Teaching Drama: Skills, games and playbuilding

Lesley Christen

• Publisher: Currency Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781760622039
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Arts & Humanities

Teaching Drama: Skills, games and playbuilding provides entry points for the beginner and advanced practitioner in schools and communities. The book includes: • Practical exercises and techniques, approaches and starting points in an easy-to-read format.• Emphasis on effective playbuilding skills.• Outlines the development of playbuilding from introductory exercises through to advanced practices.• Provides examples of units of work.• Includes application within mime, mask, storytelling and introducing skills in the development of the Performance Essay.

Chapter 1

Improvisation

What is improvisation?

Improvisation is a fundamental skill in the playbuilding process. We all retell stories from our lives to others. In improvisation, a story unfolds between performers in real time using movement and words. At the start of the process, no one performer knows what the end of the story will look like, or even what the next line or action will be. The performers involved in the improvisation make it up between them through the process of ‘offer and acceptance’. The following series of exercises can help to develop the skills and confidence necessary for improvisation. The three types of improvisation we’re going to look at are:

• Verbal improvisation, which includes the element of storytelling
• Physical improvisation
• A combination of the two

Unit 1.1: Introducing spontaneous improvisation

This form of improvisation involves creating a performance using voice, movement and sound in an unrehearsed way without a written script or direction from the facilitator. In this process, the initial movement, word or sound is taken up by a performer or group of performers who then further develop this offer (see here) before passing it back to the original performer, or on to a third performer. Spontaneous improvisation includes:

• Exploring play and make-believe
• Risk taking
• Voice and movement skills
• Collaboration—offer and acceptance
• Awareness of space between one performer and another
• Awareness of movement or stillness in different parts of the body

WARM-UP GAMES

These simple games help students understand that drama is fun. They also foster a sense of togetherness and develop their capacity to focus. This first exercise stresses the importance of working together. In improvisation, the facilitator may use the word collaboration, which means working together.

The dragon game

Aim: To experience high-energy collaboration

Time: 5 minutes

Equipment: Nil

Instructions:

1.	The facilitator divides the performers into two equal lines. The performer at the front of each line will be the ‘head’ of the dragon. The aim of the game is for the head of the dragon to tag the ‘tail’ of the opposing team.
2.	Each line needs to stay connected throughout the next stage of the game, so the performers are given two choices as to how they can link their line: they can either stand behind each other with their hands on the hips of the person in front, or they can hold hands and stand side-byside.
3.	When both lines are linked, the facilitator calls out ‘Begin’. The teams move forward rapidly as the performer at the head of the line tries to tag the tail of the opposing team.
4.	If the line breaks, the opposing team scores. The team that tags the most in a best of three is the winning team.

Offer and acceptance

Offer and acceptance are two of the most important skills a performer needs to develop in improvisation, playbuilding and performing in general.

Offer is used to describe a verbal/physical invitation to another performer.

Acceptance is the second performer recognising the offer with a response that includes the original movement or sound, and then building upon the idea by adding their own movement or sound. When this is done successfully, the acceptance becomes the next offer in the sequence of actions.

Once performers have mastered the concepts of offer and acceptance in dialogue, it is easier to begin experimenting with offer and acceptance with physical shapes and movement.

Technique: This idea of give and take, of being equally willing to lead and follow, is crucial to an effective process for the group.

Unit 1.2: Verbal spontaneous improvisation

In this unit, the focus is on the voice. Speaking is (usually) the primary means of communication, and when observing verbal communication in the world, it is clear that the human voice is capable of a wide range of expression necessary for effective communication. This unit begins with some vocal warm-ups.

Humming on the breath

Aim: To warm up the vocal chords

Time: 2 to 3 minutes

Equipment: Nil

Instructions:

1.	Performers stand in neutral posture (see below).
2.	They draw the breath slowly into the lungs before releasing it in the same way on the out-breath.
3.	They repeat step 2, but this time let the breath out on a relaxed sigh.
4.	Performers let their breath out on a low hum, and...