Design
Upon completion of a core experience course, students can shape the content and trajectory of their course of study in Theatre and/or Dance. Students are able to construct a sequence of experiential coursework that satisfies their individual interests and passions. The student assumes responsibility for crafting a program of study to develop, advocate for, and achieve artistic goals under the guidance of committed faculty mentors. These classes include:
- Advanced Topics in Theatre
- Advanced Topics in Dance
- Advanced Dance
- Play Production: Behind the Scenes
- Acting 2
- Advanced Filmmaking and Acting
- Design Concepts
Courses
Drama and Dance Courses
Year-Long Courses
- ADVANCED TOPICS IN THEATRE
- ADVANCED TOPICS IN DANCE
- INTERMEDIATE DANCE
- ADVANCED DANCE
- COSTUME DESIGN
ADVANCED TOPICS IN THEATRE
Structured in a workshop format, the intent of Advanced Topics in Theatre is to study the principles, procedures, and practices of stage direction. Beginning with a non-verbal approach to composition and movement study and progressing to more formal text work, the work in this class culminates in the direction of a ten-minute play for three public performances in our annual student produced Fringe Festival. Since acting and directing are inextricably related disciplines, students in this class are expected to act AND direct in order to provide mutually beneficial training opportunities for directing students. All students are expected to experiment with mutually challenging director/actor collaborative exercises. The intent is to create a combined student led performance group that functions as a dynamic ensemble. With everyone’s combined ideas and energy, you will accomplish much more than you ever could alone. As does theatre itself, this course demands a highly interactive, team playing commitment and, because of this, attendance at all classes is expected. Previous experiences in our RCDS drama classes or productions are a requirement for the elective. (1/2 unit; Grades 10, 11, 12; department approval required.)
ADVANCED TOPICS IN DANCE
This course is designed to allow the highly motivated dance student an opportunity to work independently on advanced level exploration within a particular dance form, tradition or innovation. Specific topics will vary each year. The interested student must present a proposal to the department. If approved, the parameters of the project are established and regular meeting times are arranged with a member of the department. The work in this class culminates in each student choreographing an original piece to be included in our annual student produced Fringe Festival. Students are required to have taken one year of intermediate dance and enrolled in advanced dance to be taken simultaneously with this class as a requirement for the elective. (1/2 unit; Grades 10, 11, 12; department approval required.)
INTERMEDIATE DANCE
Intermediate Dance is a yearlong course for students with a solid base knowledge of the fundamentals of dance technique who are interested in furthering their skills through serious dance training. This course explores dance technique and performance through a variety of modes of movement. Dancers will train in the techniques of ballet, modern, jazz, jumps and turns, as well as supplement with explorations of Pilates, yoga, strength and stability training, dance conditioning, and stretch. Throughout the year students will not only extend their technical abilities as dancers, but also learn about important trailblazing dancers and choreographers in the past and present time. Intermediate Dance meets twice per cycle and performs it’s own piece in the Spring Dance Concert. The concert requires the after-school commitment of tech week and performances. This yearlong course fulfills the art credit. Students have the option for a skills assessment to gain entry into the Advanced Dance class, if deemed appropriate. (1/2 unit; Grades 9, 10, 11, 12; departmental approval required.)
ADVANCED DANCE
Advanced Dance is a yearlong course for students who have a high level of technical skill, and are looking to train at a serious and extremely dedicated level. The course explores dance technique and performance through a variety of modes of movement. Dancers will train in the techniques of ballet, modern, jazz, musical theatre, jumps and turns, as well as supplement with explorations of Pilates, yoga, strength and stability training, dance conditioning, and flexibility training. Throughout the year students will not only extend their technical abilities as dancers, but also learn about dance history and take part in composition lessons to begin developing tools for choreography. Through these lessons in dance history and dance composition, students will cultivate and hone their observational skills allowing them to think and speak intellectually about dance in a scholarly manner. Advanced Dance meets twice per cycle and performs its own piece in the Spring Dance Concert. The concert requires the after-school commitment of tech week and performances. This yearlong course fulfills the art credit. The intermediate level of dance must be completed prior to taking this course unless cleared by the department. (1/2 unit; Grades 10, 11, 12; department approval required.)
COSTUME DESIGN
In this year-long course, student will be designing and implementing costumes, hair and makeup for Upper School drama productions. Students will work with the faculty costume coordinator as designs are created for the fall play. During the second semester, students will branch out to create full looks of their own for the Winter Musical. Students will study costume design for past school shows as well as professional productions to help inform their own designs. By the end of the year, students will have a fashion design portfolio, some of which can be used towards 2D AP Art Portfolio. This is an interdisciplinary course with the Visual Art Department. (½ unit in Drama, ½ unit in Art; Grades 9, 10, 11, 12.)
Electives - Semester 1 and 2
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Public Speaking is a practical course designed to offer the novice speaker a number of opportunities to organize and prepare public speaking assignments within the confines of a safe and supportive space . In business, in school, and in public life, we are often called upon to “make a few comments.” Often, people tasked with such speeches become flummoxed. They might not know what to talk about, or ramble without making a point, or simply be confusing to listen to. This course is designed to help you shine where others falter. The course aims to reduce students’ anxiety in public presentations, emphasize speech preparation, enhance public speaking skills, and make students better able to evaluate their own performance and that of others. (1/2 unit, fall & spring, grades 9-12, no prerequisite, grants ½ Arts credit.)
ACTING 1
This course is designed to use the craft of acting as the vehicle through which students explore and develop essential skills for the stage. Through scene studies, monologue work, and improvisation, students will explore the craft of acting in a variety of ways. In addition to learning acting techniques, students will have the opportunity to collaborate, take risks, build confidence, and engage with the art of theatre. This course is equally appropriate for students interested in exploring performance techniques for the first time and those with previous experience. (½ unit, fall & spring, grades 9-12, no prerequisite, grants ½ Arts credit.)
ACTING 2
In this advanced-level course, students will build upon the fundamentals learned in Acting 1 in order to explore their voice as a developing artist. Over the course of 18 weeks, students will participate in projects and activities that further strengthen their ability to take risks, make bold choices, and express themselves with confidence and clarity. This course puts a heavy emphasis on scene-work, text analysis, and listening as an actor. After taking Acting 2 for, students will be better able to examine text, read “between the lines” and form a better understanding of characters and their motivations. They will advance their ability to collaborate in small groups and express themselves vocally and physically. (½ unit, fall & spring, grades 9-12, grants ½ Arts credit. Prerequisite: Acting 1.)
PLAY PRODUCTION: BEHIND THE SCENES
In this course, students will explore the various elements of theatre that happen behind the scenes. This will include dramaturgy, marketing, planning, and producing productions, experimental theatre and more. Students will learn and study the basics, then apply what they have learned through the lens of specific plays and musicals. (½ unit, fall & spring, grades 9-12, no prerequisite, grants ½ Arts credit. Department approval required.)
DESIGN CONCEPTS
Students in this course will explore the elements of crafting a successful design for stage, with the focus being on lighting and projection design as well as stage management. Students will have the opportunity to research and learn about new and innovative approaches currently being used in the theatre in lighting and projection design and stage management, while simultaneously learning the foundational concepts of these disciplines. Extensive use of the black box theatre as a design and exploration space is integral to this class. Each student will be required to participate in either the Fall or Winter production as a member of the crew. (1/2 unit, fall only, grades 9-12, grants ½ Arts credit. Department approval required.)
