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Drama Teaching Tips

Drama teching tips

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Mariel Gomez
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43 views4 pages

Drama Teaching Tips

Drama teching tips

Uploaded by

Mariel Gomez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COOL IDEAS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM BEFORE YOU START rehearsing

You can find more ideas on https://bbbpress.com/dramagames/


It´s the best website since they provide lots of ideas that don´t require any preparation. You
just need to plan ahead what to do, and when.
Feel on stage, before you are actually ON STAGE
Kids need to start doing acting games at least a month before they start rehearsing. The first
time they get on stage , they can play some of these games, dance to the music freely, and
once they have adapted to this new space, you can start working on the lines.

TYPES OF DRAMA GAMES


WARM UP GAMES
(to start each class/rehearsal)
a- Tongue twisters: Some ideas (write them on the board or on a piece of cardboard
and model before you ask them to say the tongue twister)

*She sells seashells on the seashore.

*Mix a box of mixed biscuits with a boxed biscuit mixer.

*A proper copper coffee pot.

*Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

b) Zombie name game

Have the class stand in a circle.


Go around the circle having each kid loudly say his/her name as a zombie.
(“Saaaarrraaaaahhhhh!”)
Then choose one student to be the “zombie”. The “zombie” walks in the middle of the
circle zombie-style; arms stretched in front, head to the side.
Call a student’s name. The zombie heads toward that student.
The student must try to call another student’s name before the zombie reaches
him/her. If the zombie is able to tag the student before he/she can call a new
name, that person becomes the zombie.

ENSEMBLE BUILDING
(they are used to create bonds between ´actors´ before they get on stage)
- The human knot

Group stands in circle and all come in close with hands stretched into middle of
the circle. Everyone grabs two hands – not the person next them, and not both
hands of the same person.
Tell the students they must untie the knot without anyone ever letting go of
their hands. Tell them to go very slowly and be very gentle.
Do it once allowing the students to talk and once in silence.

- Group shape
1. Have the whole class take the stage. (or the classroom / playground)
2. Tell them their goal is to create the shape of an object with their bodies as
you can count down from 10 to 1.
3. When you reach “1” and say “freeze!” they must freeze as you inspect the
object.
4. The first couple times don’t give them any instructions and let them try to
figure it out however they want, even if it includes talking. You’ll see a lot of
personalities come out.
5. Then, tell them they must work silently.
6. Variation: After a while, consider dividing the class up into two or three
groups. Call out an object and have them compete to see who can create the
best shape in 10 seconds. Then, have each group create an object of their own
while the other groups have a chance to guess.
7. Variation: After a while consider giving them only 5 seconds.
8. Variation: Give them an object that has motion, and ask them to
demonstrate the moving object.
9. If you’re rehearsing a play or musical, consider using objects/themes found
in the story.

Object Ideas: – A plane – An iPhone – A piano – A shoe – A giraffe

Movement Objects: – Fire – A tree in a storm – An eagle – A blinking eye


– A ticking clock

BREAK OUT OF THE SHELL GAMES


(They help kids who are shy)
Yes/No, please, banana
Divide the class into pairs. The goal of each pair is to create a 30 second scene using only
four words: “Yes”, “No”, “Please” and “Banana”. Depending on the age group, encourage the
students to include a range of emotions in the scene, and if possible to have a beginning,
middle and end. Although many of the scenes will be silly, encourage them to try and make it
believable. Allow the kids a few minutes to practice, then have them perform in front of the
class.

FOCUS GAMES
(to help students concentrate)
1- Mirror game (imitate what your classmate is doing)

Yes/No, please, banana

Divide the class into pairs. The goal of each pair is to create a 30 second scene using
only four words: “Yes”, “No”, “Please” and “Banana”. Depending on the age group,
encourage the students to include a range of emotions in the scene, and if possible to
have a beginning, middle and end. Although many of the scenes will be silly,
encourage them to try and make it believable. Allow the kids a few minutes to
practice, then have them perform in front of the class.

CREATIVITY GAMES

The bus stop


Create a row of chairs on stage (bench).
Three at a time, students will enter the stage, sit and wait for the bus for a while, then
one at a time give up waiting and exit.
Before each student enters they will draw a character from a bowl.The goal is to put
that character into every part of their bodies and convey specific behaviors while in
the scene.After they exit the audience (the other kids) can guess the character of
each actor.

IMPROVISATION GAMES

They might be hard for 1st form, but 2nd and 3rd can try them out)

Three TV channels

Three actors stand facing the audience (the other kids). The audience comes up with 3 tv
channels (soap opera, mtv, sitcom, reality, etc) One audience member has a remote control
and yells out a particular channel. The actors must perform a scene from that channel.

When a new channel is called, actors must immediately go the new channel. When a channel
that was previously called is called again, actors must go back to exact position and moment
from where they left off.

How to write a play


Every play should have a beginning, a conflict and an ending. The first scene should be an
introduction of the characters and the time and place should be set (it can be done with a
song and not with a scene in which they talk). Most of the scenes in the middle develop the
conflict. During the last scene the conflict is solved.
Including music and choreographies is great option at all ages.
It´s great to include jokes and words in Spanish. Also, short parts of songs thay may sound
funny in the scene
(for example: Two lines from Pimpinelas´fighting, etc)

LEARNING LINES
GAME WITH BALLS (soft balls!)
JUMPING FROM LEFT TO WRITE
(I have to show you how this works)

5 Ways to Help Your Kids Project Their Voice on Stage


By far one of the biggest challenges when rehearsing with kids is getting them to
speak loud enough for the audience to hear. Even if they use microphones, they need
to learn to project their voices. It’s not natural to speak in a “stage voice”, so it takes
practice and a lot reminding. Below are 5 fun and effective ways to get your young
actors to keep their vocal energy up!
1. Utilize Blocking. If a scene allows for it, consider staging kids a little farther
apart if they have a dialogue exchange. Often if kids are right next to each other
they’ll automatically resort to their normal “talking to a friend” voice. However, if
they’re farther apart on stage, their natural inclination will be to speak louder. This is
particularly effective if you have a hero/villain conflict.

2. Imitation. Imitation is sometimes a quick and easy way to help a kid understand
what it feels like to speak at a loud volume. Tell the actor to copy exactly how you say
the line. First say it in a normal, quiet voice (the actor repeats). Then say it in a super
loud projecting voice (the actor repeats). Tell the actor to remember that energy,
that’s what every line should feel like.

3. Student Volume Test. Ask an actor who isn’t in a scene to sit in the back row of
the auditorium. Tell him his role is the “volume tester”. Every so often say “freeze”
during rehearsal, turn towards the kids in the back row and say “volume test”. The kid
will either put thumbs up or thumbs down, depending on whether he could hear the
lines. (This is a great task for students who start misbehaving when they are not on
stage)

4. High Energy Warm-Up. Before a performance, it’s important that kids are in a
high-energy mindset. As close to the curtain time as you can, lead a warm-up that
gets them pumped up vocally and physically. Practice making dramatic expressions
and lead an ensemble building high-energy call and response. (It´s really necessary to
do this the same day of the concert, before it starts)

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