I recently played this group with a group of 6-16 year olds and it worked really well. It gets students using their bodies and

increases observation skills.

1. Split the group in half. If you have an uneven number you may have to take part. 2. Once everyone has lined up get them to pick a partner.

3. Gather one half in and give them a word. It is best to use emotions for example, passion, love, anxiety.

4. The goal is for the students to express that word to their partners simply using their bodies for expression.

5. Try to keep the two groups in two lines opposite each other so people aren’t running into each other.

6. The listening group then has to guess the word.

7. Go through each person in the listening group and see if they have got it right.

8. Change groups and repeat using a new word. Go till the group starts to tire, 2 goes each is about right.

Expert Double Figures

1. Choose four students to take part.

2. Two students must then sit on stage in two chairs. It should be set up like an interview.

3. They must then put their hands behind their backs. The other two students must hide behind the chairs and slip their hands through the seated student’s so that it gives the impression they are the seated students arms.

4. You then name an interviewer and interviewee. The interviewee must be an ‘expert’ in a particular field. Let the students help you pick scenarios.

5. Let the interview begin and continue until it starts to lag.

"I said a Boom" "I said a Boom Chicka Boom" "I said a Boom Chicka Rocka Chicka Rocka Chicka Boom" "Uh huh" "Oh yeah" "One more time"

Students will need chairs and be sat in a circle.

The idea is that we are all in a ‘Doctor’s surgery’ sat in the waiting lounge on our chairs.

Place one student in the middle so there is one spare chair.

The student in the middle wants to sit down but the students on their chairs won’t let them.

As soon as the student in the middle tries to sit down the person next to the chair sits on it, and the new empty chair is filled by the student next to them and so on (all one way.)

Seated students can only fill the chair next to them in a sequence.

Start in a Drama circle.

Explain that you everyone will eventually count up to 20 together and as you count you will move through different emotions showing it in your voice and bodies.

Start with the Happy numbers of 1 - 5, and then introduce the Sad numbers and so on:

1 - 5   - Happy

6 - 10  - Angry

10 - 15 - Sad

15 - 20 - Happy

Start in a Drama Circle.

Teacher/facilitator starts by stepping forward and saying their name with a description, such as:

"Hi - I'm John and I'm jolly" accompanied by a 'jolly' mime.

The group then responds:

"Hi John" with a big wave, "you're jolly", repeating the same mime in response.

Choose a well known nursery rhyme or song, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and ensure the group is fairly familiar with this.

Recite the nursery rhyme around the circle by saying one word each.

Introduce actions to accompany the repetitve words.

For example, for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

Twinkle - Twinkley fingers Little - Bend knees Star - Star jump

When working on specific acting skills (e.g. making an entrance, creating a fully developed character, knowing how to sit), environments such as a park bench become convenient settings for the chance meeting of characters.

Explain that there is a park bench and that the students are to take on a character who comes into the scene and interacts with others.

Start the scene with one person, adding the others at suitable intervals.

Encourage students to let the scene run a little, before jumping in with their own characters.

Start in a Drama circle and ask students to hold hands.

Tell students you are going to send a squeeze around the circle, and then go on to squeeze the persons hand to your right. The squeeze should then find it's way all around the circle.

Once the students are comfortable with this, add a rhythm to the squeeze and see if it's the same rhythm that is returned.

Split into groups of 5 or 6.

Ask each groups to come up with a selection of random sounds - with each member making one vocalised sound.

Next, the group decides on a sequence in which these sounds are made and practices it in that order.

Each group performs it's sound sequence in turn to the whole class.

Now the groups are asked to make up a strange story in which these sounds occur.

Start in a drama circle asking participants to form pairs.

Explain that they need to create shapes which you call out to them, such as capital letters, lower-case letters, numbers or shapes.

The pairs will have to create these shapes whilst you count down from 10.

Students walk around the space in a neutral way trying to visit every corner of the room.

Encourage students to forget about where they may have been and to empty their minds of thought to prepare themselves for Drama.

Teacher can call out:

Red = Freeze Amber = Sit on the floor Green = Begin walking

 Start in a Drama circle.

Form groups of six or seven, using students of roughly the same size.

One student stands in the centre of the circle and stands firm. The other students provide support by putting two hands on this centre student.

When the centre student is ready and has eyes closed and body rigid like a plank of wood, that student gently leans backwards and is then passed around and across the circle.

After a while, the group gently brings the student’s body back to a central, upright position.

Stress safety, levels of trust and co-operation.

One student lies on the floor and keeps his or her body rigid.

Six or seven other students lift that student above their heads.

Start in a Drama circle.

Explain that you are going to create a story as a group by going around the circle and adding a line each. The only rule is that the lines must alternate between: "Unfortunately...." and "Fortunately....".

For example:

1. "Unfortunately my flight hit some turbulance."2. "Fortunately it didn't last too long."3. "Unfortunately the turbulance caused an engine to fail."4. "Fortunately there were parachutes on board."5. "Unfortunately there weren't enough to go round."6. ...etc.

The teacher puts students into pairs and tells the students a particular word e.g. sky.

Explain to the students this is a word association game, where they mustn’t pause, hesitate, repeat a word, or say a word that doesn’t connect.

The words are generated from one person to the other in their pairs e.g. Sky, blue, sea, beach etc

Select a student to stand facing the wall at one end of the room.

Have the remaining student’s in the class form a straight line behind the chosen student.

Choose a line of dialogue, for example, “I love you.”

Have each student say the line to the person at the other end of the room.

The solo student should only turn around if they believe the person who delivered the line.

1. Begin in a circle.

2. One person enters the circle and becomes the “Preacher.” They begin by shouting, “I feel the spirit!”

3. The group shouts back “I feel the spirit!”

4. The “Preacher” then shouts back, “I feel the spirit in my _________” Insert name of body part. The Preacher then moves that body part.

5. The rest of the group then repeat, “I feel the spirit in my _________” and the action.