All the World’s a Stage: How Keystone Grade 11 Students Dive into the World of Drama
The camera begins to roll. A student dressed in full Peking Opera costume steps into frame, face expertly covered in red makeup, long robe descending to the ground. While this appears to be the beginning of an operatic show, instead, the student begins explaining to the camera about their hours of meticulous practice perfecting techniques as subtle as hand gestures, voice projection, or even walking along the stage. For Keystone Grade 11 theatre students, this is part of their Research Project on a world theatre tradition of their choosing. This deep-diving project encourages students to dive into the world of drama, exploring how diverse styles and characters from all around the world are brought to the stage, and eventually mastering one piece of a specific tradition they are passionate about.
The students were filming videos recapping the research project that they will send to the IB. This was only part of the larger Research Project that they have been working on this year and focused on one specific part of the body or prop used in each tradition that the students practiced mastering. “Traditionally, people mastered these styles for their entire life, for your entire career, you work with a master and learn everything,” explains Keystone Drama Teacher Mr. Joel Godiah. While the students may not have time to master the entire tradition, their focus on one small aspect of it goes a long way in improving their understanding of world theatre and the culture behind it.
The students’ choices of theatre traditions reflected their own interests and passions. Three of the five students, Tony Shao, Tony He, and Yoyo He, chose to keep their research close to home, choosing characters from Peking Opera. A theatrical tradition dating back hundreds of years, Peking Opera has now become an important national art practiced all over the country and the world. Each character, such as female roles “Dan” and male roles “Sheng”, has their own personality and traits, demonstrated in their makeup, movements, and voice. This unique blend of music and acting has elevated Peking Opera to be an important representation of Chinese theatre, making it a fantastic choice for students to research.
In addition to learning more about an important cultural tradition, students that chose to explore Peking Opera benefitted from Keystone’s location in the capital city. While studying the intricate hand movements, steps, and props necessary to portray the classic roles of Peking Opera, the students could also get firsthand training. Tony He visited a center in downtown Beijing, studying the walk of a Sheng character from a Peking Opera master. The students practiced exercises to help them perfect their performance, training just like the professionals. They recapped this intense learning process in their short video summaries.
Studying Peking Opera wasn’t the only way to learn from a master. Rosie Yu, who chose Cantonese Opera for its unique role of a powerful female general (Dao Ma Dan), also visited a center where she trained to use the horsewhip that is synonymous with the role. Performing the role in full costume and with the large prop is quite difficult to perfect, but through intense training Rosie could work on her weaknesses and develop new strengths on the stage.
Researching Chinese theatrical traditions makes for great inspiration for the young performers, but this year’s group included theatre from all over the world. Amber Yuan chose to focus on Elizabethan theater, specifically Shakespeare’s role of Macbeth. Instead of focusing on movements and gestures, her topic of research looked at the importance of iambic pentameter and overtone of enunciation within one of Macbeth’s famous monologues. Although focused more on voice, this role still required hours upon hours of practice to perfect the vocal projection and tone needed for the monologue. It also offered a look into a completely different tradition in the wide world of theatre.
Two other students chose to focus on traditions on opposite sides of the world. David Eze dove into classical Noh theatre from Japan, and Paul Roiland explored the comedic world of French Farce. The fascinating diversity entwined with these projects made it the perfect experience for students at Keystone, a New World School rooted in China. More than a way to master their own skills, the Research Project helps connect students with the rich cultures and traditions entwined with the performing arts. Mr. Godiah sums up the importance of the project, stating, “by learning a particular world theatre tradition, you get insight into that society’s culture and how they live. It influences you and helps you to become more open-minded in understanding and appreciating other people’s cultures.” This blending of intercultural understanding with practical theatre techniques gives students a new way to appreciate theatre and the world.
