Theater Under the Sky: Researching Every Part of a Topic

Imani's Theater Project

1Ms. Okafor's fourth graders were putting on a play in the spring, so each student chose a theater topic to research. Imani chose the theaters of ancient Greece. She knew a big topic has many parts, so she wrote one question for each part. Where were the plays performed? Who performed in them? What did the actors wear? Why did people go to see plays?

2Imani started at the school library. She found a book about ancient Greece and read the chapter on theater. She learned that many Greek theaters were built outdoors on the side of a hill. Rows of stone seats curved around a flat, round space where the performers stood. Because the seats rose up the hill, people in the back rows could see over the people in front.

3Next, Imani read an article on a museum website. It explained that Greek actors wore masks. A mask could show the audience a character's feelings, such as joy or sadness. Masks also let one actor play several different characters in the same play. In most plays, only a few actors had speaking parts, and all of them were men.

4The same article described the chorus, a group of performers who sang, danced and spoke together. The chorus often told the audience what was happening in the story or how the characters felt.

5Then Imani interviewed her uncle, who teaches drama at a high school. He told her that in some Greek cities, plays were part of big festivals. Crowds came to watch, and writers competed to have their plays named the best. He said two kinds of plays were popular: tragedies, which were serious and sad, and comedies, which were funny.

6At home, Imani read over her notes. She had answers for all four of her questions. While she was reading, she noticed something new. Her uncle had mentioned that some theaters today copy the curved shape of the old Greek ones. Imani added a fifth question to her list. How did Greek theaters shape the theaters we use today? The next morning, she went back to the library to find out.