Drama Skills

Drama Skills

Today we played copy circle, which is where everyone sits in a circle, bar one person who goes out of the room, while the other players nominate someone to be the leader. The leader then does something and the other people copy him/her whilst the person who went out of the room guesses who the leader is.

It sounded silent, apart from the sound of people clapping

It looked like people copying one person while someone else, confused, tries to figure out who the leader is.

It felt a bit confusing when people started doing something and the leader was doing something different\

Dancing with mirrors

We also played the name game, where everyone stands in a circle and threw a ball at someone after saying our name

It sounded like people laughing

It looked like people were getting confused and dropping the ball.

It felt confusing

KiVa Activity

For KiVa, we were told to write a paragraph on a  bullying story that made us stop and think.This is the story of a girl named Ceyanne, who was bullied because she was Native American, and because she had visible scarring in her face after being attacked by her Auntys dog when she was a pre-schooler. This shows that bullying is everywhere, and needs to 

Ceyanne  (See-Anne) began to experience bullying because she is Native American and because, when she was a preschooler, her aunt’s dog attacked her and bit her on the face. She also wore glasses. When Ceyanne was in the second grade, she still had visible scarring on her cheeks and forehead. After she had been in her second-grade classroom for two months, her fellow classmates began to single her out, telling her to “go back to the reservation! We’re you belong!” Her bullying continued all through elementary school – because she thought nobody, including her teacher, school administrators or family members, would understand, she didn’t reveal what she was going through.

Instead, she kept all of her experiences to herself. In middle school, she began to suffer from lowered self-confidence and self esteem. When people told her she would be prettier if she didn’t have the dog-attack scars on her face, she tried to shake the hurt off, but she began to cry. When this happened, the kids would say, “I’m just saying.”

Her grandfather told her she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Ceyanne began to believe this – even though she still struggles with being self conscious, she is building her self esteem.

You can find more stories like this at https://nobullying.com/bullying-stories-for-kids/

Why Play Games: The Purpose of Warm-ups

What are the purposes of warm ups?

• They prevent injury
• They relax mental and physical tension
• They prepare you physically and mentally for performance work
• They help you be more expressive with your body.

Warm ups for Drama:

A to Z Drama Games

1, 2, 3, Buzz! Count around a circle replacing certain numbers with the word "buzz". 2 Truths, 1 Lie Get to know the group by learning something about them and about how well they can lie! 8 Count Shake An energetic physical warm-up that helps to generate energy. About Me Understand more about a group by discovering facts about them. Boom Chicka Boom This is a camp style game that is great for warming up the voice and developing accents. Catch My Name Get to know everyone in the group by passing a ball or similar soft object. Change Places If .... Test the listening skills of your group whilst getting to know more about them. Circle Story A group creating and telling a story together, one word or sentence at a time. Connect Me Connect to different words to spark discussions or to delve into characters. Count Up, Count Down A team game to encourage patience, turn taking and focus. A great challenge. Doctor's Surgery There's only one spare seat in the waiting room and nobody wants you to sit in it! A great energy game promoting teamwork. Ewy Chewy Toffee A good warm-up before any vocal work - exercise the jaw and facial muscles Fruit Bowl / Anyone Who? A classic game than can be adapted and used in a variety of ways. Fruit Salad Warm-up with a fun game that is great as a starter but can be developed beyond 'fruit'. Grandmother's Footsteps A firm favourite of younger players....creeping up on a suspicious Grandmother. HASH (Happy-Angry-Sad-Happy) Focus on the characterisation during quick changing emotions Hi John, You're Jolly A descriptive name game with a group reaction. Jumping Jelly Beans! A firm favourite game that is fun and energetic. Just A Minute The one minute challenge - could you tell when one minute has passed? Master Master, Who Am I? A game to encourage accent, a silly voice or character to disguise your identity. Mexican Clap Pass a clap around a circle in super-fast speed....whoosh! Name Gesture A common name game to encourage imagination, physical movement and mime when introducing yourself. Nursery Rhyme Action Create an improved version of well-known nursery rhymes with actions. Park Bench A classic improvisation game based around the characters you might meet on a park bench. Pass The Emotion Pass emotions around the circle and see everyones smiley face! Pass The Squeeze Work as a team to pass a squeeze from person to person around the circle. Pass The Word How many different meanings can a word have based on how it is said? Personal Advert Create a personal advert to highlight the best and worst of you or your characters personality. Random Sound Story Use some random sounds as the basis for creating a story. Sculptor & Clay Mould and create a statue out of the clay of another person Secret Leader A game of teamwork and concentration where a detective must spot a secret leader also can help build dramatic tension. Shape Shifter Quick thinking game requiring pairs to create shapes called out to them. Shazzam! A popular large group game where groups go into battle against one another. Ship Ahoy! A classic game - useful to develop listening skills and spatial awareness. Sit, Lie, Stand A fun improvisation exercise, and possibly even more fun to watch! String Tension Bring a scenes energy up and down with a simple piece of string. Traffic Lights An exercise to focus minds ready for a drama workshop. Trust Circle An exercise that requires a great deal of trust between the members of the circle and the person inside the circle. Trust Falls Develop pair work with a trust exercise. Trust Lift Lift a person above your heads with this trust exercise. Trust Walk Developing pair cohesion with a game where each person needs the support of the other. Unfortunately / Fortunately Create an elaborate story, in pairs or as a group, with many twists and turns. Wink Murder An old favourite to out-fox the detective and claim as many victims as possible. Word Ping Pong A great exercise to bring those involved into the Drama thought space. Yes Let's A twist on 'follow the leader' where everyone has a chance to lead the actions of the group.