Lesson 2: Interacting with Imaginary People, Places and Things
Lesson Objective:
Students will demonstrate their ability to interact with imaginary people, places and things by participating in classroom activities.
Standards:
TH:Pr5.1.7a - Participate in a variety of acting exercises and techniques that can be applied in a rehearsal or drama/theatre performance.
Materials Needed:
Tiny Broom and dustpan
Spoon and bowl
Book
Deck of Cards
Hook (Movement Review) (7 minutes):
Have students walk around the room. Call out different actions (i.e. jump roping, skateboarding, folding a small blanket, drinking from a water bottle) and settings (baseball game, thunderstorm, dance party, hallway at school between classes, sunny beach) and instruct students to continue moving around while SILENTLY performing those actions or reacting to those settings. Emphasize that students will not be making any noise. We have to see everything with just their movement.
Step 1 (30-40 minutes):
Remind Students of the three aspects of movement we will be talking about in this unit:
-Interacting with imaginary people, places or things.
-Becoming an object with your body.
-Portraying emotions or ideas with your body
We will do some more practice with the first one today. Divide Students into four groups. Each group will receive an object and instructions of what action to do with it (Broom – Sweeping up a small mess into the dustpan, Deck of Cards – Shuffling and dealing them to players, spoon and bowl – mixing pancake batter, Book – looking for the right chapter to study) Each member of the group will have chance to do the action with the object and then practice the rest of the time doing the action without the object. Go around the groups and side-coach as students practice their pantomiming. Remind them that EACH student should handle the object and when they are done, they should be practicing their pantomime until the group is done. When each student in the group has had time to practice, have the groups switch objects until every group has had every object.
Step 2 (3-5 minutes):
Discussion:
What was easy about this? What was hard about this?
What details about the objects did you have to pay attention to be able to act out the action without them?
Step 3 (15 minutes):
Play “Late to Work.” Have students sit in a semicircle. Ask for a volunteer to go out into the hall (after the game is explained). Ask for another volunteer to be the “boss.” The first volunteer will leave the room and the class will decide three reasons they are late for work. The first should be relatively normal, the second should be a little odd, and the third should be a totally outrageous excuse. When the first volunteer comes back in, they will be confronted with their boss who asks them why they are late for work. Three volunteers will stand behind the boss and act out the first excuse. The “employee” will try to give their boss the reason they were late for work by guessing what the actors behind him/her are doing. Repeat this with three different volunteers for the second excuse and three others for the third excuse.
Step 4 (5 minutes):
Have students fill out an exit card that they will leave with you at the door.
How does this skill help us as performers? What are some examples you have seen of this skill in a performance?