Cinema and theatre

Hello!

What do you know about performing arts?

1. LEAD IN

There is a significant number of them, but we are going to talk about films and theatre plays.

1. Let's watch this video, shall we?

2. Now we are ready for a quiz:

a) If the story tells about love relationships. It would probably be a ...........................

b) A movie about the Holocaust should be catalogued as a .........................................

c) I don't prefer ......................, because they usually show very scary scenes.

d) John Wayne is famous for his permormances in .....................

e) The lights, the scenography, the choreography and the songs of that ............... were amazing.

f) It is complicated for me to understand .............. films where there are so many futuristic issues.

g) A film that makes you think is called.................................

h) When I feel that the people and situations in the film could be real, I can say that it is ................

i) If the movie is hilarious, actually it is a ...................

j) I couldn't stop thinking about that film; it really .......... me.

3. Let's take a look at the list below and then complete the table:

extra	film; movie
usher	producer
cameo	director
screenplay; script	cameraman / camerawoman
hit	Hollywood
budget	star
B-movie	home movie; home video
blue movie	blockbuster
plot	starring role
thriller	trailer
non-fiction films	cast
soundtrack	feature film
art house films	sequel
screen test	multiplex
credits (opening / closing credits)	rush
film review	Oscar
Traditional sentence said before handing out the “Oscar”	subtitles

An actor in a film who does not say anything but is part of a crowd.
Someone who shows people to their seats at a theatre, cinema, wedding etc.
Short appearance in a film or play by a well-known actor
The words that are written down for actors to say in a film, and the instructions that tell them what they should do
An advertisement for a new film or television show
All the people who perform in a play, film
The recorded music from a film
Foreign films, or films made by small film companies
A full-length film that has a story and is acted by professional actors, and which is usually shown in a cinema
Film that tells an exciting story about murder or crime
Films about real events
A famous and successful actor; the person who has the main part, or one of them, in a film, play, show etc.
A book or film that is very good or successful
The most important part in a film
The events that form the main story of a book, film, or play
A story that is told using sound and moving pictures, shown at a cinema or on television
Someone whose job is to control the preparation of a play, film, or broadcast, but who does not direct the actors
The person who gives instructions to the actors and other people working on a film or play
Someone who operates a camera for films or television
A book, film, play etc that continues the story of an earlier one, usually written or made by the same person
A very popular and successful film or play
The money spent
Translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen.
The first, unedited print of a movie scene
A part of Los Angeles in California where films are made, often used to refer to the film industry in general
A film that is made cheaply and is of low quality
A film that shows a lot of sexual activity
A film you make, often of a family occasion, that is intended to be shown at home
A critical article or report about a film
A big cinema with many screens.
Short scene filmed to find out if the actor is good in a particular part
Gold statuette awarded annually in the United States by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievements in films Official name Academy Award
The list at the start of the film that tells you the name of the film, the actors and director; the words on the screen at the end that tell you who played who, and who was the cameraman, set designer, etc.
“And the Oscar goes to….”

Source: https://www.pinterest.es/pin/726838827341101844/

2. Activity 1

1. Now we can read this article and answer the questions orally in your virtual class. Also, feel free to complete the activities shown below the article and share the answers orally in your virtual class:

a) Which word do we often use when speaking about types of films?

b) Who is the person in charge of the script process, from the casting to the editing stages?

c) The director's main job is...

d) Which word describes the amount of money to be spent?

e) Who is the responsible to turn the story into a script?

f) Could you give another word to mention the director of photography?

2. Let's use the vocabulary given on this list to write a short paragraph (no more than 10 lines). Read it in the virtual class.

3. Think that we hold different positions in the field of cinematography. Imagine that we have had bad experiences with some people and now we are expressing our regrets. Write sentences using "wish" and read them in your virtual class: 

I wish...

I wish...

I wish...

4. It is high time we shared our experiences. In turn, each student will ask questions to be answered orally in your virtual class by your classmates. 

5. This is a great bonus:

a) Some ways to tell the story (plot) of a film you’ve seen:

It’s set in…(New York / in the 1950’s).
The film’s shot on location in Arizona.
The main characters are … and they’re played by…
It’s a mystery / thriller / love-story.

You can tell the story of the film in the present simple tense:

Well, the main character decides to… (rob a bank)
But when he drives there…

b) Some ways to give your opinion:

I thought the film was great / OK / fantastic…
The actors / costumes / screenplay are/is …
The special effects are fantastic / terrible
The best scene / the worst scene is when…
The plot is believable / seems a bit unlikely

c) Shhhhhh  

You don’t want to spoil the film for your friends, so you can say something like:

“I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’m not going to tell you what happens in the end”.
“You’ll have to go and see it for yourself”.
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you”.

d) Useful adjectives

All these are useful words and phrases to spice up your description:

true-to-life (a real story)
the real story of
remarkable (unusual, good)
masterpiece (the best work someone has done)
oscar-winning

3. Activity 2

1. Let's watch this video about the theatre, shall we? (Be sure to watch both parts):

2. Let's complete a test and share the answers in your virtual class:

a) In a theatre, you buy your tickets at the:...................

b) The person who checks your ticket and guides you to your seat is called:...............

c) The area where the audience sits is called:..................

d) In a larger theatre, your ticket will tell you where to sit with a __________ letter and a _________ number.

e) To avoid disrupting the show, remember to turn off your __________ before it begins.

f) There is often a planned break in the middle of a show. This is called:......................

g) The people who perform on stage are called:......................

h) What is another name for the developing story of a play?....................

3. Let's use the vocabulary given on this list to write a a short paragraph (no more than 10 lines). We can share and discuss about our texts.

4. We are going to use the following sentences to write a paragraph in passive voice. Remember to use connectors and adjectives.

Cats

Genre: musical

Compositor: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Thomas Eliot wrote the poetry in 1939.

The story: a tribe of cats —the Jellicles— and the night they make the "Jellicle choice", deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.

Remarkable song: "Memory". The singer is Grizabella.

The London production ran for 21 years and 8,949 performances, while the Broadway production ran for 18 years and 7,485 performances.

Cats started the megamusical phenomenon, establishing a global market for musical theatre and directing the industry's focus to big-budget blockbusters.

Before the 2019 pandemic, Cats remained the fourth-longest-running Broadway show.

4. Closing activity

1. Let's watch this video and answer the questions below choosing the correct idioms. 

making a song and dance, break a leg, it's curtains for him, upstaging them, she's a tough act to follow, waiting in the wings,  let's get the show on the road, making an entrance, the spotlight is on him.

a) To wish a performer "good luck" before they go on stage, you can say:........................

b) If you're taking all the attention for yourself and taking the focus away from someone else, you are:...............

c) If someone exaggerates the importance of something and makes an unnecessary fuss about it, they are:.........

d) If you are waiting for an opportunity to do something but it involves someone else leaving space for you, you are:.................................

e) If someone loses their job, or something else major in their life comes to an end, what might you say?.............

f) If someone arrives late at an event so that everyone will turn around and look at them, this person is:.................

g) If you are replacing someone who worked to a very high standard, what might you say about them?..............

h) If you want to get a meeting started, what might you say?...............................

i) In a room full of people, if one person is the centre of attention, what might you say about them?.................

2. Now we can try to write our own sentences using the idioms above, and share them orally in the virtual class.

3. Bonus!

We can have an amazing talk in our virtual class. Watch this video and go ahead with the talk using the expressions and the vocabulary that we learned:

1) Watching this scene… What can you say about the film’s plot?

2) How do you feel watching this scene?  What would you do if you were in the same situation?

3) Have you ever watched the film? If you watched it: Which is the genre? Would you recommend the movie? If you didn’t: Would you like to watch it? Why?

4) Let’s do some research! When was the film made? In which categories was nominated? How many awards did it win?

5) Would you have liked to act in this film? Why?