Drama 10 - Collage Collective
Choosing the Theme
What is Theme?
A theme is the central statement that a work of art or literature is making. It can take the form of a moral or of an impression of belief. In developing theme, students need to remember that a good theme is not stated outright, nor is repeated over and over. A subtlety expressed theme with many personal touches is the framework of a strong collective.
Thematic art comes through a synthesis of all you know intellectually, understand intuitively, feel through experience and feelings, and perceive through your beliefs. The central theme is a collective expression of what you as a group wish to tell the world. Thematic drama is fundamentally persuasive - the role of the group is illuminate a central concept in the fabric of life.
Note: The students have gone through many exercises, assignments and intense units of study. Now it’s time to focus on concepts we are passionate about and find ideas. The ability to be thoughtful is a key ability when trying to develop drama that challenges the mind. Find an overall concept that fascinates the class and challenge yourselves to say something profound. Trying again and again until you find one key idea that resonates with the group.
Activity 1 - Personal Survey of Beliefs: (10 to 15 min)
Have students complete these statements in their journal duo-tangs.
- I really like these things about myself ....
- I wish I could change .....
- I am most worried about .....
- I am most excited about ....
- I am most creative when ...
- I feel most vulnerable when ....
- I feel strong when .....
- People in this world need to remember .....
Activity 2 - Brainstorm: (5-10 min)
Make a list of key issues in today's society. There are no wrong responses. Have students generate as many examples as they can of ideas that they care about.
Activity 3 - Discussion: (40 min)
- Look at the list of ideas on the board.
- Group like ideas.
- Hold a vote to determine which issue should be discussed by the group. Each student should vote three times, and 3 issues of key interest should be established.
- Appoint a recorder to write down important concepts. Discuss each of the three issues for 10 min, then vote to establish the overall issue for the group.
Follow up Activity 3 with a Sharing Circle where each student has the opportunity to give a sentence or two on what the theme means to him or her. Immediately after the circle, students will write a page about what they heard in the circle (see Stages, page 169)
Activity 4 - Devil's Advocate:
The group will have established a general consensus about the topic to be discussed. Have them choose a position on the topic. It should be a position that can be argued, and most class members should agree with it. One class member or the teacher can play the role of the Devil's Advocate. The whole class argues one side, and the Devil's Advocate argues the other. The key to the success of the activity is to argue the side you are on, rather than your personal opinion. This activity serves to clarify students' views on controversial topics.
Activity 5 - Explore through Improv:
Give the students the following instructions for improvisation:
1. Start a scene from a suggestion from the group (or use the personal survey as a starting point for ideas) - at any time, anybody may call FREEZE and go in and change it subtlety by adding in a new dimension, or by changing the objective. (10 min.)
2. Group Improv: start a scene and add in characters until everybody is in the scene - at any point call out FREEZE and ask one to do an internal monologue.
(8 min.)
3. In partners discuss a scene with lots of conflict, where might it be set? Try the scene and at any point the audience can call FREEZE and make a suggestion for change, then let it continue. (10 min.)
4. Start the scene with a phone, call someone and they then call the next person, and on down the line until the first person is called in the end to bring it full circle. (Time depends on the size of the class)
Activity 6 - Explore through Representation
Ask students to create a piece of art that represents their feelings regarding the group's topic. Provide a wide variety art materials including: paint, paper, pastels or crayons, scissors, glue, plasticene, and a drawing program for the computer. (40 min., plus clean up time).
Activity 7 - Writing:
1. View a rant (like those found on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and discuss the elements of a rant. Have students write a rant that centers on the topic for discussion. (60 min.)
2. Have students write a dialogue between two characters that has a conflict that relates to the theme. Tell them they can never state the theme outright. (30 min.)
3. Have students create a stream-of-consciousness piece about the central theme. Tell them not to worry about mechanics or even logical flow of ideas. Their role is to record anything that comes to their minds, even if it seems initially unrelated. If students read their work to the class, they may need to censure material that is not appropriate for school. This should be done at the reading stage, not the writing stage. (20 min.)
Activity 8 - Collecting Quotes:
Students should search the internet for quotations, articles or song lyrics that relate to the theme. They should paste these into a word processing document, along with the name of the person who wrote them. The end product is a collage of words that should be discussed as a class during the writing process. (40 min.)
Activities for Collective Writing, Rehearsal and Performance
The activities suggested here take the form of notes to the teacher. They are not specifically structured because a collective is an organic entity that defies a rigid "first this, then this" structure. Every time a teacher works with a class to create a collective, the procedure and the end result will be different. Times for activities are not listed, as they will vary widely.
Activity 6 - Story Development
Invite a playwright/writer/storyteller (sometimes any outside observer can help) to sit in on a session and ask for direction on the story development.
Discuss sequencing.
TIP: try writing the ideas down on small cards and pin them on a bulletin board. The cards can be moved, added to or even deleted as the group sees fit.
This can be a formal script or an outline for "planned and improvised" scenes.
Assign several students to work on the script. They are responsible for making sure it is clear, legible and leaves room for blocking notes. It must be clear that all scripts are open to revision.
Activity 7 - Rehearsal
Assign a Rehearsal Director (or perhaps the teacher) and a Stage Manager to run the rehearsals and keep it running smoothly.
Depending on the demands of the play, the group may wish to assign other technical roles as well: assistant stage manager, lighting, sound, props and scenery.
Read the script and assign roles.
Read the play and walk through entrances and exits.
"Block" the play (use notes on the script to indicate where people move, use of props, costume, lights, or sound).
Possibly videotape some rehearsals for discussion.
Activity 8 - Perform
Small or big, the audience is important to the culmination of the process as it validates the work and gives meaning to the experience.
The group should decide how they wish to share their collective.
Perhaps invite another class to view the play.
This may be an opportunity to invite in parents or possibly board members.
If they do not wish to show it to outsiders, they can consider filming the performance so that they can watch it for themselves.
Activity 9 - Reflection
Evaluation of self.
Evaluation of peers through discussion.
Evaluation by teacher/facilitator.
Refer to the journal - did you meet or exceed your goal?