Aquila Children's Magazine magnificentMegaMag-92pages | Page 25

STEP 5: Write your script STEP 7: Direct! Possibly the hardest of all our steps… collected your costumes and imagined What kind of words do the characters your set. Now is the time to get your use? How does their speech reflect their actors together and bring it all to life. beliefs or personality? Remember, Staging is important – big, dramatic Sophocles, Shakespeare and all the gestures and strong, booming voices will legends in between had to redraft their make your play iconically Greek – over scripts until they were happy. Be exaggerate your body language and persistent. Keep writing. Keep redrafting. movements to make the performance So, you’ve written your masterpiece, highly dramatic. Make a chorus mask In a Greek play, members of the chorus often wear masks. You will need: – A plastic mask (you can use this again and again) – Scissors – Petroleum jelly – Gloves (important safety gear for any project that involves plaster of Paris) – ModRoc – Acrylic paint – Sharp implement (a needle will do) – Modelling clay – Elastic 1 Cut your mask below the nose and cover in petroleum jelly (this will stop the plaster sticking to the plastic). Choosing costumes, set and props is equally as important as the lines of dialogue and stage directions you’ve poured your heart into writing. Does the king wear a purple cloak? (Perhaps it’ll have to be green as that’s the colour of your parent’s tablecloth, maybe NOT STEP 8: RELAX! flowery like your nan’s curtains…) The You’ve done the hard bit and spent lots chorus wear masks. Have you made of time developing your tragedy. Now them? Can you design them? See our watch your actors turn your helpful photo guide to making your own masterpiece into a phenomenon. Sit Greek mask opposite. back, relax and enjoy the show! We can’t guarantee you’ll earn millions in cash, but we can guarantee that you’ll earn the respect of your friends, family and loved ones, whilst maybe teaching your audience a thing or two. It might seem like a lot of hard work, but we promise you’ll feel an enormous sense of achievement in entertaining the crowds of adoring fans and it’ll be 2 Wearing gloves for protection, dip strips of ModRoc in water, squeeze out and cover the front of the mask. Build layers to make facial features. 3 Leave to dry for 48 hours. 4 Paint mask and, when dry, peel away the plastic mask from the plaster duplicate. Using your needle and modelling clay, make a hole in each side and attach elastic. AMAZING fun to work with your actors and play with costumes and props! The original Greek plays are still being performed today. So go on… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Disclaimer Plaster of Paris can be dangerous if not used correctly. Always follow the instructions on the container and have a helpful adult present. STEP 6: Design your play visually