|  | Drama Teacher's Diary | Meet Margaret F. Johnson, veteran drama teacher. |
During her thirty-seven years as a drama teacher, Margaret produced much more
than great shows -- she inspired many of her students to become theatre professionals.
Author of our best-selling book, The Drama Teacher's Survival Guide, and a director
with more than 190 productions to her name, she is an expert on teaching drama to
students of all ages.
Check back frequently as Margaret blogs about her experiences in the theatre classroom
and her latest adventures in community theatre. You won't want to miss the insightful
tips she offers for first-time and experienced drama teachers alike.
Margaret may be contacted at mamadrama@mac.com.
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| | September 17, 2008 | | Four short activities for classroom practice | Short Activities The activities I am going to share with you in the next two blogs are ones that I used in my classroom and found successful. Two listed below use large groups. I liked to start with these because it was less threatening and began the all-important theatre ‘must’—teamwork. However, for my more advanced students I used the solo activities. My next blog will include 2 large group activities. Before we started any activity, I insisted my students follow these simple rules: -No breaking character -No saying ”I can’t” but rather “I’ll try” -There is no right or wrong way to create any of the activities as long as you follow the techniques I have explained. Most Deaths In A Minute Select 12 students and have them stand in a line against the chalkboard or in front of the class. Then have them separate into two teams. Chose 2 students from the audience as counters. The teams compete for the greatest number of deaths (be creative) they can act out in one minute. No repeats. Academy Award Game Students come forward one at a time to give a brief acceptance speech. Students must say at least two sentences, thank at least three people, and mention the title of the film/play they received the award for. Name Cheer This is a great homework assignment. The individual student is to create a cheer with their first name. They are to do one motion or action with each letter of their name. If you think this might be too much to do early on in the semester, have them do only one motion or action with their name. You could also add an alliterative adjective with the movement/action such as ‘Sorrowful Sue’ or ‘Chatty Cathy.’ Family Portraits Divide your class into two or three groups, depending on the number of students in the class. One group goes center stage and creates a ‘family portrait’ based on a type of family you announce. Give them 10 seconds to move about, say ‘freeze’ and announce the family. The actors must then freeze in their portrait position. When you call change, the first groups leave the stage and the second group enters and creates their family portrait. You could also put these on a 3X5 card and let the groups work separately and then freeze their picture and have the audience guess what family they are. Examples: -A family of accountants -A family of weightlifters -A family of fish -A family of bears -A family of clowns -A family of dogs/cats -A family of ballet dancers -A family of cooks -A family of football/basketball/soccer/tennis players | | |
| | September 04, 2008 | | A Great 2-Minute Improvisation Game To Start Your Drama Class | In advance, make up a list of about fifty brief bits of dialogue that could be used to start improvised scenes. Write each on an index card and keep them in a 3X5 index card box—so they can be used over and over (see below). On the day you introduce this begin by seeing what your students know about improvisation. Possibly ask students what the word "improvisation" means, what they think improvisation in theatre is and why improv is important to theatre. ("Raiders of the Lost Ark"--the scene where Indiana shoots the guy with the whip was improvised. pulls his gun on swordsman in city.) Then discuss the Do's: -Take cues from scene partner. -Be spontaneous. -Make partner look good. Next discuss the Don'ts: -Don’t negate. Always answer yes. -Don’t be a ham. This is a dialogue, not a monologue. Don't ignore/deny scene partner. -Don’t change the story line. Always use what you are given on the card. You are not to plot the story in advance. -Don’t respond with a question (acting is doing, not telling). Now demonstrate the Don’ts. Select one student who reads a card to you and you negate. The students will immediately see that the story goes nowhere. If you need to demonstrate the Do’s, then select another student and proceed. Now depending on the class and your time frame, you can go around the room and have every student either read a card or react so everyone gets a chance to “play”. Then explain to them that starting tomorrow when the bell rings, one student (you decide where to start in the class, usually based on the seating chart) will pick a card and the one seated next will react. They are to keep the scene going for two minutes allowing you to take roll and get ready for the rest of the class period. After several weeks, add a new element. Set up a simple playing area in the front of your room. Put two chairs side by side in the playing area. The first actor will sit in a chair and perform some activity in pantomime. The second actor will enter and start the improvisation by using one of the short openers. Here are some good examples: Go away. Gimme. It's dark in here. Please? I dare you! You're sick. Boo. Help me! What's in the box? It's snowing! Oww! That hurt! Pssst. But- Ya goin'? Leave me alone. I'm sorry. Wake up, dear. Stop! Aw, Mom Hold my hand. Wanna balloon? Oh wow! Shhh. Trick or treat! John? I saw that! There, there-stop crying. I'm scared. Today's my birthday. What's that you're eating? I hate your guts. Knock, knock. A shark! Haven't I seen you somewhere before? You're late. How's your brother? Wanna bet? Gotcha! This is for you. Drink it. Don't forget. I'm lost. I'm blind. Ooops! Catch. Seven dollars. Who was that man? Close your eyes. I beg your pardon. Answer the door. There's something in my eye. Tomorrow. Why not? Stand up. Here's a dime. To be or not to be. Have you seen my teddy bear? Happy New Year! It's empty. Next! My stomach hurts. This your house? When are you leaving? There's a bug on you. | | |
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