“I think that’s the real benefit of drama education is being successful together.I can tell you, when we did this production, I have never in my whole career seen students so excited after the production because they really felt they had accomplished something together.”
—Mr. Stephen Delano
（Director of Performing Arts）
After seven months of hard work from October last year to April this year, the students of Dipont KCS Chengdu were able to put together a magnificent production that was a huge success for the whole team. After the successful performance, the students showed unprecedented excitement. Long after the performance, they still discussed it and want to go through the process again, looking forward to doing better next time.
The productions for the drama performance were specially selected by the drama teachers and were based on the KCS’s spirit and values, with ‘teamwork’ as the main theme. The two plays were ‘Swamped’ by the Primary students and ‘Arthur and the Magnificent Knights’ by the Secondary students. The English lines and the powerful performances were very well received by parents.
In Dipont KCS Chengdu, what is drama education like? How do the professional teachers help students to learn about themselves, their aesthetic qualities, and their comprehensive ability in just one school year? Let’s walk into the drama classroom and explore the “secrets” of drama education.
As a Performing Art Drama is beneficial to the comprehensive improvement of students’ ability and literacy.
At Dipont KCS Chengdu, Drama and Music are both part of the Performing Arts program. Performing Arts is a complete discipline that connects with audiences through visual and emotional performances, covering a wide range of content such as performance, singing, dance, folk art, drama, film, and television, etc., which is very beneficial in the improvement of students’ ability and literacy.
Unlike traditional drama teaching, which is limited to specific grades and focuses on text-based learning, our drama program is more creative. It emphasizes the importance of engaging the audience through stage performance, encouraging each student to actively participate, to express themselves from different perspectives, and to change and grow in a serious learning process.
At primary school, children are developing body coordination. As a compulsory course, drama focuses on four main key areas; physical coordination, language skills (especially in English), creative thinking and imagination, and cooperation. The teacher will arrange many small activities in the classroom, using the whole space, and guiding the students into different scenarios, simulating different roles through different positions, postures, tone of voice, etc., and stage different plays.
Entering middle school, students deal with more complex scripts, and the difficulty of lines and dialogue increases. Each class incorporates an element of performance, especially improvisation. Students work in pairs to use their imagination in a limited time, carefully figuring out the roles, thinking about how to make the performance interesting, and using English language and body language to bring different characters to life.
After Grade 9, Drama is changed from a compulsory course to an elective course. Students can take IGCSE or A-level Drama courses according to their personal interests or future directions.
In addition, teachers incorporate some additional instruction across disciplines. Students study Shakespeare’s Tempest in English class, then extend it to drama class, where students creatively try to perform and improve their English skills while completing the drama course.
“In Grade 9 drama classes, there are many activities in each class that require students to perform and create. The class starts with a relaxed and interactive activity. After that, the teacher will arrange many improvised performances with short scripts and lines, and each student should be able to use his or her imagination based on the script. We need to think and act in English in a relatively short period of time, so it’s a great way to improve our language.”
—Bertha G9
Continuously deepen the understanding of students to meet the developmental goals of each student.
“In our school we really focus on each student.”
—Mr. Stephen Delano
（Director of Performing Arts ）
Drama instruction begins with an “orientation” period for each student at Dipont KCS Chengdu. During this period, about a month , the teachers will get to know each new student in detail, understand their thoughts and help them set their own developmental goals. Throughout this process, teachers adjust the content to each student to ensure they will be able to complete challenges in the classroom that match his or her individual ability.
Of course, this is a whole new thing for students who are new to drama, especially for those who are shy, or less adept at using body language, and performing in an unfamiliar environment is a huge challenge.
Ms. Alexandra Day, one of the drama teachers, noted that the students always adapt well to the drama classroom, and that the students are able to motivate each other to complete their learning tasks and improve both their body language and English skills. She is really proud of the people for being so supportive to the brand new students. What she really noticed is how wonderful the other students are in the class in helping new students settle in and explain to them what’s happening in the class or providing some translation when needed. Students are always helping and encouraging each other to try to express and interpret what they have learnt in class ……
Apart from daily teaching, teachers make use of various opportunities such as ECA, CCA, drama club, choirs, extra-curricular activities, performance for class and other interactions to get to know the students better. Teaching plans and content are constantly adjusted to suit the development of students at each stage.
A variety of activities on and off campus provides students with opportunities to express themselves. This is very important to students as the experience of constantly creating and challenging themselves to perform not only helps to build confidence in the students by osmosis, but also allows everyone to become part of a group and to build a sense of community through the bond of drama performance.
“I have been fond of acting since I was a child, and I hope to be able to express myself. After the professional course in drama, I enjoyed the feeling of performing on stage even more, and I become more confident. In fact, everyone will have their own sparkle, and the learning process of drama is actually the process of finding your own stage.”
— Steve G10
“Drama classes have made me more confident, and this confidence has been gained not only on stage, but also in all disciplines of study, and my personal expression has also improved.”
— Yahaya G10
For students wishing to develop a career in the performing arts, the professional teachers will provide the resources and support they need to do so. The teachers will help students learn the theory of performing arts, provide opportunities for students to act in different productions, challenge themselves in different roles, gain acting experience, and enrich themselves in a wider range of areas such as music, literature and make-up. The teachers will support students to build on their specific plans for their dream school and major.
Succeed together!Extend the skills acquired in the drama program to all areas of growth
For most students, drama is not a future career, and the experience is more of a process of improvement. The skills acquired in drama courses can all be extended to other areas.
Learning drama helps students to understand the expression of emotions. Clarify their own emotions and understand how different people express their emotions. Learning to deal with their own emotions, empathize and get along well with others.
Learning drama is also about learning to express language, including the ability to communicate in English, and body language. Students who combine spoken and body language, who grasp the underlying meaning of communication and to be able to use body and voice to convey derivative meanings, so that they can better communicate with others in daily life.
Students learn drama to find themselves and build their confidence on stage. Performing regularly in class, students are constantly experimenting and quickly getting used to presenting themselves in different situations. They will no longer be shy or afraid when they actually need to be on stage for a test.
Learning drama and feeling the magic of teamwork. A play needs to be performed on stage as well as backstage management, with subtitles, sound effects, lighting and props. The pride is felt by everyone involved when the whole production is successfully staged.
“Drama is a group art, a group of partners on the same stage, working together for a common performance, giving together when they struggle and sharing the joy when they succeed, which is not the same as being on stage alone.”
——Gabrielle G10
“During the previous drama production, I was in charge of backstage, including lighting and sound effects. I had a lot of fun working backstage and sharing my success with my classmates during the hard work. I believe these skills will be useful in my future life.”
——Jack G8
With the release of the Curriculum Scheme and Standards for Compulsory Education (2022 Edition), more and more parents are paying attention to drama education. Drama education has positive significance in developing students’ imagination, creativity, empathy, language skills, teamwork skills, and other comprehensive abilities and qualities.We hope that as the drama curriculum continues to advance, more students will be able to experience the charm of drama in the future, and every student will be able to express themselves on the drama stage and shine on the stage of life.
