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TEKS Taught in Unit:
117.40. Theatre, Grade 8.
(a) General requirements. Students may select the following theatre course: Theatre 8.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Four basic strands--perception, creative expression/performance, historical and cultural heritage, and critical evaluation--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire. Through perceptual studies, students increase their understanding of self and others and develop clear ideas about the world. Through a variety of theatrical experiences, students communicate in a dramatic form, make artistic choices, solve problems, build positive self-concepts, and relate interpersonally.
(2) Students increase their understanding of heritage and traditions through historical and cultural studies in theatre. Student response and evaluation promote thinking and further discriminating judgment, developing students who are appreciative and evaluative consumers of live theatre, film, television, and other technologies.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Perception. The student develops concepts about self, human relationships, and the environment, using elements of drama and conventions of theatre. The student is expected to:
(A) improvise, using emotional and sensory recall;
(B) apply preparation and warm-up techniques;
(C) create expressive movement and pantomime to define space and characters;
(D) express thoughts and feelings, using effective voice and diction;
(E) compare dramatic performances to life; and
(F) create setting, character, and plot in improvised and scripted scenes.
(2) Creative expression/performance. The student interprets characters, using the voice and body expressively, and creates dramatizations. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate safe use of the voice and body;
(B) analyze life interactions, choices, and responses to describe character motivation;
(C) portray characters through familiar movements and dialogue; and
(D) create, improvise, and record individually and collaboratively characters, setting, dialogue, and actions that have tension and suspense and that reflect a beginning (exposition), middle (climax), and ending (denouement, resolution).
(3) Creative expression/performance. The student applies design, directing, and theatre production concepts and skills. The student is expected to:
(A) select specific technical elements for improvised and scripted scenes to suggest environment, to establish mood, and to support character and actions;
(B) create elements of scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costume, makeup, and publicity, using visual elements (line, texture, color, space), visual principles (repetition, balance, emphasis, contrast, unity), and aural qualities (pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, expression);
(C) identify the director's role as a unifying force, problem-solver, interpreter of script, and collaborator; and
(D) direct brief dramatizations.
(4) Historical/cultural heritage. The student relates theatre to history, society, and culture. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate knowledge of theatre as a reflection of life in particular times, places, and cultures; and
(B) define theatre heritage as it is preserved in dramatic text, traditions, and conventions and describe the roles of theatre, film, television, and electronic media in American society.
(5) Response/evaluation. The student responds to and evaluates theatre and theatrical performances. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze and practice appropriate audience behavior at various types of live performances;
(B) define the terminology and process of evaluation (intent, structure, effectiveness, value) and apply this process to performances, using appropriate theatre vocabulary;
(C) identify visual, aural, oral, and kinetic components in art, dance, music, and theatre; compare character, setting, and action in art, musical theatre, dance, and theatre; and express emotions and ideas in improvisations and scripted scenes that integrate art, dance, and/or music; and
(D) compare career and avocational opportunities in theatre. | 
