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Ultimate Drama Activities for the Classroom
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About This Book
A follow up to the popular The Ultimate Drama Pot Collection ā 100 Monologues for Young Performers, this book is designed to be a teacher's best friend ā packed full of games, activities and exercises for devising and improvising.
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Yes, you can access Ultimate Drama Activities for the Classroom by Joanne Watkinson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Drama. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
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WORKING WITH SCRIPT
Attention to Detail
I use this exercise to demonstrate the importance of focus and attention to detail when putting on a play or working with script. However, I only tell them the purpose of the exercise at the end of the task, and only after asking them what they think it was about.
Performers are asked to take a walk around the room, touching each of the four walls. They are asked to think about:
a. How they walk, the style and speed.
b. How they touch the wall, softly, aggressively etc.
c. Which part of the wall they touch.
d. Who they walk past.
e. Whether they have any eye contact with anyone on their short journey, and if so, how do they react.
f. What order they arrive back at their starting point.
After the performers complete their journey, they are asked to describe it. Then they are asked to repeat the journey exactly as they had done before with attention to detail. On their return, the differences are discussed.
They are asked to repeat the journey one more time giving greater attention to the subtleties of their journey. This is then discussed in relation to the importance of focus and detail when portraying a character in a play; be it in relation to characterisation or following stage direction.
I would use this exercise before blocking a scene for the first time.
Animating Characters
The following extracts are taken from the play Little Bo Peep and the Report of the Missing Sheep.
These extracts can be used for character work in class, including work on caricatures, stereotypes and exaggeration. They also make useful audition pieces for the play.
Task:
Choose from an extract below and decide which character to play. Walk around the room in role. Teacher can use a scale from one to ten (five being natural) to allow performers to feel the change in their physicality during this exercise.
Performers greet each other in character. At first with just one word, then two, three, and so on - including larger than life gestures.
Explore status. Performers introduce themselves in character, then stand in a line in order of status, from lowest to highest. Discuss why they have chosen that position in the line and how they can show their status on stage. Does their stage status ever change?
Run scenes using physicality only. Can we understand the characters feelings through movement, gesture and facial expressions alone?
Performers rehearse and perform the scene; considering physicality, vocal qualities, levels of exaggeration and status.
The following short extracts have been selected with pre-teens in mind. However, the play is suitable for early teens as well. They are not the full scenes and are not necessarily in the order of the play.
Extract One
QUEEN OF HEARTS: Do not touch my tarts!!
(To audience.) Do you hear me?! They are for someone very special...
KNAVE OF HEARTS: Who, Your Majesty?
QUEEN OF HEARTS: Me!
KNAVE OF HEARTS: Would you mind if I tasted one? Iāve heard great things about your jam tart recipe.
QUEEN OF HEARTS: From whom? I have never shared my recipe with anyone!!
KNAVE OF HEARTS: From you.
QUEEN OF HEARTS: Ah yes, itās true my recipe is the best in the land.
Extract Two
BO: Hello, Humpty.
HUMPTY: Oh hi, Bo, how are you this fine day?
BO: Iām ever so worried Humpty, itās not like my Baabra and Baartie to wander off like that. Baabra doesnāt like the cold and she will be so frightened, and Bartholomew is afraid of the dark. They must be found before the sun goes down. I thought you might be able to see them from your wall.
HUMPTY: Sorry, Bo. I havenāt seen them Iām af...
Table of contents
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Warm Up Games
- Improvisation And Devising
- Improvisation For Large Groups
- Working With Script