TIM BOWLER’S
Starseeker
based on the novel by Tim Bowler
Adapted by Phil Porter
Scheme of work
and teaching resources
Paul Bunyan and Ruth Moore
01865
0
1865 88
888118
8118
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© Pearson Education Limited 2008
First published 2008
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library on request.
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Acknowledgements
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. Any
omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publishers.
Drawing by Kay Dixey of ‘Mrs Little’s house’, first appearing in NATE Drama Pack, Starseeker
(2005), by permission of the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE),
www.nate.org.uk.
Extract from Starseeker by Tim Bowler (OUP 2003) Copyright © Tim Bowler 2002. Reprinted by
permission of Oxford University Press.
The authors and publisher would like to thank Robert Day for permission to reproduce
photographs.
Hotlinks
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could be considered offensive, we have made the links available on our website at
www.heinemann.co.uk/hotlinks <http://www.heinemann.co.uk/hotlinks> . When you access the
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Contents
Introduction
iv
Activities
1:
Sounds and images
1
2:
Introducing a character
2
3a:
Setting a context and introducing sounds
3
3b: Developing the context and introducing text
4
4:
Exploring the character of Mrs Little
5
5:
Introducing and investigating the play
6
6:
Exploring tension – sculpting the scene and the characters
8
7:
Luke’s conscience
10
8:
Further exploration of the text
11
9:
Placing the text – unpacking the past
13
10:
Talking techniques
15
11:
Exploring the adaptation process – from novel to script
18
12a: Placing the writer and the reader
20
12b: Placing the playwright
22
12c: Placing the director
23
12d: Does the writer have a role in the script and the performance?
25
13:
Characters’ ghosts
26
14:
Choosing life
30
15:
Dramatic Hypertexts – creating a physical website
31
16:
How music and images bring together the beginning and end of the play
33
Resources
35
Glossary
44
Photographs
46
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iii
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Using Drama to develop an analytical approach to
the play, Starseeker
Introduction
Teaching and learning in this guide
The activities and approaches outlined below show how, through drama, students come to a greater
understanding of the textual features and dramatic structures in Starseeker. They explore the writing
process, style and writer’s technique as well as the thematic, content-based issues and ideas. Students
develop their analytical skills as well as the capacity to apply this critical thinking to other texts, ideas
or issues.
The participatory nature of the activities, and the critical thinking developed, demand that students
explore and respond to the play both in relation to its staging and performance, as well as in relation
to the original Tim Bowler novel from which it has been adapted. Exploring and analysing the
adaptation process allows students to examine the decisions, techniques and imagination required to
move them from prose to script and from page to stage.
In the same way that pupils learn to analyse media productions through the creation of their own
media products, their analysis of scripts and performances is developed through the use of role
and drama conventions. Creating, developing and sustaining roles, and the practical exploration
of how gesture, sound, language, direction and structure affect the audience’s understanding,
encourage pupils to read for meaning. They come to see scripts not as written texts but as plans
for performance where actors, directors and performance elements have an effect on meaning.
NATE Drama Packs introduction
Activities and approaches
The activities comprising the scheme of work described here are included at the back of the student
book. It is intended that, rather than working independently, students will collaborate in pairs and
groups throughout under the guidance of the teacher. It is important that students are aware of their
own learning process and understand the aims and objectives of each session. The student book
addresses the students directly. Each activity begins by listing the learning outcomes so that the
students are conscious of the skills they are trying to develop and can see the ‘bigger picture’. The
teacher should share and discuss this with them and refer to it throughout the work. Each activity
concludes with questions to encourage the students to evaluate their own learning and appraise the
development of their skills. Teachers can choose to approach these questions through class discussion,
pair or group work or written responses, as appropriate. Recording the teacher’s and students’ thinking
will help to inform the work and written responses as they develop.
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iv
Helping pupils see the ‘bigger picture’
As teachers, we are acutely aware of where we are leading pupils and the intended end result
of our teaching, but how often do we convey these intentions to our pupils? This understanding
of the ‘bigger picture’ is important for all pupils… It is helpful to be able to see the ‘bigger
picture’ into which their current learning fits and to be able to locate the current lesson in the
scheme of work.
Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools,
Unit 4 Lesson design for inclusion (DfES, 2004)
Teaching and learning commentary
The various approaches to texts, from the use of drama conventions to the more formal essay writing,
should complement each other so that the students (and the teacher) can make clear links between
them. The practical work leads to a more detailed analysis and understanding of the play and the
adaptation process. The written work is very much informed by the earlier practical work and analysis.
The ‘Role on the Spectrum’, described in Activity 4, can be used throughout the work to record
student ideas and teacher/student thinking and responses. This provides a useful prompt and recap
tool at the beginning of a session as well as providing a valuable resource for written responses to
the text.
Resources
Supplied
Not supplied
The play of Starseeker
Projector
Spectrum image
CD player
House illustration
Plain paper and pens
Extract from the novel of Starseeker
The novel of Starseeker
Original music for use as the piece composed
by Luke
Photographs of the performance
at the Royal and Derngate Theatre
Glossary of terms used in the scheme of work
Planning
The planned scheme of work offered here provides a structure which enables students to build their
learning and understanding. Using activities or conventions in isolation would not allow for the indepth approach to learning that is required. A structured and layered approach, which is carefully
planned by the teacher and understood by the students, is needed therefore to ensure progression
and the development of high-level skills. Time, space, resources and equipment will need to be well
managed.
When teachers and students become confident with the approach, more detailed planning takes
place where additional scenes, themes and techniques are explored in a similar way. The students are
then able to become more independent in their own learning and can plan their own approach to the
text, selecting their own scenes and identifying the learning outcomes that are required. The scheme
of work should therefore be seen as a structured framework, which students can add to, adapt and
develop. Although the approaches are related to specific scenes and aspects of the play, the
conventions and techniques can clearly be used in relation to other aspects of the play and/or other
texts.
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v
Preparing for performance
From the initial planning to the final staging and performance of the play, the activities described can
become an important part of the performance process. Observing actors in the group activities will
often provide more information about their potential as performers and their understanding of
character, techniques and approach than a formal audition.
Using the scheme of work as part of the process from rehearsal and development through to
performance:
• develops understanding of drama conventions and staging
• enables detailed analysis of the ways in which action, character, atmosphere and tension are
conveyed.
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vi
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1
The music composed as part of the play is to be used
throughout the activities to provide a specific link with the
sights and sounds created.
Keep the ideas as wide-ranging as possible at this stage to
allow the students to develop their own responses.
You might need to model this first by suggesting to the
students how they might interpret the text.
After a couple of minutes stop the students and ask them to
show you their Still Images by counting them down from five to
one and then saying ‘Freeze’. Once they have all frozen, ask
them to sharpen the pictures to show the tension/ideas that
exist.
2 Ask the class to read out all the words around the circle, thinking carefully about what they mean. Play
the music (composed by Luke and his father) throughout the reading and continue it once the reading
has stopped.
3 Discuss as a class what they think the lines suggest about the character who says them and why they
might be important when studying the play.
4 Explain that in groups of three or four they need to think carefully about the opening lines and music
that they have listened to and present a Still Image that they feel best illustrates their response to the
text and music. The Still Image may be symbolic, using just shapes and heights, or realistic by
presenting frozen characters.
5 Ask the students, in their groups, to choose a colour that they would associate with their Still Image and
select a ribbon closest to the colour they have chosen. Explain that they are to incorporate the ribbon
into their Still Image, thinking carefully about whether it should be wrapped around particular people,
laid randomly on the floor or used to circle the group.
Sometimes, I hear a sound.
I hear a lot of sounds,
But sometimes...
Like a humming sound.
Like machinery in a basement.
Or sometimes like a roar.
Or sometimes just a murmur,
Like the water on the weir.
Introducing the text in this way gives the students some
ownership over it and encourages them to think about a key
aspect of the play. You will need to have an understanding of
what synaesthesia is and, at an appropriate stage later in the
activities, share this with the students.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• develop their understanding of image, sound and colour in
the play
• question the ideas introduced at the beginning of the play
• develop the use of space.
Students will:
Activity 1: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p96–97
1 Ask the students to sit in a large circle. Give each student a card showing a word (or words) from the
opening lines of the play (page 7).
Activities and approaches
Activity 1: Sounds and images
Starseeker Scheme of Work
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2
You will want them to consider the significance of the objects.
If the students are unfamiliar with the term ‘symbolism’, then it
would be useful to introduce it here by talking about what the
objects might represent symbolically as well as discussing how
they might provide clues to a character’s life.
You might need to model this first by showing the students
how you would decide to link an object with a colour.
Again, you might need to model this first to show how the
phrases can be completed and the objects and ribbons used
effectively.
2 Discuss as a class why these objects might be kept in a box and what they might tell us about the person
who owns the box. What have they just witnessed?
3 Ask the students, in pairs, to choose one of the objects from the centre of the circle and decide what
colour they would associate with it. This might be in terms of how the owner felt at the time or the
atmosphere that is created by it. They select a ribbon closest to the colour they have chosen.
4 Sit in the centre of the circle with the box. Explain to students that you will be in role as the character
again. Ask the students to bring the objects out to you; and as they do so, a pair at a time, they need to
complete the following two lines:
Explain that they will also bring one end of the ribbon out with the object, leaving the other end of the
ribbon in the circle where they were sat. Music will be played while everyone in the circle completes
this task.
She remembers …
I see the colour … because …
The objects become significant as the work on the play
continues.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• investigate a character and question the significance of her
possessions
• develop their understanding of colour and its significance in
the play
• develop their understanding of symbolism and props in the
play
• listen to, organise and present ideas.
Students will:
Activity 2: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p97–98
1 Ask the students to sit in a large circle. You are seated in the centre of the circle with a box. In role,
gradually take the items out of the box, one by one. Music will be played while everyone watches how
you, in role as the character, react to the objects. As they are watching you, the students will think about
the significance the objects might have.
Activities and approaches
Activity 2: Introducing a character
Starseeker Scheme of Work
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7 After a few minutes, stop the activity and ask the students to explain what they were ‘shown’ as they
made their way through the garden of the house. Ask for feedback from a variety of pairs so that a
description of the place is fed back to you.
6 After a couple of minutes ask the students to ‘Freeze’. They should stop quickly and keep very still and
silent in their positions.
5 As the pairs walk around, play appropriate music to develop the atmosphere.
4 Before they begin the Guided Tour, provide a few seconds of narration about the place, using information
the students gave you when looking at the picture. Student As now imagine that they know the place
well. Using the details in the picture, Student A takes their partner (Student B) on a ‘Guided Tour’,
describing and commenting on the things around them. Student Bs keep their eyes closed and allow
themselves to be guided around, listening to the description and asking appropriate questions where
necessary.
3 Divide the students into pairs and explain that students will be involved in a Guided Tour. Ask them to
decide which student is A and which is B.
• What sort of place is it?
• What atmosphere is created by it?
2 Ask the students to identify what they see in the picture. Once they have described what they actually
see, ask them to interpret the picture:
1 Sit the students down in front of the projected image of the house.
Activities and approaches
introducing sounds
Activity 3a: Setting a context and
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Teaching and learning outcomes
analyse a picture
investigate, in role, the context and setting of the play
describe and explain accurately
listen to and select information.
You might want to give specific prompts here, by asking what
sounds they heard or what smells they remember, as well as
getting them to describe specific aspects of the landscape.
An understanding of the context setting process and the use of
music is being developed, which can then be transferred to an
analysis of the staging of the play.
As the students lead each other, they explore the environment
in their imagination and begin to develop their roles. At the
same time they explore the space of the classroom and their
collaborative relationship.
It is important that students analyse the details of the picture
first. Hold them back from interpretation until they have
analysed the picture, then allow them to move to a narrativedriven approach.
•
•
•
•
Students will:
Activity 3a: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p99–100
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4
A grey light picks out Mrs Little, an old and peculiar-looking woman, standing by a high window, looking
out. She is holding a box. The box has a black velvet exterior, thick silver beading on its lid and a brocade
tassel. From somewhere behind Mrs Little comes the sound of a girl crying. The sound is not piercing or
harrowing, just a sad and steady, heartfelt cry. Cradling the box with great tenderness, Mrs Little lifts its
lid and looks inside. She has seen its contents many times before. To look at them brings both pain and
relief. The light on Mrs Little becomes hotter and the girl’s cry becomes just slightly more urgent. Mrs
Little closes her eyes for a moment. She opens her eyes and closes the box gently. The light and the
crying fade away.
6 Move round the room again and as you tap a student on the shoulder they stop speaking and freeze.
Once the room has become silent, you read (page 8):
5 Shout ‘Freeze’ and, while the students remain completely still and quiet, explain that they are to think
carefully about the description they have given and heard. Explain that as a pair, they need to decide on
an important word or phrase that they think best describes the atmosphere in the garden or a particular
feature in it. When you tap them on the shoulder they are to begin repeating the word or phrase in such
a way that creates a particular sound effect. They need to think about whether they are to say it slowly
or quickly, loudly or in a whisper, or in a varied tone. After providing the students with a few seconds to
discuss what they are going to do, ask them to freeze again. Walk around the room, tapping people on
the shoulder. As you do so, they begin to say the words or phrases until a complete soundscape has
been created with everyone saying the words and phrases.
4 While they continue the Guided Tour, play music.
3 Tell the students that when they hear you say the word ‘Freeze’, they must stop exactly where they are,
stay completely still, and listen to what is said.
2 Before the students begin, narrate information about the landscape and their ‘Tours’, using information
and ideas from the feedback you have just received in Activity 3a.
1 Set the students off on the Guided Tour again, this time reversing their roles so that the Bs imagine that
they know the place and the As are seeing it for the first time.
Activities and approaches
introducing text
Activity 3b: Developing the context and
Starseeker Scheme of Work
While you are reading the extract, it would be helpful to project
the text onto a screen. This allows the students to focus on
what is being said.
It might be appropriate to ask one pair to demonstrate their
use of a sound to establish how the process can be developed.
Otherwise ensure the first pair you select is one that will model
the approach effectively.
The music helps to develop the context further and allows the
students to be completely focused on the Guided Tour.
By using narration you are able to bring their ideas together
and move the students towards the ‘real’ context of the play.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• further investigate the context and setting of the play
• describe and explain accurately
• listen to and think carefully about the text.
Students will:
Activity 3b: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p100–102
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By encouraging the students to identify specific words, you are
asking them to think about the particular words and the effect
they can have as well considering how colour can be used
symbolically.
This Role on the Spectrum will be referred to throughout the
work by adding words and discussing previous choices at
different stages in the play. Responses, ideas and comments
about the play as a whole, can also be recorded on the image,
in the same way that is described above. This provides a useful
prompt and recap tool at the beginning of each session and a
valuable resource for written responses to the text. You will
need to decide at the most appropriate points to return to the
Role on the Spectrum throughout the work.
2 Project a large image of the spectrum or have a large picture that the students are able to see. Adapt the
Role on the Wall convention to explore the character of Mrs Little on the spectrum. To do this, you need
to ask the students to identify from the extract what they know and choose a word that they feel best
describes her. Write the word on a piece of card and give it to the student. They then place the selected
word on to the spectrum, thinking carefully about where they might place the word according to the
colour beneath it.
3 Return to this Role on the Spectrum throughout the scheme of work by adding words and discussing
previous choices at different stages in the play. You might also want the students to record their
responses, ideas and comments about the play as a whole, on the image, in the same way that is
described above.
Teaching and learning outcomes
investigate the characters of Mrs Little
select appropriate information
organise and present ideas
analyse the way that colour has different meanings.
If you ask a student to read the extract, it is important that you
choose the appropriate student so that modelling of the
reading continues.
•
•
•
•
Students will:
Activity 4: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p102–103
1 Gather the students together in a semi-circle and re-read the extract that you used at the end of Activity
3b.
Activities and approaches
Little
Activity 4: Exploring the character of Mrs
Starseeker Scheme of Work
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Extract 1: pages 8–9, stage instruction before line 24 to line 35
from
Luke stands at the bottom of the drainpipe …
to
SKIN
… I reckon she keeps it there––
Extract 2: page 9, lines 36–43
from
DAZ
Obsessed with that box …
to
SKIN
… She’ll be back soon. (pause) Oi!
Extract 3: pages 9–10, stage instruction after line 43 to stage instruction on page 10
from
The sound of crying remains …
to
… She begins to cry again as he runs down the stairs.
Extract 4: pages 10–11, stage instruction on page 10 to line 57
from
Luke is now climbing a large oak tree…
to
SKIN
… You got to face us soon enough, Lukey Boy!
Extract 5: page 11, lines 60–63
from
SKIN
Shut up, Daz.
to
LUKE
All right, Skin?
Extract 6: pages 11–12, stage direction after line 63 to line 72
from
Luke thinks about making a run for it but Daz is behind him.
to
DAZ
Whether you like it or not.
Extract 7: page 12, lines 73–79
from
SKIN
We’re meeting tomorrow morning …
to
SKIN
Just as soon as I’ve taught you a lesson in respect.
1 Divide the class into small groups of between three to five students and give each group an extract from
Act One, Scene 1 (From page 8 ‘Luke stands at the bottom...’ to page 12 Skin – ‘Just as soon as I’ve
taught you a lesson in respect’)
Activities and approaches
the play
Activity 5: Introducing and Investigating
Starseeker Scheme of Work
By exploring these extracts, the students begin to select and
sort the relevant information. They also begin to take a real
interest in the material and want to know more. By Action
Reading the extracts, they have to consider some of the initial
issues that directors and actors need to address.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• develop the use of space, facial expression, gesture and
tone
• investigate and analyse the script
• question critically the ideas and issues introduced at this
stage of the play.
Students will:
Activity 5: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p104–107
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4 Ask the students to choose the most significant sentence from the extract they have been working on
and present this as a Still Image. Stand between two of the characters and ask the class to try to
describe the space between the characters. They might suggest various alternatives – the space of
hatred, fear, or loyalty.
c This continues with all the groups producing their Digital Video Clip until all groups have shown their
pieces.
b The first group unfreezes, adds the action and then freezes again. When they freeze, the next group
knows that they can begin.
a All the groups freeze in their initial Still Image.
3 Produce this as Rolling Theatre. Use music to guide the students.
They begin with a Still Image followed by an Action Reading of the script and then Freeze at the end in a
final Still Image. To do this the students will need to investigate the script and search for clues about the
characters, story and setting.
2 Ask the students to produce a short Digital Video Clip of this extract.
Activities and approaches (Activity 5 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
It is important that when you are asking them to describe the
space that you actually stand in the space you are referring to.
This enables the students to understand the physical
significance of this activity and allows them to think of more
complex words and ideas.
You will need to explain the process to the students,
emphasising the need for them to remain in their frozen
positions. Explain that when they are not presenting their
Digital Video Clip, they can become a Spectactor. This means
that while their bodies remain frozen in the Still Image, their
heads can turn to follow the action so that they can see and
hear the work of the other groups. They should remain in their
places, in order for all the groups to freeze in their final Still
Image at the end.
After a couple of minutes stop the students and ask them to
show you their first Still Images by counting them down from
five to one and then saying ‘Freeze’. Once they have all frozen,
ask them to sharpen the pictures to show the tension that
exists. This approach can be repeated later to get them to
develop their final Still Images.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p104–107
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c Then ask the students what they think the characters would say next. The individual students go and
stand by the character that they think they can speak for.
b Re-read the extract, at the end of which the student will speak the next line.
a The characters remain frozen, while the student who has suggested the next line goes to stand
behind the character they will speak for.
5 Ask the students which of the two characters would speak next and what they would say.
As he does so, Mrs Little appears behind him. She has a stick in one hand and a cordless phone in the other.
4 Choose another member of the class to take the role of Mrs Little. She is sculpted into the scene and
freezes while you re-read:
As he does so, Mrs Little appears behind him. She has a stick in one hand and a cordless phone in the other.
3 Choose a student to take the role of Luke. Ask the students to Sculpt the character into the scene at this
point. Emphasise that they will need to consider his frozen position, facial expression and gestures.
Encourage the other students to adjust the positions until a final sculpture is agreed. The students
freeze as you read (page 29):
He moves silently across to it and picks it up.
2 Props from Mrs Little’s dressing table are laid randomly on a table. Ask the students to place the props
on another table exactly as they think they would be placed on Mrs Little’s dressing table. This
designated drama space in front of the table and the projected extract will become the ‘set’ in which the
drama takes place. Read (page 29):
Luke stands at the bottom of the drainpipe that runs down the side of Mrs Little’s house … Luke sees the
box on the other side of the room.
1 Read the following extract from Scene 6 (pages 27–29):
Activities and approaches
scene and the characters
Activity 6: Exploring tension – sculpting the
Starseeker Scheme of Work
This activity needs to remain tightly structured. Work through
the process in stages so that the students fully understand the
technique and recognise what is expected of them.
The students may have different ideas about how the
characters should be placed. By physically moving the
characters until the group is happy with the positioning, the
students are visualising their thoughts, discussing the
possibilities and, therefore, beginning to explore the text,
characters and ideas in detail.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• explore the relationship between characters in the play
• explore the tension created
• use their understanding of the play so far to approach the
activity with skill and integrity
• demonstrate an understanding of the drama process.
Students will:
Activity 6: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p107–109
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6 The scene is frozen again, after you have explained that one by one the people behind the sculpted
characters will continue the scene by speaking for the characters. Using Communal Voice continue the
conversation between Luke and Mrs Little. What will Mrs Little decide to do? At an appropriate point, the
voices can be stripped away and the two characters continue the conversation until you freeze the
action.
Activities and approaches (Activity 6 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
You do not need to work out any order for students to speak in.
They will establish the order themselves by using the silences.
Explain that they can speak more than once. This is an effective
way of allowing the students to recognise the importance of
silence and the discipline of the drama process. Remind the
students that there will be silences at times and that they
should not talk until they are standing behind one of the
Sculpted characters.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p107–109
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(to Luke. Cold) Please come back.
LITTLE
to
It is important that before you begin, the students are given an
opportunity to talk to the students around them to discuss
what the thoughts might be and rehearse what they are going
to say.
You might need to provide them with some examples.
Speaking negatively they might say, ‘I can’t help her, why
should I? Skin would kill me if he knew I’d spoken to her’. Or,
speaking positively, they might say, ‘My Dad would want me to
help her but what can I possibly do to help?’.
4 As you become level with the students, they will speak your (Luke’s) thoughts, thinking carefully about
the text they have just explored and what they feel are the character’s motivations. They should speak in
first person to narrate his thoughts.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• continue to explore and analyse the tension in the play
• make reasoned judgements and organise and present their
ideas
• investigate and analyse the text to identify the character’s
thoughts and motivation.
Students will:
Activity 7: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p109–111
3 You will adopt the role of Luke. As he walks down in between the two lines, he will hear his conscience
speaking to him. One line of students will speak the negative thoughts of Luke as he struggles against
the branches to reach his decision. The other line of students will speak his positive thoughts as the
branches help him to climb towards a positive solution.
3 Ask the students to stand in two parallel lines, facing each other down the length of the room,
representing the branches that Luke has to climb to get to his space where he can make a decision. You
will stand in between these lines at one end of the room looking down the lines towards the projected
tree. The Conscience Alley convention will be used to explore Luke’s conscience at this point.
2 Project the image of the tree and ask the students to stand facing it.
I’ve been hearing a lot about you and your gang.
LITTLE
from
1 Gather the students into a large semi-circle. Read the following extract from Act One, Scene 6 when
Mrs Little asks for Luke’s help (lines 47–94, pages 30–32):
Activities and approaches
Activity 7: Luke’s conscience
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
11
Extract 6: (2 characters) pages 36–38, line 1 to stage instructions after line 63:
from
LUKE
Miranda?
to
… but she soon relaxes and plays the piece well.
Extract 5: (3 characters) pages 32–34, lines 95–126:
from
SKIN
So? What happened?
to
SKIN
… And playing the piano.
Extract 4: (4 characters) pages 25–27, Scene 5 stage instructions to line 25:
from
A laptop computer glows invitingly
to
LUKE
… Why won’t you speak to me? (Pause) Send.
Extract 3: (2 characters) pages 23–25, lines 10–57:
from
HARDING
The isle is full of noises.
to
HARDING
The isle is full of noises.
Extract 2: (2 characters) pages 20–22, lines 72–132:
from
MIRANDA
What happened to your face?
to
LUKE
What is it?
Extract 1: (2 characters) pages 14–16, lines 34–79:
from
MUM
What’s happening to you?
to
MUM
… Or is it because he isn’t Dad?
1 Divide the class into small groups of between three to five students and give each group an extract from
the play (see extracts 1–10 below).
Activities and approaches
Activity 8: Further exploration of the text
Starseeker Scheme of Work
These extracts, and the activities that follow, have been
deliberately chosen to explore the importance of the star in the
play and the significance of music. Depending on the size of
the class you might need to cut some of the extracts. If you do
so, you might need to explain the narrative content before
moving on to the remaining activities in this scheme of work.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• develop the use of space, language, facial expression and
gesture
• investigate and analyse the script, selecting relevant
information to explore the significance of the star in the play
• analyse and question critically others’ performances
• deduce and predict what events and themes are important
in the play.
Students will:
Activity 8: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p111–113
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
12
c This continues with all the groups producing their Digital Video Clip until all groups have shown their
pieces and end-punctuated their scenes with the Still Images and note(s).
b The first group creates the note(s) on the instrument and unfreezes, adds the performance, freezes
again and then creates the note(s) that accompanies the final Still Image. When they freeze and the
note(s) is/are heard, the next group knows that they can begin.
a All the groups freeze in their initial Still Image.
4 Produce this as Rolling Theatre:
3 Ask the students to produce a short Digital Video Clip of this extract. They begin with a Still Image
followed by an Action Reading of the script and then Freeze at the end in a final Still Image. Explain that
the Still Images at the beginning and end of the Digital Video Clips should be accompanied by note(s)
produced on the instrument. Each group will need to think carefully about what atmosphere will be
created by the note(s) they create at the beginning and the note(s) they create at the end. How might
they change?
2 Give each group a simple musical instrument, such as a xylophone.
Extract 10: (2 characters) pages 61–63, lines 2–69:
from
LUKE
I can hear sounds. Everywhere.
to
HARDING
And the gateway to another world.
Extract 9: (2 characters) pages 55–57, lines 36–87:
from
LUKE
How do you know about the sounds I can hear?
to
MUM
Completely. It’s just you and me now.
Extract 8: (2 characters) pages 45–47, lines 35–93:
from
LITTLE
Natalie has a learning disability.
to
LITTLE
Anything. Anything you like.
Extract 7: (3 characters) pages 40–42, lines 18–62:
from
MUM
I’ve never stopped loving your dad.
to
LUKE
I don’t think so, Skin.
Activities and approaches (Activity 8 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
As with Activity 5, you will need to explain the process to the
students, emphasising the need for them to remain in their
frozen positions. Explain that when they are not presenting
their Digital Video Clip, they can become a Spectactor. This
means that while their bodies remain frozen in the Still Image,
their heads can turn to follow the action so that they can see
and hear the work of the other groups. They should remain in
their places, in order for all the groups to freeze in their final
Still Image at the end.
You might need to model how simple notes can be created to
suggest a particular atmosphere.
It is useful if the same instrument is given to each group so
that the comparison is between different notes and effects,
rather than different instruments used.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p111–113
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
13
… he walks across to the box and opens it.
to
6 The drama continues, stopping at every piece of text while different students read them out, until all the
written pieces have been included. Use music to introduce and to close the sequence.
b As he comes across each piece of text, he looks at the text and freeze. The student/s who has
produced the text reads it out from the identical copy they have retained.
a Once all the pieces of text have been placed, the sculpted character gradually comes to life and turns
to, looks at, or open the pieces of text.
5 When the students have completed the pieces of text, set up the sculpted character again and ask the
students one by one to place one copy of their text where they think it would be found in the scene.
4 Ask the students to work in pairs to create a piece of text that could appear in any of the places in the
scene. It is important that they create two identical versions of this piece of text.
3 Hold a blank piece of paper up in various positions within the scene and ask the students what they
think would be on the piece of paper. Depending on where the piece of paper is positioned, they should
make different suggestions as to what may appear on it. For example, if it is placed in the box, the
students might say it is a newspaper article about Barley. If it is placed in one of Luke’s pockets or
screwed up at his feet, they should suggest something different, such as a letter from Luke’s father or a
diary entry.
He takes out a framed photograph and studies it. He puts the photograph down and takes out a letter.
2 Ask the students to form a large circle. Using the space within the circle, they should Sculpt Luke into
the scene at this point in the play. Read:
The effect of the music on Natalie is almost hypnotic.
from
1 As a whole class, Sculpt the scene in Mrs Little’s bedroom, described in Act Two, Scene 6 and read:
Activities and approaches
unpacking the past
Activity 9: Placing the text –
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Teaching and learning outcomes
write for a specific audience, with a specific purpose
select appropriate information from the text
explore the themes and tensions in the play
organise and present their ideas appropriately.
If several pieces of text have been placed in the same place the
sculpted character could read out the first line of the text,
before they freeze, to indicate to the students which piece of
text they are revealing.
Give the students time to decide how they will read their piece
of text. What tone and pace will they use? Will they read it
together or individually? What tension or atmosphere do they
want to create and how will they do this?
The technique of adding text to the drama (Placing the Text)
can be used in many different situations. It helps the students
to develop the drama at the same time as they are having to
think about the language, style and format needed for specific
pieces of text with specific audiences in mind. It is also a
useful way for students to ‘place’ texts within an historical or
social context, as they have to think carefully about these
aspects.
•
•
•
•
Students will:
Activity 9: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p114–116
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
14
… Squadron Leader James P Hutchinson.
HUTCHINS
to
LUKE
(reads from the bracelet) ‘Barley may Roberts.’
Luke puts the letter on the table. He sees something else in the box – an
identity bracelet.
to
from
LUKE
Natalie …
He opens his eyes and opens the laptop.
9 Carefully place all the items back into the box. Move out of the circle and read (pages 68–69, stage
instruction after line 3 to line 18) :
to
from
8 Ask the students to form a large circle. Sit in the centre of the circle with the box and the items laid out
next to it. Read (page 67, stage instruction after line 63 to line 64):
Dear Mrs Little, it is with regret…
HUTCHINS
from
7 When all the pieces of text have been read, Luke unfolds the original piece of paper/letter and you read
(from page 67, lines 50–63):
Activities and approaches (Activity 9 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
It is important that you create a moment of revelation as you
read this extract. Build up the tension by thinking carefully
about the way in which you place the items back in the box. By
moving out of the circle, the students should focus on the box
and the bracelet rather than your reading of the text.
You will need to pick the bracelet out of the box and look at it
carefully as you read the extract.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p114–116
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
15
2 Ask the students to choose who will be taking on the roles of the characters in the extracts. Explain that
in addition to the characters, one person will represent the playwright and another person will represent
the audience.
Extract 6: (3 characters) pages 70–71, lines 57–75:
from
MRS R
Are you still there?
to
MR R
Just tell us what to do.
Extract 5: (3 characters) pages 69–70, stage instructions after line 20 to line 56:
from
Luke picks up the phone and dials ...
to
LUKE
Stop it, I’m trying to help!
Extract 4: (2 characters) pages 64–65, stage instructions before line 13 to stage instructions after line 32:
from
Luke is walking over the bridge ...
to
Luke finishes gathering his sheet music and continues on his way to Mrs
Little’s house.
Extract 3: (2 characters) pages 58–60, lines 1–43:
from
NATALIE
Trees
to
LUKE
… An amazing five-pointed star.
Extract 2: (2 characters) pages 53–55, Scene 3 stage instructions to line 35:
from
The kitchen. Mum is sitting at the table …
to
MUM
… You even hear the same sounds.
Extract 1: (2 characters) pages 50–51, stage instructions before line 24 to line 67:
from
The graveyard. Luke sits by his dad’s headstone …
to
MIRANDA
I’m fine.
1 Divide the class into small groups of between four to six students and give each group an extract from
the play (see extracts 1–6 below).
Activities and approaches
Activity 10: Talking techniques
Starseeker Scheme of Work
The size of the groups selected will need to ensure that they
are the right size for the number of characters as well as the
playwright and audience.
The extracts have been chosen deliberately to enable the
students to explore particular techniques used by the
playwright to control the audience’s understanding and
feelings.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• investigate and analyse the playwright’s techniques
• analyse and question the audience’s response
• develop the use of space, language and movement.
Students will:
Activity 10: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p116–119
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
16
4 This process will continue, with each group freezing the Action Reading four times and adding the
playwright’s and audience’s commentary until the extract is complete.
The student representing the audience will then step forward and respond by completing the phrase:
‘As the audience the effect on me was…’ (See diagram on page 17 of these resources)
As the group ‘Action Reads’ the extract, the playwright stands at one side of the action and the person
representing the audience at the other side. When the action is frozen, the student representing the
playwright will step forward and complete the phrase: ‘As playwright I have deliberately …’
3 Ask the students to produce an Action Reading of their extract, but this time they will freeze the action at
four significant points. To do this they will need to identify four key points where the playwright has
used a specific technique to control the understanding and/or emotions of the audience.
Activities and approaches (Activity 10 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
You will need to model the process for the students before
they begin working on the extracts. Use one group to
demonstrate the process by adding the comments from the
playwright and audience, as illustrated in the diagram on
page 17.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p116–119
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
17
As the audience I
want to know more
about Natalie’s
past. The
atmosphere seems
tense.
As the audience I
begin to suspect that
there is more to the
past than Mrs Little
has said.
Do you know my name, Natalie?
Funny ears.
Oh, is that my name? I thought my name was Luke.
She’d be more likely to remember if you didn’t leave it
so long between visits.
I was here yesterday morning.
It was yesterday afternoon she needed you. She was all
right for a couple of hours after you went, but then the
crying started. It took all day to calm her down.
(Pause.) If I make some tea, will you stay to drink it this
time?
LUKE:
NATALIE:
LUKE:
NATALIE:
LUKE:
NATALIE:
What else can you remember from before the accident?
(Pause.) Can you remember where you lived? The
name of the village?
Can you remember your second name? Or if you had
any brothers or sisters? (Pause.) No? (Pause.) Shall I
play some more?
LUKE:
Hey, it’s all right, it’s okay, I’m not going anywhere.
We can keep talking if you like.
Luke moves to play the piano but Natalie clings tight to him and squeals.
LUKE:
He sits with her on the floor.
LUKE:
Mrs Little goes. Luke turns away from the piano.
Freeze
I have told her it but I don’t suppose she took it in.
NATALIE:
Thanks.
Does she know my name?
LUKE:
LUKE:
Some things, yes. But I don’t know how much.
NATALIE:
Freeze
So she can remember things she’s seen, from before
the accident?
LUKE:
The actors Action Read
the extracts, freezing at
different points.
Activities and approaches (Activity 10 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
As director I deliberately
have Luke questioning
Natalie to increase the
tension.
As director I deliberately
hint at the events to come
by showing Natalie is
aware of things in the
past.
Starseeker
p116–119
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
18
They will need time to explore the extract, prepare their
arguments and consider the role they have to adopt at the
meeting.
You will need to chair the meeting by provoking responses and
arguments and encouraging people to speak either individually
or on behalf of a group.
3 A Meetings convention is to be used to discuss the issues involved. You will adopt the role of the Finance
Director and will chair the meeting. Ask the students to use the extract and the information gained to
provide arguments that they will put to the meeting.
4 Arrange the seating to suggest the space where the meeting will take place. In role as the Finance
Director begin the meeting and explain the purpose of the gathering,
‘Thank you for attending the meeting today. As you know we are exploring the possibility of taking on a
new adaptation of the novel Starseeker to be performed at the theatre next year. You will also be aware
that the theatre is under great financial pressure at the moment. I need to be convinced that such a
project would draw in large audiences and be able to cover its costs. It goes without saying that we also
need to maintain the reputation of the theatre for staging high quality productions.’
Having printed titles of the different roles available will enable
you to provide them with a reminder of the collective role they
are to take.
This extract has been chosen deliberately as it contains high
levels of tension and explores the dilemma that Luke faces.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• analyse the decisions and techniques used during the
adaptation process
• select, organise and present relevant information and ideas
in script and performance
• develop analytical skills and explore the writers’ intentions
• consider the difficulties in staging a scene.
Students will:
Activity 11: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p120–121
2 Divide the class into small groups of between four to five students. Give each group the collective role of
one of the following: the playwright, novelist, director, teacher or Theatre Publicity Manager. Explain that
in their groups, they are to use the extract and the information gained throughout the work so far to
provide arguments as to whether they feel the novel is suitable for adaptation. What aspects of the story
do they think will be particularly successful and why? Do they foresee any difficulties? Explain that they
will present these ideas to the Finance Director at a theatre.
Mrs Little’s relief at the sight of him was obvious the moment she opened the front door
[…] ‘I’m taking you home, Barley,’ he said.
1 As a class, sit in a semi-circle facing the large projected text. Read the following projected extract from
Chapter 26 of the novel:
Activities and approaches
process – from novel to script
Activity 11: Exploring the adaptation
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
19
Remind the students that they will need to listen carefully to
the views of others and decide how they can best present their
case.
This activity does not require a detailed knowledge of the
novel. Students have to use the extract and their knowledge of
the script to think about what considerations need to be made
when adapting teenage fiction and what difficulties might be
faced when adapting a scene such as the one they are to focus
on. The activity is not just about exploring the adaptation
process, but is about understanding the sort of issues and
ideas that have to be considered.
6 Remaining in role as the Finance Director, draw the meeting to a close.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p120–121
5 Using the Meetings Convention, ask the students to contribute their ideas and arguments, using the
evidence they have found, both from the activities on the script and the extract from the novel.
Activities and approaches (Activity 11 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
20
‘I expect Natalie could do with something and I certainly could’ […] ‘Anything’ll do. Cup of tea, hot
chocolate, whatever.’
3 Ask for a volunteer or choose other students for the roles of Luke and Natalie. The characters are
Sculpted into the scene and all the characters freeze while you read the following extract from the novel:
2 Choose a student to be in role as Mrs Little. Ask the students to Sculpt her into the position they believe
she will be in, using the space inside the circle. Other students may question this positioning and will resculpt Mrs Little into a position of their choosing.
‘You’ve obviously got the magic touch’ […] ‘Because she’s not yours,’ he wanted to shout back at her.
‘Because she’s missing her parents and her friends. Because she can’t see’ […] But all he said was:
‘Mrs Little, could you make us something to drink?’
He carried her over to the window, both of them still humming, and stopped there for a moment,
staring out over the garden towards the forest; then he turned back into the room. Mrs Little was still
standing there, her face a mixture of relief and envy.
1 Ask the class to sit in a large circle. Return to the extract from the novel. Luke is intending to take Natalie
away from Mrs Little’s house.
Activities and approaches
reader
Activity 12a: Placing the writer and the
Starseeker Scheme of Work
When sculpting Mrs Little and Luke, encourage the students to
sculpt them in a way that expresses the emotion, tension and
relationship.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• analyse authorial intention and techniques and explore the
role of the reader and empathy in the text
• select and present evidence from the text to justify their
comments
• listen with discrimination, weigh viewpoints and question
critically.
Students will:
Activity 12a: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p122–124
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
21
c Discuss the positioning of the reader as a class. Ask other students whether they agree with this
positioning and get them to move the reader to the place they feel is best. Encourage the students to
justify their choice with evidence from the text.
b Ask students to justify their choices.
a Ask the students to Place the Reader in the picture where they think s/he should be. The students
might use various criteria for this, including the reader’s distance from certain characters, the
empathy felt, the events, and the reader’s understanding of a particular idea.
5 Ask for a volunteer or choose another student to be the ‘reader’.
c Discuss the positioning as a class. Ask other students whether they agree with this positioning and
get them to move the writer to where they feel he is best placed. Encourage the students to justify
their choice with evidence from the text.
b Ask the students to justify their choices, using evidence from the text to support their ideas.
a Ask the students to Place the Writer in the picture where they think he should be. The students might
use various criteria for this, including the writer’s distance from certain characters, the empathy
created, the events, the writer’s intention and what control the narrator has.
4 Ask for a volunteer or choose another student to take the role of the ‘writer’ (Tim Bowler).
Activities and approaches (Activity 12a cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
The moving and positioning of the writer and reader enables
the students to visualise their ideas and helps them to discuss
complex authorial techniques. High-level reading skills are
being developed, together with the ability to select and
present evidence.
By physically Placing the Writer and/or Reader, the students
question the style, language and authorial control as well as
discussing what the reader brings with them to the story. Such
work has a direct effect on their ability to write about this and
use evidence from the text to back up their ideas. You will be
aware that the writer is not being placed as a character in the
narrative.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p122–124
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
22
Anything will do. Cup of tea, hot chocolate, whatever.
LUKE
to
d Choose a student to represent the ‘audience’. The audience can now be placed in the same way.
Discuss the difference between placing the reader and placing the audience. Is there any? Discuss
with the class what this might tell us about the adaptation process.
c Discuss whether this differs from the position of the writer placed earlier (in Activity 12a). Why?
b The students should justify their choice, giving evidence from the text to support their ideas. Discuss
the positioning as a class. Ask other students whether they agree with this positioning and get them
to move the playwright to where they feel he is best placed. Encourage the students to justify their
choice with evidence from the text.
a Ask the students to Place the Playwright in the frozen scene where they think he should be.
4 Choose another student to be the ‘playwright’ (Phil Porter).
3 Discuss with the students the difficulty in taking the journey from script to stage. How would the director
seeing the script for the first time know what is meant by Luke asking for a drink? How does the director
know how Luke should ask the question, without having read and understood the novel? What does this
say about the adaptation process? Is it the playwright or the director/actors who make the decisions
about positioning, facial expressions, and gestures? Does the playwright include many stage
instructions?
2 Ask the students to form a large circle. Using the space within the circle, they should again Sculpt the
characters into the scene at this point in the play.
I didn’t expect you until late this afternoon …
LITTLE
from
1 Read the extract from the same scene as the novel extract (Act Two, Scene 8, lines 1–20, pages 71–72):
Activities and approaches
Activity 12b: Placing the playwright
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Ask the students if there are any aspects of the script that they
would have wanted to be done differently? Ask them to explain
their comments by using evidence from the texts and by
referring to the activities that they have completed.
By physically Placing the Playwright, the students question the
different roles, aims, intentions and purposes of this writer and
the ways in which plays differ from novels. Such work has a
direct effect on their ability to write about the adaptation
process and use evidence from the texts to back up their ideas.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• analyse the adaptation process and discuss the complex
decisions that are involved
• analyse the playwright’s intention and techniques and
explore the role of the audience in the play
• make decisions and select evidence to support their
decisions and ideas.
Students will:
Activity 12b: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p124–126
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
23
In any play, I must consider as a director who our sympathies lie with, who our protagonist is. In this
play, it is obviously Luke. In the adaptation process, Phil Porter and I made a very clear decision to make
sure that the play, like the novel, reflected clearly the idea that this is Luke’s journey. The challenge in
translating this journey to the stage was to make sure that we felt at times like we could read Luke’s
mind, as we didn’t have the benefit of the interior monologue that you get in the novel. In a way, this is a
challenge for directors of any play, as it is crucial to understand the importance of subtext. The most
important things in life are often not being said, they lie beneath the trivial things that we are talking
about, and the fascinating thing about being a director is to really try get to the bottom of what people
really mean when they are saying something else. In this particular scene, when Luke asks for a drink,
he obviously doesn’t really want one. He is trying to make Mrs Little leave the room for long enough so
that he can explain to Barley what is happening and physically carry her out of the house without being
caught by Mrs Little. We need to see the tension in Luke and almost hear all the things that he wishes
3 Read the comments by Dani Parr, the NR&D director, about how she directed this scene:
c Discuss whether this differs from the position of the playwright placed earlier (in Activity 12b). Why?
b The students should justify their choice, giving evidence from the text to support their ideas. Discuss
the positioning as a class. Ask other students whether they agree with this positioning and get them
to move the director to where they feel she is best placed. Encourage the students to justify their
choice with evidence from the text.
a Ask the students to Place the director in the frozen scene where they think she should be, using
similar criteria to placing the playwright/writer.
2 Choose another student to be the ‘director’ (Dani Parr – Director of the Northampton Royal & Derngate
production).
1 Return to the previously sculpted images of Luke, Natalie and Mrs Little in Act Two, Scene 8
Activities and approaches
Activity 12c: Placing the director
Starseeker Scheme of Work
The comments provided by Dani Parr can be used in a number
of different activities. They provide a very effective resource
when exploring how the staging of a play takes place.
Exploring the director’s comments enables the students to
consider the different roles of playwright and director during
the performance process. It also enables the class to consider
the issues involved in presenting the scene on stage and the
difficulties that might arise from this.
By physically Placing the Director, the students question the
different roles, aims, intentions and purposes of this role and
the ways in which plays differ from novels. Such work has a
direct effect on their ability to write about the adaptation and
production processes and use evidence from the texts to back
up their ideas.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• analyse the director’s role in developing the play and
discuss the complex decisions that are involved
• analyse the director’s intention and techniques and explore
the changes that are made
• make decisions and select evidence to support your
decisions and ideas.
Students will:
Activity 12c: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p126–129
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
24
4 As a class, discuss whether the position of the ‘director’ now changes? Why?
In terms of blocking this particular scene, we felt that Barley should be physically near the piano as
much as possible, and we removed the front panel of the piano so that she could crawl in to the space
where the piano stool would normally be, and her cries then resonated into the piano and the strings,
giving her voice an eerie quality. The piano was downstage and so when Luke came into the room, he
physically pulled her to him on the floor and held her to him, whilst humming ‘Reverie’ to her, a symbol
of her old life. This presented a picture which clearly outlined where sympathies should lie: Mrs Little
hovering upstage centre by the door deciding whether to leave her with him or not. When she left,
Michael Moore who played Luke ran to the door to check she really had gone to the kitchen and then
picked Barley up and left really quickly. The speed of this section really contrasted with the slow tension
of the temporary stand-off between Luke and Mrs Little. I think the way that Eve, Michael and Tamsin
played this scene really showed clearly the mix of emotions: the relief from Mrs Little that the crying has
stopped, but the jealousy of being shut out of this little unit. Tamsin would show how much Barley
needed Luke by really clinging to him like she was drowning and would clearly show that she trusted
him enough to not be upset when he took her out of the house.
he could say to Mrs Little in the silences. We also need to believe that he is really scared but trying his
best not to be. In this moment, we also concentrated on Eve Dallas (who played Mrs Little) heightening
her air of suspicion. She senses something is up with Luke and as an audience, I wanted us to think that
she might catch him out at any point, and like the scene when he is looking into the box earlier on, this
adds to our tension and makes the play feel like more of a thriller, which was always our aim. We made
sure that whenever Luke and Mrs Little were talking to each other in any scene, there was the feeling
that they were asking ‘Can I trust you? Who are you really? What do you know?’ whatever they were
actually saying. We also wanted there to be a feeling of mutual need from both of them so that we felt
we understood why they didn’t just give up on this difficult relationship.
Activities and approaches (Activity 12c cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Starseeker
p126–129
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
25
Provide examples of other adaptations, including those of ‘true
stories’, to add to the discussion.
Discuss with the students what the actors or director might
gain from taking part in similar activities? Ask them who they
found most difficult to position? Why?
2 Discuss whether the other students agree with the positioning. Throughout the discussion, other
students should demonstrate the position they feel is most appropriate by moving and placing the
‘writer’ and justifying their choices. Discuss what this might tell us about the adaptation process. Would
this be the case with all adaptations?
Teaching and learning outcomes
• use their understanding of the adaptation process of
Starseeker to think critically about the role of the writers in
other adaptations
• analyse the relationship between writer, scriptwriter and
director and the differences/similarities between the role of
the reader and that of the audience
• make decisions and select evidence to support their
decisions and ideas.
Students will:
Activity 12d: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p129–130
1 Return to the Sculpted scene from the play described in Activities 12b and 12c, which includes the
playwright, the director and the audience. The student, who represented the ‘writer’ (Tim Bowler) earlier
(in Activity 12a), should stand at the side of the frozen scene. Ask the students whether Tim Bowler, the
writer, should be placed into the sculpted scene and, if so, where? Does the original writer remain part of
the text? Are they left outside the scene? Are they near to the playwright or director or do they have a
different perspective? Ask them to position the ‘writer’ where they feel it is most appropriate for them to
be.
Activities and approaches
the script and performance?
Activity 12d: Does the writer have a role in
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
26
Use the composed piece of music to accompany the Rolling
Theatre.
Ask, now that they have seen these scenes, do they have any
different response to the question above about why the scenes
have been included.
3 Discuss the purpose of adding these scenes to the play. In what ways does Luke’s dad both inspire and
haunt him?
Discuss with the class why the playwright chose to include the
additional scenes with Luke’s Dad.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• investigate and analyse the text to identify what influences
the character’s thoughts and motivation
• explore the tensions in the play
• organise and present their ideas.
Students will:
Activity 13: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p130–135
2 Ask the students to produce a short Digital Video Clip of this extract and, as a class, produce the Digital
Video Clips as Rolling Theatre (see Activity 5).
Extract 5 (2 characters) Act Two, Scene 11; page 88:
from
Miranda goes. Luke turns to look at the tree.
to
LUKE
Dad?!
Extract 4 (2 characters) Act Two, Scene 10; pages 83–84:
from
Luke sits at the piano.
to
… and yet at the same time he is Luke’s imagination.
Extract 3 (3 characters) Act Two, Scene 2; pages 52–53:
from
Luke’s bedroom. He is exhausted.
to
Dad is plunged into darkness. Pause.
Extract 2 (2 characters) Act One, Scene 7; pages 35–36:
from
The humming sound returns. Luke approaches a gravestone.
to
The sounds fade away.
Extract 1 (2 characters) Act One, Scene 5; page 27:
from
Quite suddenly somewhere else in the house, someone begins to play the piano.
to
Luke slams the piano shut.
1 Explain to the class that one of the techniques the playwright has used in adapting the novel has been
the introduction of Luke’s dad’s ghost. Divide the class into small groups of between three to five
students and give each group an extract from the play, which includes the ghost (see extracts 1–5
below).
Activities and approaches
Activity 13: Characters’ ghosts
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
27
Extract 2 – (2 characters) page 61, lines 9–28:
from
LUKE
Mum told me Dad heard the same things.
to
HARDING
… You hear the sounds I never will.
Mr Harding:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 23–24, lines 10–21:
from
HARDING
The isle is full of noises.
to
HARDING
… Let it help you—
Extract 4 – (2 characters) pages 88–89, lines 35–41:
from
MIRANDA
Luke? Are you all right?
to
LUKE
I know.
Extract 3 – (2 characters) pages 86–87, lines 5–26:
from
MIRANDA
Luke, where are you going?
to
LUKE
Sorry.
Extract 2 – (2 characters) page 21, lines 114–118:
from
MIRANDA
That would be great …
to
MIRANDA
... Instead of all this other stuff.
Miranda:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 20–21, lines 84–109:
from
MIRANDA
Can you help me with something?
to
LUKE
No problem.
Extract 2 – (2 characters) page 83, lines 36–45:
from
MUM
That was Roger he got your message …
to
LUKE
I always said he was a nice bloke.
Roger:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) page 13, lines 15–22:
from
ROGER
You’re back late...
to
ROGER
Of you, I—
4 Ask the students to work in the same groups. Give each group a character and short extracts that relate
to the character (see extracts below). Ask the students to discuss in their groups, what haunts and
inspires their character. Ask the groups to produce a short Digital Video Clip, similar to the ones that
include Luke’s Dad to show the character’s own ‘ghost’.
Activities and approaches (Activity 13 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Sufficient time needs to be given for the students to explore
the extracts and discuss what haunts and inspires the
characters.
You might need to model this for the students so that they
understand that the characters aren’t haunted by people but
by fears and events. For example, you might suggest that
Miranda is haunted by her lack of confidence and inspired by
Luke’s talent.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p130–135
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Extract 2 – (2 characters) page 74, lines 56–70:
from
LUKE
Are you all right?
to
LUKE
… And they’re going to look after you again.
Natalie
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 59–60, stage instruction after line 33 to line 43:
from
Natalie hums the first six notes of ‘Rêverie’
to
LUKE
… An amazing five-pointed star.
Extract 2 – (2 characters) pages 55–56, lines 32–55:
from
MUM
Your dad use to do that.
to
MUM
… he thought they might leave him.
Mum:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 40–41, lines 18–41:
from
MUM
I’ve never stopped loving your dad.
to
MUM
... If that’s what made me happy.
Extract 3 – (2 characters) page 85, lines 21–39:
from
LITTLE
… All I ever wanted, apart from Bill, was a child.
to
LITTLE
… I was meant to find her.
Extract 2 – (2 characters) page 47, lines 84–91:
from
LUKE
Why have you got a piano if you can’t play?
to
LITTLE
… For my granddaughter.
Mrs Little:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 45–46, lines 49–73:
from
LITTLE
Ever since the crash ...
to
LUKE
I don’t.
Activities and approaches (Activity 13 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Starseeker
p130–135
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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7 Ask the ghosts to discuss with each other how they haunt and inspire the people they are connected to.
Their task is to discover what similarities and differences they have. The rest of the class listen carefully
to the ghosts’ counsel and think about how the ideas have been integrated into the script.
6 Ask the students who were in role as the ghosts, to move into a circle in the middle of the room, as they
are about to hold a ghosts’ counsel. The rest of the class forms a larger circle around them.
5 Explain that instead of the Digital Video Clips being presented as Rolling Theatre, they are to use a
slightly different technique. The first group comes to life, adds the action and then freezes again. When
they have frozen in their final image, the character whose ghost is being presented steps out of the Still
Image. They step forward and explain what the ghost is and what haunts and inspires them. They then
step back into the Still Image and the next group knows that they can begin. This continues with all the
groups producing their Digital Video Clip and spoken hypertext until all groups have shown their pieces.
Extract 2 – (3 characters) pages 70–71, lines 59–74:
from
MRS R
You have to understand …
to
MRS R
‘Rêverie’.
Barley’s Parents:
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 68–69, lines 6–20:
from
MRS R
We haven’t seen our beautiful daughter …
to
MRS R
… call the number below.
Extract 3 – (2 characters) page 83, lines 46–48:
from
LUKE
Who called the ambulance?
to
MUM
… It seems like he had an attack of conscience.
Extract 2 – (2 characters) pages 76–77, lines 103–118:
from
DAZ
I reckon he’s learnt his lesson.
to
DAZ
But do we have to?
Daz
Extract 1 – (2 characters) pages 64–65, lines 13–22:
from
DAZ
See. I told you he wouldn’t be here.
to
SKIN
He’s like a little worm, he keeps slipping through my fingers—
Activities and approaches (Activity 13 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Allow the conversation between the ghosts to continue without
intervention. Then, discuss with the class how the playwright
might have developed these ideas within the play.
You might need to demonstrate this process with one group
first before beginning the activity. Explain that the process of
the ghost, stepping forward to give an explanation, echoes the
nature of a hypertext (as if someone has clicked on the
image/screen as a hypertext to find out more information
about what haunts and inspires the characters).
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p130–135
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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I’m ready to live.
4 Conclude the activity by reading the next line:
Pause at the end of each line allowing the group representing that character to say its speech. This will
continue until all the characters in the extract have spoken.
I think of Mum
And Miranda…
3 Adopt the role of Luke and stand in the middle of the room with the identified character groups around
you. Read the extract again:
2 Divide the class into small groups of three or four students. Allocate the name of one character
mentioned in this speech to each group. Explain that, drawing on their knowledge of the character’s
relationship with Luke in the play, they are to develop the speech that Luke might hear to help him
decide whether to choose life. Explain that they need to decide who will say what and how the speech is
said.
I’m falling.
But at the same time going up…
And I think of Dad.
1 As a class, sit in a semi-circle facing the large projected text. Read the following projected extract from
the play (Act Two, Scene 8, lines 163–181, pages 80–81):
Activities and approaches
Activity 14: Choosing life
Starseeker Scheme of Work
• make reasoned judgements and organise and present their
ideas
• investigate and analyse the text to identify the character’s
thoughts and motivation
• continue to explore and analyse the tension in the play.
Students will:
Activity 14: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p135–136
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
31
The most effective way to do this is to project the website
pages so that they can be discussed by the whole class. Point
out specific features and explain how the hypertexts work. To
see the National Theatre’s Coram Boy website, go to
www.heinemann.co.uk/hotlinks and insert the express
code 3433T.
You will probably need to have explained what synaesthesia is
earlier on in the scheme of work; but if you have not, it is
important that they have this information now. Go to
www.heinemann.co.uk/hotlinks and insert the express code
3433T to see websites we recommend.
By this stage, the students should be able to select their own
drama conventions that they feel will be appropriate to the
task. Remind them that a number of conventions are described
in the script.
Explain to the students that this will represent the electronic
link between the main page and their own webpage. The colour
they choose will therefore be significant in the way it ‘links’ to
the page’s subject.
As with Activity 13, you will need to explain how the activity
echoes the structure of a website. Explain that the groups subpages/hypertexts are to provide additional information (not
included on the main page). The physical representation of this
echoes the process of someone clicking on the image/screen
as a hypertext to find out more information.
2 Divide the class into groups of three or four students and give each group a particular page of the
website to work on. One group will be given the main page and all other groups will have pages that are
linked to the main page through a specific hypertext. These hypertexts might include ‘Adapting the
play’, ‘Staging the play’, ‘Synaesthesia’, ‘Key themes and ideas’, and ‘Key scenes’. Each ‘hypertext’
group will be given its hypertext title on a large piece of paper. If you have not already explored what
synaesthesia is, explain its meaning.
3 Ask each group to produce a physical representation of the webpage. Explain that they will need to think
carefully about what dramatic techniques they might use to provide different aspects of the page such
as text, Still Images, interviews, discussions and extracts from the performance. The glossary at the back
of the book might help them to do this.
4 Ask each group to select a ribbon that would be best suited to represent the link between the main page
and the page they are working on.
5 Ask the group who have been allocated the main page to place themselves in the middle of the room.
This ‘main page’ group will, within the space they are using, have all the hypertext titles and the ribbons
collected in from the other groups. All the other ‘hypertext’ groups will be positioned around the ‘main
page’ group. (See the diagram below.) These ‘hypertext’ groups need to freeze in the Still Image that
would be seen when first visiting the page.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• explore the links that are established throughout the play
• use their understanding gained from all the other activities
to approach the last activity critically and with integrity
• consider what synaesthesia is and how it affects Luke
• demonstrate an understanding of the drama process.
Students will:
Activity 15: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p137–139
1 Discuss as a class how emails and websites have been used as theatrical devices throughout the play.
Show the students some of the pages from the National Theatre website which was used to support a
production of the play Coram Boy. Explain that, as a class, they are aiming to produce a physical
representation of a website like this to support a production of Starseeker.
Activities and approaches
creating a physical website
Activity 15: Dramatic Hypertexts –
Starseeker Scheme of Work
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Staging
Themes
Adapting
Key scenes
6 The ‘main page’ group in the centre comes to life and presents the physical representation of the Main
Page. At appropriate points, when a hypertext title is mentioned, someone from the ‘main page’ group
picks up one end of the ribbon and takes it to the relevant ‘hypertext’ group. This ‘hypertext’ group then
brings its page to life. When they have finished, the ribbon is taken back to the Main Page. This
continues until all aspects of the production website are covered. At the end, all the groups freeze in
their initial Images.
Title of the
hypertext –
linked to the
group by the
ribbon
Main Page – group
Activities and approaches (Activity 15 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
This activity needs to be carefully structured. It might be useful
to model the first part of it with the main page and the first
hypertext so that the students are clear about the process. You
can then allow the activity to run throughout the main page
and hypertext-linked other pages.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p137–139
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
33
Luke plays the previously unfinished piece that he composed with his dad in Act Two, Scene 10.
So without further ado, it’s with no small measure of pride that I give to you Luke Stanton
playing a piece by ...?
Stanton.
Stanton, and which Stanton is that?
Both.
5 Ask the groups to create a Still Image which defines their current response to the text and music. Would
they use the same colour ribbon or introduce a new one? Ask them to write down on a large sheet of
paper a significant word or phrase from the work they have been doing. It can be taken from the script or
be a response or idea that was developed from the activities. Ask them to place it in front of their Still
Image. They then need to consider how the words or phrase might be said while holding the second Still
Image. What tone or volume might they use?
4 Ask the students to work in the same groups that they were in for Activity 1 and reproduce the Still
Image, which they created at the start of the work in response to the text and music, selecting and
placing the ribbon again.
3 Play the music used in Activity 1 (The composed piece).
LUKE
HARDING
LUKE
HARDING
2 Ask the class to read out all the words around the circle, thinking carefully about what they now mean.
Read the end of the play:
1 For this last activity, you will need to project the extract from the beginning of the play (see Activity 1).
Ensure that everyone in the class is seated in a large semi-circle facing the projected text and has with
them the word they were given at the beginning of the work on the play (See Activity 1).
Activities and approaches
together the beginning and end of the play
Activity 16: How music and images bring
Starseeker Scheme of Work
Ensure that they have enough time to discuss how the phrases
are to be said before you begin the activity.
Explain that it is important that they replicate the image
exactly and do not attempt to change it.
This is most effective if the music is played immediately after
the reading ends.
If you have not studied other aspects of the play, you might
want to provide the students with some additional information
or explore more of the play before approaching the final
activity.
Before you begin this final activity, ask the students to look
back at all the headings to the activities they have done so far.
This would also be a good opportunity to discuss all the ideas,
comments and quotations collected on the Spectrum,
throughout the work.
Teaching and learning outcomes
• explore the links made between the beginning and end of
the play
• analyse the significance of the journeys the characters have
made throughout the play
• use their understanding gained from all the other activities to
approach the ending of the play critically and with integrity
• consider the significance of sound and sight in the play
• demonstrate an understanding of the drama process.
Students will:
Activity 16: Learning Outcomes
Starseeker
p139–141
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
34
6 All the groups will hold their first Still Image. The first group will then gradually merge from their first
Still Image into the second Still Image. As they do so, they move or add the ribbons as appropriate, and
speak the word or phrase. Once they have finished, the next group will know they can begin; holding the
first Image for a few seconds, merging into the second Image and speaking the words. This process will
continue until all the groups have merged from one Image to the other. Play the music throughout.
Activities and approaches (Activity 16 cont.)
Starseeker Scheme of Work
The work developed here can provide a foundation for a more
detailed study of the play or the adaptation process.
This draws the work to a conclusion, but in doing so prompts
further discussion and activities related to the ‘texts’. Written
work, discussion or further drama activities can, therefore,
follow on from this. Starseeker can be used alongside other
texts and/or plays and films to develop comparative skills.
Teaching and learning outcomes
Starseeker
p139–141
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
35
Starseeker Scheme of Work
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
36
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
37
Mrs Little’s relief at the sight of him was obvious the moment she
opened the front door. ‘Thank God you’re here,’ she said. ‘I didn’t expect
to see you till tonight and she’s in a terrible state again. Have you
truanted?’
But she didn’t wait for an answer. She simply turned and led the way
towards the sitting room. He followed, his hands twitching at his sides.
The little girl was curled up on the sofa, still in her nightie, but she wasn’t
screaming this time. She was snuffling and moaning, her face a pool of
tears. Luke stopped on the threshold and looked down at her, reminding
himself that he had to call her Natalie; then he glanced at the old woman.
She, too, looked in a dreadful state. If the girl was suffering, so was she.
He wondered again what part Mrs Little had played in all this; and what
losing Barley would do to her. But that what not his concern right now.
The little girl was his concern; and he had to concentrate. He had to do
this right. If the old woman started to suspect anything, there was no
telling what might happen.
‘Hi, Natalie!’ he said brightly.
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The little girl stopped moaning at once and turned her head towards
the door.
‘Hi, kid!’ he said. He walked over, bent down by the sofa and took one
of her hands in his. Over by the door he sensed Mrs Little watching
intently, but he kept his eyes on the girl. ‘Natalie?’ he said softly.
‘Remember me?’
She sniffed and reached out her free hand to his face, then traced a
path with her fingers round the side of his head to his left ear; and then
she giggled. He laughed, too.
‘Funny ears,’ he said. ‘Just like yours.’ He reached out and gently flicked
the lobe of her left ear. She giggled again. He started to hum ‘Reverie’,
and her manner changed at once. From being upset to being playful, she
now became still. Utterly still. But her eyes were shedding tears again. He
squeezed her hand, just a little, and felt a tiny pressure back from hers.
She lay there, curled up before him, and he watched her, thinking as he
did so of the broken vision and broken memories that had engulfed her;
and of Mrs Little standing near, the key to whatever it was that had
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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happened here; and of the two anxious people driving from the motorway,
praying that their nightmare would soon end.
He slid his arms under Barley’s body and pulled her gently to him. She
did not resist. She even turned slightly towards him, as though she
wanted to be held. Still humming the tune, he pulled her close until he
was holding her against his chest, then he carefully stood up. Once again
he was struck by how easy it was to carry her. She was as light as air. It
was like carrying a spirit. She was humming, too, now, well out of tune as
before, but clearly thinking of the music her mother had played to her
when she was in the womb. He carried her over to the window, both of
them still humming, and stopped there for a moment, staring out over the
garden towards the forest; then he turned back into the room. Mrs Little
was still standing there, watching, her face a mixture of relief and envy.
‘You’ve obviously got the magic touch,’ she said somewhat grudgingly.
Then she gave a sigh. ‘I just don’t understand it. Natalie was fine for most
of the night. She slept right through after you left. But then she woke up
around half past five this morning and started all this moaning and
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
40
weeping. I just couldn’t make her stop. I don’t know why she’s become
like this.’
Because she’s not yours, he wanted to shout back at her. Because she’s
missing her parents and her friends. Because she can’t see. Because she
doesn’t live here. Because she’s unhappy and confused. Because she
keeps remembering the music her mother played to her. And because she
can’t express herself and tell you all this.
But all he said was: ‘Mrs Little, could you make us something to drink? I
expect Natalie could do with something and I certainly could,’
‘I’ll get you some orange juice.’
‘Something hot would be nicer.’
She looked at him warily. He tried to keep his own gaze steady as he
spoke again.
‘Anything’ll do. Cup of tea, hot chocolate, whatever.’
It was a harmless enough request, he knew. Harmless and normal. So
why was the old woman watching him in that suspicious way? Had his
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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voice or his manner betrayed something? Then she shrugged. ‘I’ll make
some hot chocolate. Natalie likes that.’
‘Great. Sugar for me, please.’
She gave him another wary look and he started to worry that his efforts
to sound normal were having the opposite effect. To avoid her eyes, he
turned back to Barley, dipped his head close and rubbed noses with her.
She gave a little giggle and he did it again, then started to hum the tune
once more.
Mrs Little didn’t go.
He felt the tension inside him grow. Why wouldn’t she leave the room?
Why was she staring at him like that? Then she spoke. ‘How many
spoonfuls?’
‘What?’
‘I told you,’ she said sharply. ‘I don’t like it when you say “what”.’
‘Sorry–pardon?’
‘How many spoonfuls of sugar do you want?
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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‘Oh, two. Please. Thanks very much.’
And he went on humming as he carried Barley round the room. Mrs
Little stared at him a while longer, then, to his relief, she turned off and
set off down the hall. He watched her walk away. He watched her enter
the kitchen. He waited to see if she would close the door. She did not.
From where she was standing, she could see right down the hall into the
sitting room. But she had taken the kettle and in a moment would be
facing the other way to fill it at the sink. He looked down at Barley,
clinging to him as though she never wanted to let him go; he thought of
her parents, only a few miles away; he thought of his father; he thought of
the music running through all their lives. Barley was silent now and he
was glad, for this was the moment. The old woman had turned towards
the sink. She was bending over the tap. It had to be now. There might not
be another chance. He tiptoed out of the sitting room, holding Barley
close to his chest, then turned and, without looking towards the kitchen,
made his way as softly as he could towards the front door. No voice called
after him; no footsteps sounded in the hall. He pulled the front door
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Extract from STARSEEKER by Tim Bowler (OUP 2003) Copyright © Tim Bowler 2002. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press.
towards him, glad that he had thought to leave it ajar when he came in so
that it wouldn’t click now; then, not closing it behind him, he stole out
through the gate and down the track towards the forest. As he entered the
trees, Barley opened her eyes wide and stared up so brightly he almost
felt she could see again. A shaft of sunlight broke through the canopy and
lit her face. He pulled the identity bracelet from his pocket and fastened it
round her wrist, then leaned down and kissed her on the brow.
‘I’m taking you home, Barley,’ he said.
Glossary
Action Reading students, in role, walk through a scene, speaking lines and adding gestures and
movements, while reading from scripts
Communal Voice individual members of the group take up positions, one at a time, behind a
sculpted character and speak the words that the character says at a chosen moment in the drama
Conscience Alley the group is divided into two lines facing each other. A student (or teacher) in
role as a character in the drama walks between the two lines as individuals speak out what is in
the character’s conscience. Each line might represent opposing perspectives
Digital Video Clip a short, repeatable dramatic sequence is ‘bookended’ with a Still Image at the
start and a Still Image at the end
Dramatic Hypertexts This convention, inspired by hotlinks on a website, allows groups of
participants to represent dramatically the information gathered on a website to support their
understanding of a text or production of a play. Small groups produce a physical representation
of a webpage. One group is the main page or homepage and the other groups are the hypertexts
or webpages that are linked to the homepage. Each of the webpages can be activated when
triggered by the group representing the homepage
Ghosts Hypertext This convention, inspired by hotlinks on a website, deliberately interrupts a
narrative to provide hidden information such as an insight into a character’s motivations. While a
small group drama is taking place, the action is frozen to allow one of the characters in the
group to step out of the scene and describe to an audience how another character or situation in
their drama haunts or inspires them
Guided Tour in pairs, A (with eyes open) leads B (with eyes closed) slowly through an imaginary
environment while providing a spoken commentary. The environment or location may be based
on text but will usually be stimulated by a printed or projected map or ‘bird’s-eye’ picture. Roles
can be reversed to enable all participants to share the experience
Meeting Convention a group is gathered together in role to receive new information, agree
actions or solve problems. The meeting may be chaired by a teacher or student in role, or may
deliberately have no identified leader
Placing the Audience/Reader a similar process to Placing the Author but here a student or
teacher represents the presence and/or perspective of the audience or reader at a defined
moment in the drama
Placing the Author/Writer in order to help students to appreciate an author’s perspective, a
student or teacher represents the presence, at a defined moment in the drama, of the author
Placing the Text participants create two identical paper copies of a text that could be found in a
defined space in the drama. One copy is placed in the appropriate place; the other is retained by
its authors. When a student/teacher in role picks up, points to or unfolds a placed text, the
authors of that text read its contents out loud, providing an insight into a key character’s world
Role on the Spectrum to help define character traits at particular moments in drama, a colour
spectrum is placed in front of the participants. Students place words about a character onto the
colour spectrum, thinking carefully about the colour on which they place each word
Rolling Theatre groups can share their work on different aspects of a drama, learning from each
other by running several rehearsed sections in a sequence
Sculpting participants offer suggestions while placing an individual in a significant, frozen position
so that considered analysis can take place
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
44
Spectactor performers in a drama session can follow the action with their eyes and heads when
the focus is not directly upon them
Still Image a Still Image is created by participants in the drama standing motionless, often at a
given sign by the teacher or as a result of being sculpted by other students into the frozen
image. This convention is used to mark a significant moment or enable time for reflection
Talking Techniques Small groups Action Read extracts from a play, freezing the action at
significant points to allow a student representing the playwright to reveal his/her intentions and a
student representing the audience to reveal what they feel at that moment
Voices of Reason an expanded version of the convention
Conscience Alley, where collectively students create a reasoned argument by interrupting a text to
inform a character’s decision
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© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Luke and his mum
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Luke in his bedroom and Luke's dad playing the piano
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Luke and Natalie/Barley
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Skin, Luke and Daz
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Mrs Little and Natalie/Barley
© Pearson Education Limited, 2008
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Starseeker Scheme of Work
Luke hugging Natalie/Barley with Mrs Little in the background