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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Identify and practice ways to show emotions on stage.
• Define the vocabulary words.
• Read the melodrama, “Operatic Tragedy,” described in Little Women.
• Engage in a class discussion about the elements of a melodrama.
• Identify elements needed to write and perform a play.
• In groups, write expanded dialogue and action for an act in a melodrama.
• In groups, rehearse the act using the melodramatic acting style.
• Perform a melodrama for an audience.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

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Video

Teacher Background

Teachers should read Little Women by Louisa Alcott. Familiarize yourself with Jo March’s five-act play, “Operatic Tragedy” and the genre of melodrama. Use the to locate resources for building background knowledge. 

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with the story of Little Women. Students do not need to have seen examples of melodrama before the lesson.

Accessibility Notes

Modify handouts, text, and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Provide preferential seating for presentations and space for movement during the plays. Allow extra time for task completion.

Engage

1. Tell students that they will be writing and acting in a melodrama. Explain that in the novel Little Women, the March sisters love this type of theatre. The novel contains a description of a melodrama written by the character Jo. Tell the students that they will be creating a script for this play.

2. Ask the students: Have you seen the cartoon from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, a silent film where the actors use their bodies and faces to convey information to an audience, or a classic “cliffhanger” serial? Have students share their responses and discuss what they noticed about each of the examples.

3. Explain to students that those were examples of a melodrama. Tell students that melodrama is a theatrical style with exaggerated acting and emotions. Melodrama was popular throughout America in the 1800s. The plays explain tales of good vs. evil. The hero and heroine are very good and pure of intent. The villains are bad, merciless, and evil. The melodramatic style of acting and storytelling may look or sound different than modern styles, but it was very entertaining to people 150 years ago.

4. Review the following vocabulary with students: character, drama, play, plot, setting, character type. 

Build

1. Explain that the actors of the 1800s were trained in the classical style, which meant that they were given a set of movements to express certain emotions. The audiences could easily understand these movements, even if they did not understand the verbal language. Audiences would interpret the body language to derive meaning. Model a few of the movements from the list. Select a few student volunteers to act out an emotion and have the others guess which emotion is being expressed.

2. After practicing the movements, ask students: What other emotions can be conveyed through movement/body language? Have students demonstrate examples, describing specific movements to accompany an emotion.

3. Explain to students that in a melodrama, the actors were selected for certain roles or “lines of business.” This meant that they were cast as a certain character type, like a hero, heroine, villain, old man, comedian, etc. They learned how to speak, walk, dress, use certain facial expressions, and behave as this character type. This was helpful for the actors who often had little rehearsal time for new plays or if they played several parts.

4. Tell students that in the book, Little Women, Jo writes a play and develops characters to be presented at Christmas. Each character has defined roles or “lines of business.” Jo plays Hugo, the villain, and Roderigo, the hero. Meg plays Zara, the heroine, and Hagar, an old witch. Because they know their “lines of business,” the girls can present the five acts of the melodrama and their audience clearly understands the story.

5. Have the students read the selection “A Merry Christmas” in Chapter 2 of Little Women. They should start with the paragraph that begins, “The morning charities and ceremonies took so much time that the rest of the day...” and end with “…Mrs. March’s compliments, and would the ladies walk down to supper.” 

6. After students have read the excerpt once or twice, have them retell the story of Roderigo and Zara in “Operatic Tragedy.” Distribute the resource as a guide for discussion. 

7. Ask the students to identify details from the play that the March girls included to make it interesting for the audience. For example, they had homemade props, sets, costumes, and added music. The acts broke up the action and gave the girls time to change costumes and sets. Even though minor mishaps occur, the play goes off well.

8. Review with students the elements of a play: plot, title, setting, characters, dialogue, and conflict. Explain that a conflict may or may not be resolved in a play. Each scene contains events and dialogue to move the story along. Explain that dialogue is written differently than narrative text. Write an example, such as:

Hugo: “What ho, minion! I need thee!”

Hagar: (singing) “Hither, hither, from my home, Airy sprite, I bid thee come!”

Apply

1. Divide the class into collaborative groups and assign each group one of the five acts from “Operatic Tragedy.” Tell students they will expand the act by writing a script. The scenes do not need to be lengthy, and students may also use the lines that appear in Little Women. Students should include music or sound effects in the acts that require those elements. Explain that they do not need to include the accident with the set falling. Instead, they should try to write the play as they think Jo intended it to be.

2. Assign roles within the group as follows:

Writer - records the information

Director - oversees the production and keeps the group on task

Composer - writes the background music or tune for any songs in the act

Spokesperson - reports to the class about the group’s activities

Designer - oversees costumes, props, and set pieces

Actors - act out the play and serve as a writer, director, composer, or spokesperson prior to the performance

3. Distribute the to each group. Groups should outline their ideas for their assigned act, identify the characters, and describe the setting. Give groups time to compose the dialogue and actions. Offer the option to improvise first, then write out the dialogue and actions.

4. Teachers should confer with each group. Allow time for groups to act out the first draft to offer constructive and timely feedback. 

5. Students should rehearse the act using some of the classical acting style gestures or ones learned from the list. Students should gather the props, set, and costume pieces for the performance from home or approved school resources. The lines do not need to be memorized, but the actors should be very familiar with their lines. The music can be simple, like a familiar tune.

Reflect 

1. Have students perform “Operatic Tragedy” in sequence. If possible, video the production so all groups can see the play pieced together. Collect the scripts and outlines.

2. Assess students’ knowledge of writing and performing a melodrama with the .

Extend

1. In collaborative groups, rewrite the acts to relate to modern conflicts. Divide the class into four groups to complete the work.

2. Write an original melodrama. Have students work independently or cooperatively to write original scripts.