Costume and Make-up in Drama – Basic 3 Cultural & Creative Arts Lesson Note (Second Term)

Class: Primary 3
Subject: Cultural and Creative Art
Topic: Costume and Make-up in Drama
Duration: 40 minutes

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to explain the importance of costumes and make-up in drama and create simple character looks.

Introduction

When actors perform in plays, they need to look like the characters they are playing. Costumes are the special clothes actors wear, and make-up helps change how their faces look. Together, costumes and make-up help the audience believe that the actor has become a different person or character.

Main Content

What Are Costumes in Drama?

Costumes are the clothes and accessories that actors wear during a play to show what character they are playing. If an actor is playing a king, they might wear a crown and royal robes. If they are playing a farmer, they might wear simple clothes and a hat. Costumes help the audience understand who each character is without anyone having to explain it. They also help the actors feel like they have become their characters.

The Role of Make-up in Drama

Make-up is used to change how an actor’s face looks so they can become their character better. Simple make-up can make someone look older, younger, or like a different type of person. For example, we can use make-up to create rosy cheeks for a healthy character or dark circles under the eyes for a tired character. Make-up can also be used to create fantasy characters like animals or magical creatures.

How Costumes and Make-up Work Together

Costumes and make-up work as a team to create believable characters. When both are used well, they help tell the story and make the play more interesting to watch. Simple items like hats, scarves, or face paint can completely change how someone looks. Even in school plays, basic costumes and simple make-up can make our performances much more exciting and help everyone understand the story better.

Class Exercises

Exercise 1: Character costume planning. Choose a character like a doctor, teacher, or animal. List three items of clothing or accessories that would help someone look like that character.

Exercise 2: Simple make-up practice. Using safe materials like colored pencils on paper, design face make-up for different characters. Show how to make someone look happy, sad, or surprised.

Exercise 3: Quick costume transformation. Use classroom items like scarves, hats, or jackets to transform into different characters. Show how your costume changes who you appear to be.

Exercise 4: Character recognition game. Students wear simple costume pieces or face drawings, and others guess what character they are supposed to be.

Exercise 5: Plan a character look. Choose a character from a familiar story and plan both their costume and make-up. Draw your ideas and explain how they help show the character’s personality.

Evaluation

Pupils will demonstrate understanding by explaining how costumes and make-up help create characters in drama. They will also show creativity in planning simple character transformations.

Assignment

Look at characters in movies, TV shows, or storybooks at home. Choose one character and write down three costume items and two make-up ideas that help make that character look special. Draw your ideas and be ready to share how these choices help tell the story.