Posts Tagged ‘Creativity’

Improvisation Activities and Starting Points

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
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Here are some spontaneous improvs which can be a good giggle and also get kids thinking on their feet:

* Fortune teller and client
* Boyfriend proposing to girlfriend (she’s trying to dump him)
* Door-to-door salesperson and a lonely pensioner
* Pregnant woman and a claustrophobic stuck in a lift
* Stangers on a train, one lights up in a no-smoking compartment
* A is a withering house plant, B is trying to encourage it to grow
* A is a door-to-door salesperson and has to try and persuade B to buy a new hoover
* A tries to teach B how to levitate
* Both act out a soap opera EG Eastenders/Home and Away but you need to act as hamsters
* Two people in a canoe in the Amazon. A has just dropped the paddle
* A and B are both Home Sales people EG QVC. A has to sell a broken toilet and B has to sell a book with no pages

A few ideas to get you started but the list is endless and the results are often hilarious! Just think ‘Who’s Line is it Anyway?’

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Mirror Drama Game

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
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A great game for concentration and co-ordination!

Organise your students into pairs and ask them to sit opposite each other on the floor. Player A initiates a series of simple movements that player B must follow in real time by becoming their reflection. Eye contact must be maintained throughout. Emphasize that this must be done slowly to be accurate.

After a while, instruct your students to swap over so that player B is now leading.

Show examples of good practise to the class. Try and encourage them to reach a point where the audience cannot tell who is leading and who is following.

Extention: The follow on from this is where you don’t decide who is leading and who is following and just allow the exercise to develop spontaneously. This can be fantastic to observe.

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100+ Idea for Drama by Anna Scher & Charles Verrall

Friday, March 27th, 2009

100plus

Product Description:

A source of drama ideas from the directors of the Anna Scher Children’s Theatre, Islington.

Editorial Review:

I was bought this book as a Christmas present one year from a friend and fellow drama teacher. It’s a great book with a “wealth of lively and practical suggestions for all teachers, producers and anyone engaged in drama at any age.”

The introduction is particularly useful for new drama teachers as it gives advice on discipline, high standards and the structure of a drama lesson. It then has separate chapters on Games, The Spoken Word, Warm-ups Mime and Movement, Characters Props and Costumes, Situation Drama and Improvised Plays, and Technique.

I found the technique section to be extremley useful when preparing my students for their Trinity Guildhall examinations.

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Theatre Games and Beyond: A Creative Approach for Performers by Amiel Schotz

Friday, March 27th, 2009

tmer_309Product Description:

A teacher’s handbook of over 140 theatre games designed to stimulate creativity in students of all ages. More than just games, the book is bursting with lively ideas to make a class or workshop a memorable experience. The games progress from Orientation (”Face to Face”, “You and Me”) and Trust (”Catch Me Falling”, “Lead the Blind”) to more advanced games that develop the senses, coordination, and spontaneity. A section on characters and stories builds improvisational acting skills. All of the essential elements of acting and character development are explored. Sample workshops provide a guide for using the games. Anyone working with young (or old) performers in schools, colleges or community theatre will find this book a valuable resource.

Editorial Review:

I have owned this paperback book for a number of years and I find it really useful to dip in and out of when I am in need of a new game or idea. The book is divided up into units, such as Trust, Developing the Senses, and Sensitivity and Communication so it is easy to find something that is relevant. It also provides a useful section of example workshop ideas which bring various sections together. I think this book is particularly good for using various creative acting skills to engage and stimulate the creativity in your students.

“When we play we become personally involved and such involvement is essential to education, for true learning requires the discovery of meaning rather than the mere acquisition of knowledge.”

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