Excellent. Expanding a unit from a foundational four-week arc to a more comprehensive seven-week curriculum is a critical skill for a working drama teacher. It allows for deeper exploration of core concepts and provides students with the time they need to truly inhabit the material.
The initial four-week outline for Holes was strong, but a seven-week model allows for a more granular focus on physicality, narrative structure, and the technical aspects of performance. Here is a more detailed, seven-week unit for Holes, designed to provide future drama teachers with a robust framework for their classroom.
Unit: The Intertwined Timeline
(Expanded to Seven Weeks)
Central Drama Concepts: Ensemble storytelling, physical comedy, non-linear narrative, parallel timelines, found object theatre, and characterization through movement and voice.
Unit Synopsis: This expanded unit uses the intricate plot and unique setting of Holes to teach students how to create a cohesive performance from a non-linear narrative. It progresses from foundational ensemble work and physical characterization to scene study, staging, and a final collaborative performance. The physical demands of the setting and the comedic-but-poignant characters provide a rich canvas for exploration.
Week 1: The Rhythmic Dig - Ensemble and Physicality
This week is dedicated to building the ensemble and establishing the core physical world of Camp Green Lake. We will move away from the idea of individual actors and focus on the collective "dig."
Key Activities:
Ensemble Warm-up: Use the drama games "Pass the Applause" and "Handshakes Chain" to build group rhythm and connection.
Physical Choreography: Students will collectively develop a rhythmic choreography for the act of digging. The group will use their bodies and a "group pulse" to simulate the action of shoveling, creating a repetitive, percussive soundscape with vocalizations and foot stomps.
Tableau of the Hole: Students will create a series of tableaux (frozen pictures) that represent a day at the camp. We will explore moments of exhaustion, triumph (finding something), and despair. This teaches students how to create a powerful, still image to convey emotion.
Introduction to the Setting: The class will create a "soundscape" for Camp Green Lake. What sounds does the wind make? What do the shovels sound like? What is the sound of the silence? This exercise builds listening skills and an appreciation for environmental storytelling.
Week 2: The Comedy and Conflict of Character
This week focuses on developing the distinct, often comedic, characters of the camp. We'll use improvisation to find their physicality and their voice.
Key Activities:
Status Games: Using the "Crossing the Bridge" game, students will explore the power dynamics between the Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, and the boys. They will physically embody high, medium, and low status.
Character Improvisation: In small groups, students will improvise scenes focusing on a specific character's "schtick." For example, a scene where Mr. Sir is explaining the rules, or Mr. Pendanski is trying to give the boys a positive pep talk. This encourages students to find their character's voice and unique physical traits.
The Warden's World: We will use a "hot seat" activity to interview the Warden and the counselors. Students will take turns being the characters and answering questions from their peers, which helps to build a more fully realized character profile.
Physicalizing the Name: The class will explore the meaning of the boys' nicknames (e.g., "Magnet," "Armpit," "Zero"). Students will create a physical movement or gesture for each character that embodies their name, creating a gestural vocabulary for the performance.
Week 3: Non-Linear Storytelling and Parallel Narratives
This week is dedicated to understanding the book's unique narrative structure. Students will practice switching between the three timelines to create a cohesive, non-linear performance.
Key Activities:
Timeline Freeze-and-Switch: The class will stage a scene from the present-day camp. A leader will shout "Freeze!" and then "Kate Barlow's story!" The actors must then immediately switch to a tableau or a short improvised scene from the past. This trains actors to be agile and present.
Story Weaving: Using a long piece of rope or a scarf, groups will physically connect characters and events from the different timelines. For example, a student holding a "shovel" from the present might pass the "rope of fate" to a student playing Kissin' Kate Barlow. This is a powerful visual tool for understanding the plot's interconnectedness.
Ensemble Narration: Students will practice speaking as a chorus to deliver key narrative passages from the book. We will explore how to use a collective voice to tell a story, similar to the "Four-Headed Monster" game, but with scripted text.
Week 4: Found Object Theatre and Symbolic Props
This week focuses on the power of objects in storytelling. We'll use minimalist staging to bring the world to life.
Key Activities:
The Object and Its Story: Students will be given a simple object—a shoe, a jar, a sack of onions—and will improvise a monologue or a scene from the perspective of that object. This helps to deepen their understanding of the emotional weight of props.
Creating the Canteen: In small groups, students will create a scene that uses a "found object" to represent the canteen on top of the mountain. They must use the object in a way that is symbolic and theatrical, not just literal.
The Lipstick Tube Scene: Groups will work on the key scene where the lipstick tube is discovered. They will focus on the tension and the surprise of the moment, using the physical object as the central point of the drama.
The Stage of the Shoe: The class will re-enact the courtroom scene, using a pair of sneakers as the central prop. The entire scene will be choreographed around the movement and position of the shoes, which become a character in their own right.
Week 5: Scene Study and Dialogue
This week is dedicated to traditional scene work, focusing on the relationships and conflicts between the characters.
Key Activities:
Text Analysis: Students will be assigned to pairs or small groups and will be given a specific scene from the book to rehearse (e.g., Stanley and Zero's first conversation, the boys' conversation about their families).
Subtext and Beats: We will break down the scenes to identify the "beats" or shifts in a character's intention. Students will explore the subtext of the dialogue—what the characters are really thinking and feeling underneath the words they are saying.
Character Relationships: The class will focus on the changing relationship between Stanley and Zero. They will rehearse scenes that show the development of their friendship, from their initial distance to their deep bond.
Week 6: Theatricalization and Staging
This week focuses on translating the scenes and ideas to the stage. Students will learn about blocking, stage pictures, and the use of the entire space.
Key Activities:
Staging the Lake: Students will use the entire stage to represent the vast, empty lakebed. We will experiment with different levels and blocking to create a sense of scale and isolation.
Sound and Light: The class will discuss how sound and light can be used to enhance the performance. We will explore how a change in lighting can signal a jump in time, or how a single sound effect can create a mood of suspense or foreboding.
Choreographing Transitions: The groups will practice moving between their scenes with fluidity. We will use the rhythmic "dig" choreography from Week 1 as a transition between scenes, unifying the performance and reminding the audience of the central struggle.
Week 7: The Final Performance and Reflection
This final week is for showcasing the students' work and reflecting on the process.
Key Activities:
Rehearsals: Groups will have time for final dress rehearsals, with a focus on costume, props, and lighting.
Performance: The class will present their scenes and devised pieces to an audience (which could be just the class, or another class, depending on the school).
Post-Performance Debrief: The class will engage in a post-performance discussion. Students will reflect on their work, sharing what they learned about character, collaboration, and the art of telling a story. We will tie all of the week's activities back to the core themes of the book.
Final Monologue: As a final reflection, students will write and perform a short monologue from the perspective of a character who did not get a chance to tell their full story, such as Zero’s mother or the Warden’s great-grandfather. This encourages empathy and a deeper understanding of the world of the play.
