Byram Hills Central School District

This information has been taken directly from the Accelerate U - Standards and Resource Guides (with approval) from the K-12 Education, NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT site. No information in this document has been changed.

Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Arts

4. Students will gain knowledge about past and present cultures as expressed through theatre. They will interpret how theatre reflects the beliefs, issues, and events of societies past and present.

Students:

read and view a variety of plays from different cultures (a)
using the basic elements of theatre (e.g., speech, gesture, costume, etc.), explain how different theatrical productions represent the cultures from which they come (b)
articulate the societal beliefs, issues and events of specific theatrical productions (c).

This is evident, for example, when students:

read a play by a contemporary foreign playwright who writes about a social issue; analyze how the issue is depicted in the drama
recreate a Kabuki theatre performance piece using appropriate makeup, costuming, set design and acting style showing an understanding of Japanese customs

read a work from another century and/or another country and write a report explaining how the play realistically portrays life in that time period.