Introduction to Drama and Theatre

What the unit covers

This unit is a broad first look at drama and theatre, built by GoConqr users. Most of it is mind maps and flashcard decks, with some quizzes, notes and flowcharts. Much of it is pitched at school level, and the listed resources mention GCSE Drama and National 5 Drama.

Where to start

Begin with vocabulary, because everything else leans on it. The flashcard deck Theatre Terms List runs from drama, tragedy and comedy to farce, satire, the fourth wall and protagonist. The Drama Terminology mind map groups movement, mime, body language, voice, pace and timing in one place.

1. Learn the terms with Theatre Terms List and Drama Terminology.
2. Move on to the elements of drama, using the several decks and maps with that name.
3. Look at acting skills in the Acting mind map, which covers stage and film acting and training the body and mind.
4. Explore styles and movements, such as the Theatre of the Absurd, Epic theatre, Naturalism, Melodrama and Bertolt Brecht.

Exam-focused maps

The N5 Drama mind map lists voice, accent, pace, articulation and pause, then conventions such as flashback, freeze frame, tableau, monologue and soliloquy. One GCSE map, by Becca Lyes, covers acting skills such as facial expression, gesture, stance and levels. The Drama Curriculum (AQA) note is there for checking what you need to know.

Using quizzes with maps

Read a map first, then test yourself. Quizzes such as Explorative Strategies, Elements Of Drama and Drama key words show quickly which terms you have missed. Go back to the matching map or deck for those gaps, then retry the quiz.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Foundations of Drama and Theatre strand of Performing arts (theatre, dance). It works as a base before more detailed study of practitioners, genres and production roles, such as those shown in the Theater Hierarchy Chart.

Choose one map or deck that matches what you are studying, and make your own version alongside it.