WARM -UP ACTIVITIES

 

It is always important to include warm-up activities when engaging in drama activities to help group members achieve a comfort and trust level in doing activities together.  Go to these or other Web links for this chapter and find some warm-up activities:

 

http://www.aspa.asn.au/Projects/english/dgwup.htm

http://www.david-farmer.com/group

http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?M=6&A=15&S=68&Z=1#S68

http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/current/Drama%20in%20the%20Classroom%20SHS.doc

 

The following are some warm-up activities developed by Sarah McArdell Moore, Madison, Wisconsin

 

I Come From

 

Go around the circle several times with each person saying their name and completing the phrase “I come from.”  This is a game to start exploring all the places we come from – physical, emotional, geographic, spiritual, all the experiences and ideas that create us as individuals.  For example:

 

I come from the South,

I come from a spiritual father,

I come from hope for the future,

I come from being tired out,

I come from a small house with only one bathroom

I come from feeling impatient, 

I come from art

 

After students are comfortable with the game and you have gone around the circle a number of times, stop and ask students to answer the question “I Come From” in their portfolio.  Give them just a few minutes, and then go around the circle verbally one more time.  Repeat some form of this activity each day.  Ask students to keep all their “I Come From” statements together.  Their responses to all writing activities in this unit be collected in their portfolios, turned in at the end of the unit and returned later in the semester.  Writings will not be graded.

 

Energy & Focus Work

These activities-games are primarily designed to create “safe space” where students can have an open and honest dialogue.  As in all the games in this unit, the activities have clear boundaries and tasks.  These activities promote positive group dynamics; they are “getting to know each other” games.  They prepare students to move ahead into deeper work that requires more focus and attention.

 

Circle Dash

Every one stands in a circle around one person who stands in the middle the object of the game is for 2 people in the circle to silently signal each other to switch places. The person in the middle tries to get to get to an open spot before the switchers.  The person left takes the spot in the middle.  This is a silent game.

 

Minefield

Everyone stands in a circle and tosses and object they can find that aren’t sharp or breakable in the center.  Spread the objects around so that the whole center is evenly covered.  A volunteer closes their eyes.  The rest of the group, using only their voices, tries to direct the volunteer to the space directly across from them in the circle without hitting any of the objects in the “minefield.”

 

Devising Role-Play Activities

Select a scene in a text or an issue portrayed in that scene.  Based on a conflict or tension portrayed in the text or related to the issue, create a role-play with four roles, one for each member of a peer group, including yourself. Try to build the situation around a conflict or tension that will serve to perpetuate the role-play. This can involve:

 

- the characters themselves having to cope with a problem or make a decision related to an event in the text or some hypothetic event. 

- the characters coping with other new characters that you import from other texts, totally new characters, historical figures, celebrities, etc.

- a similar situation or predicament involving new “real world” roles that you create—for example, for Holes, a teacher makes her students stand next to a whiteboard with their noses on the whiteboard.

- a game, contest, or reality-TV drama (current or historical) in which students assume roles related to the themes or issues of the text.

 

Example: to examine the issue of gender and power in a text.  Mike and Sally, of Minneapolis, are visiting with Joe and Jane in their home, in Seattle.   Sally has just received an offer at a large firm in Seattle where Jane works.  Joe, a close friend of Mike’s, misses the cold weather in Minnesota and wants to move back to Minneapolis.  Mike has just received a promotion at his firm in Minneapolis.  Mike and Sally must decide on what to do: move to Seattle or stay in Minneapolis; Joe wants Mike to stay in Minneapolis and Jane wants Sally to move (these characters serve to push the conflict.)

 

Specify the nature of the 4 roles: what are the traits, attitudes, typical behaviors, and agendas for each role—give names.  You can either verbally tell each student this information so that everyone knows.  Or, you can tell each one separately or provide the information on slips of paper so that others do not know.  Then, perform the role-play. At the completion of the role-play, step outside of your roles and discuss the following:

 

- How did I feel in this role—powerful/weak, confident/anxious, active/passive, etc?

- What were my perceptions of others’ roles—their traits, behaviors, agendas?

- What kinds of language were used to create these roles?  

- What were the conflicts/tensions in the role play? Were these conflicts/tensions resolved or not?

- How was the role-play similar or different from the original text?

- What did you learn from the role play that helped your further understand the text?

 

For an example of this activity with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, see:

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring95/

Bontempo.html

 

TRUST WORK

 

Trust work builds on and increases safe space for a feeling of trust and community to grow in the class.  These activities help youth get to know each other through physical and verbal activities. 

 

Students will read together the handouts Trust Work and then follow the workshop guide. 

These Activities are described in depth in the text.  Students will be able to choose from the following activities:

 

Trust Circle, Trust Falls , Blind, Find your Mother like a Little Penguin, Glass Cobra, Circle Height, Falling, Tour of a Place

 

Storytelling: with writing activity (teacher facilitated)

 

This activity works best following a very physical activity.  Chose a partner, tell them a story - any story, something that is comfortable for you.  Topics could be a childhood memory, an apology, a surprise, a recent challenge, or any number of things.    Give the story a beginning, middle and end, give it details.  Each person will have 3-5 minutes.  After both people are finished give the students 5 minutes to write down the other persons story.  Now tell the person back their own story.

 

BRIDGE WORK 

 

Bridge Work starts to introduce more traditionally theatrical methods to thegroup.  These activities help prepare students imaginations for improvisational work.  This is not traditional stilted role-play but instead a process that continues to create a safe space for dialogue and creative energy.   It helps students begin to think about their issues and concerns in preparation for creating scenes.

 

Students will read together the handouts on Bridge Work and then follow the workshop guide. 

 

These Activities are described in depth in the text.  Students will be able to choose from the following activities: Environment, Two Revelations, Complete the Image, Sculpting, Machine +, Monologue work,

 

Values Clarification: with writing activity (teacher facilitated)

 

This is a silent game. Everyone sits in one part of the room facing the largest open space.  They have their writing portfolios with them.  In the open space are signs that say: Agree, Disagree, and Unsure.  The Teacher reads a statement and students move to the sign that expresses their view.  Statements are written by the teacher to be appropriate for the age group and community.  After everyone has chosen, students are given 2 minutes to write in their portfolios why they made their choice.  After all the statements have been read students will gather into a circle and discuss each statement and their beliefs.  After this discussion students will be given 10 minutes of writing time to revise or reinforce their choices in the portfolio.

 

Sample statements:  Middle School

 

Iam worried that I or someone I love, will get AIDS.

Sometimes violence is the only option.

I am comfortable with my body.

Its ok to drink to get drunk.

I see discrimination in our community.

 

IMPROVISATION

 

"The imagination is a muscle, and playing improv games keeps the muscle strong,creative, and able to make specific, human choices that will pay of as you explore decision making and realistic human behavior." Michael Rohd     In this section improv is both verbal and image based and works on creating worlds and real human interaction through a character.  It builds empathy and critical thinking skills.  This section is the most difficult and would have the most Teacher support.  It also involves introducing students to feedback.  Some sample feedback questions for participants:  Did you stay in it?  Did you make it important toyou?  Did you make strong choices and build the story together?

 

Students will read together the handouts on Improvisation and then follow the workshop guide.  These Activities are described in depth in the text.  Students will be able to choose from the following activities:

 

Activity/Urgency, Relationship Wheel, A/B, Line Improvs, Exit, Entrance, Image Alive

 

Writing exercises:  this section has a number of short writing exercises.  Students are asked to act out different characters in 3 ways: verbal, physically (movement, mime, etc.) and on paper.