Speech and Drama

Department of Speech and Drama

At the Lady Grey Arts Academy, the skills of Speech and Drama from the Learning Area Arts and Culture are used as a tool in all the other Learning Areas.

The most significant kind of learning which is attributable to experience in drama is a growth in the learners understanding about human behaviour, themselves and the world they live in. Because of the educational value of Speech and Drama our learners are introduced to the subject from Grade 4 onwards. We follow the syllabi of the South African Guild of Speech and Drama Teachers for the learners from grades 4 through to 7.

We offer Speech and Drama as a subject from Grade 8 and we follow the syllabi of the Department of education - Western Cape.

The syllabi covers all aspects of dramatics including speech training, theatre history and play production and analyses.

The grade 8 and 9 course is seen as a foundation for speech and drama and learners are introduced to the basic concepts of Speech and Drama necessary for the three year course that follows(Grades 10 through 12).

In grades 10 through 12 learners do an intensive course providing them with definite skills that can be used in the industry as well as preparing them for further study. The course integrates theoretical knowledge with practical work and learners are constantly putting their knowledge to work in the form of practical projects and productions. Speech and Drama is offered on HG as well as SG. Die vak, Spraak en Drama, op HG en SG kan ook geneem word.

Besides the work covered in the syllabi the Speech and Drama learners are offered the opportunity of attending workshops offered by experts working in the industry. The learners are exposed to the professional theatre world through taking part in Festivals and Eisteddfods. Learners are encouraged to not only take part in productions but also to take initiative in directing their own plays as well as workshopping new scripts.

Dramatics is as distinctly cultural as music and art appreciation. A Cultured person has an appreciation for the finer things of life because he understands them and realized their value. He has wide interest because all phases of life appeal to him; he has true courtesy because his sympathy for people as individuals leads him to consider others before himself; he has enthusiasm for beauty in all its forms because he understands the fundamental principles back of all artistic expression. Dramatics can be an incentive toward this understanding because it is a study of humanity and art.