MODULE 10 CREATIVE WRITING

I. LEARNING SKILLS
a. Most Essential Learning Competency
Explore different staging modalities vis-à-vis envisioning the script

b. Objectives : At the end of this learning activity,

• Compare/contrast the modern stage to classical stage

II. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT

Drama, just like the other genres, has undergone significant changes in its historical
development. This is partly attributable to the fact that stage types have also changed and
thus required different forms of acting. Let us have a look at the various stage forms
throughout history.

Greek Stage The Middle Ages Stage

Modern stage
 As an art form, theatre does not require a purposefully designed building in which
to be presented. But when audiences gather regularly to experience a performance,
attempts are generally made to organize the space to improve on the nature of the
experience the audience can have, and this is the beginning of theatre design. The simplest
theatres are cleared areas of ground around which people can stand or sit to view a
performance.

Theatre design, however, is concerned with elaborating such space— first, to

provide the optimum conditions for the audience to experience a theatre performance and,
second, to aid the practice of theatre design can encompass open-air spaces or spaces that
are fully enclosed. It can involve a temporary structure put up only on certain occasions or a
complete stand-alone permanent building. It can include purpose-built areas within larger
complexes, or the modification of buildings originally built for other purposes.

Because they are well designed for the gathering of a group of people and generally
allow for controlled access, theatres tend to be used as multipurpose buildings that can
provide assembly space for lectures, meetings, concerts, films, performance art, circuses,
and even certain types of sporting events. But at its most basic level, a theatre provides a
space for the performers to enact their performance and a space for the audience to
experience that enactment.

After 250 years in which the box, pit, and gallery theatre dominated the art, there
was widespread rebellion against it. A flood of new ideas was started by explorations of past
practices. There were many attempts to imitate the different stages of the past years, such
as the Greek stage, Middle Ages Stage, and Elizabethan stage. This attempt to revival only
shaped the versatility of the modern stage. Below are the characteristics of these stages.

Types of Era Characteristics

Stage/Theater
Form
Greek Stage Classical/Ancien Greek plays were staged in amphitheaters, which
t Greek were marked by a round stage about three quarters
surrounded by the audience.
Medieval Middle Ages Medieval plays were primarily performed during
Pageants religious festivities (mystery plays, morality plays).
(wagons) They were staged on wagons (pageants), which
stopped somewhere in the market place and were
entirely surrounded by the audience.
Elizabethan Stage Renaissance Renaissance England was the apron stage which
was surrounded by the audience on three sides and
there was still a close vicinity between audience and
 actors.
Proscenium Stage Modern Times The stage of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
is called proscenium stage or picture frame stage
because it is shaped in such a way that the audience
watches the play as it would regard a picture: The
ramp clearly separates actors and audience, and the
curtain underlines this division

At the turn of the 21st century, emphasis shifted to performing-arts complexes in

which several different styles of theatre were incorporated.

III. ACTIVITIES
A. PRACTICE TASK
PRACTICE TASK 1: Directions: Read and analyze the following statements on
Intertextuality. Write AGREE if the statement is CORRECT and DISAGREE if the statement
is INCORRECT.
1. During the classical era, the Greeks use the proscenium stage or the picture frame
stage in performing a play.
2. In modern theatres, the audience was seated in the dark while in the Restoration
period, the audience was seated in a fully illuminated room.
3. Mystery and morality plays were usually performed in the amphitheater.
4. Ancient Greek drama was originally performed on special occasions like religious
ceremonies, and it thus had more ritual, symbolic and also didactic purpose.
5. Women are not allowed to act on stage during the classical drama.
6. The chorus was a vital part of the Elizabethan drama.
7. Plays in ancient Greece were staged in Amphitheaters.
8. The Elizabethan stage was typically found in the public theaters.
9. The most common form of stage in the Renaissance England was the apron stage.
10.The stage in the modern times is known as the apron stage.

Practice Task 2: CRISS-CROSSING THE DIFFERENT THEATER FORMS Directions: Now that
you were taken on a flashback of the different theater stage across time, let us match
them side-by-side. Complete the matrix below to see what makes one stand out from
the other. You will be rated using the rubric found after Cooling Down activity.

Theater Form What makes it Advantage Disadvantage

unique
Greek Stage
Middle Ages Stage
Renaissance/Elizabetha
n Stage
Modern Stage
 Practice Task 3: THERE IS A STAGE TO THAT! Directions: Research on the following
movie/book titles and evaluate what modern stage form is best suited if they will be
given a stage drama adaptation. Justify your answer in 3-5 sentences. You will be rated
using the rubric found after Cooling Down activity. Write your answer on the space
provided.

1. The Hows of Us (Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo)

a. Modern Stage form suited: _______________________________________
b. Explanation: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

2. Noli me Tangere (Jose P. Rizal)

a. Modern Stage form suited: _______________________________________
b. Explanation: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

3. Harry Potter Series (JK Rowling)

a. Modern Stage form suited:
_____________________________________________________
b. Explanation: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

4. Heneral Luna (John Arcilla)

a. Modern Stage form suited:
_____________________________________________________
b. Explanation: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

B. ASSESSMENT
Directions: Analyze the Classic and Modern stage, personify them and make them into
the persons who appeared in front of you.
• What if the Classic and Modern stage were two different persons, what life-like
qualities will you give them, based on the characteristics you learned?
• What will be the following attributes of Classic and Modern stage in terms of:
 1. Personality
2. Likes
3. Dislikes
4. Fashion Choice
5. Facial features and Physical built

Give us an exact image of how you portray them and reasons why you did so. Get
creative: you can add some indigenous materials to your work, you can draw, you can
create a collage, you can do a graphic drawing, or cut-out different images and merge
them into one! Be guided with the rubric found on the next page in making your output.

RUBRIC FOR SCORING

PERSONIFIED 3 2
QUALITIES OF Well-observed
CLASSIC AND
MODERN STAGE
PERSONALITY The personality of the
Classic and Modern Stage
personified images
excellently showed the
uniqueness of one from
the other.
LIKES The likes presented by the
Classic and Modern stage
personified images clearly
presented the advantages
of one stage form from the
other.
DISLIKES The dislikes presented by
the Classic and Modern
stage personified images
clearly presented the
disadvantages of one stage
form from the other
FASHION The personified images of
CHOICE the Classic and Modern
stage clearly showed the
specific details in terms of
decoration and
1 0
Observed Almost Observed Not
Observed
The personality of The personality of the Not
the Classic and Classic and Modern Stage Observed
Modern Stage personified images
personified images somehow showed the
showed the uniqueness of one from the
uniqueness of one other.
from the other
The likes presented he likes presented by the Not
by the Classic and Classic and Modern stage Observed
Modern stage personified images
personified images somehow presented the
presented the advantages of one stage
advantages of one form from the other
stage form from the
other
The dislikes The dislikes presented by Not
presented by the the Classic and Modern Observed
Classic and Modern stage personified images
stage personified somehow presented the
images presented disadvantages of one stage
the disadvantages form from the other
of one stage form
from the other
The personified The personified images of Not
images of the the Classic and Modern Observed
Classic and Modern stage somehow showed the
stage showed the specific details in terms of
specific details in decoration and arrangement
 arrangement of elements.
FACIAL The facial features and
FEATURES AND physical built of the Classic
PHYSICAL BUILT and Modern stage
personified images
exceptionally added to the
presentation and analysis
of the two theater stages
terms of decoration of elements.
and arrangement of
elements
The facial features The facial features and Not
and physical built of physical built of the Classic Observed
the Classic and and Modern stage
Modern stage personified images
personified images somehow added to the
added to the presentation and analysis of
presentation and the two theater stages
analysis of the two
theater stages.

V. REFLECTION/COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS
1. Which part of the lesson helped you to understand the concept well?
______________________________________________________________
2. What difficulty/difficulties did you encounter that you need further explanation from your
teacher? ______________________________________________________________

IV. REFERENCES

Electronic Sources

Gimore, M. (2016). Stage Vocabulary and Stage Types for Tech Students. Retrieved from
slideplayer.com: https://slideplayer.com/slide/8654678/

Hildy, F. J. (2018, November 28). Theatre design. Retrieved August 2020, from Encyclopædia Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/art/theatre-design

Books

LETHBRIDGE, S., & MILDORF, J. (n.d.). Basics of English Studies:An introductory course for students of
literary studies in English. Universities of Tübingen, Stuttgart and Freiburg. Retrieved from
https://www2.anglistik.unifreiburg.de/intranet/englishbasics/PDF/Drama.pdf

Morley, D. (2007). The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing. New York: Cambridge University
Press.