Baley, Teaching Symposium, August 2015

ALL HANDOUTS FROM DRAMA BASED PEDAGOGY: ACTIVATING LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS, by Kathryn M. Dawson, MFA and Dr. Bridget Lee, summer 2016

USED WITH PERMISSION

1) Poster Dialogue (ACTIVATING DIALOGUE STRATEGY)

Source: Unknown

Number of Players: 3+

Space: Large area

Materials: Large space to write (paper or board), markers for participants, music (if desired)

What is it & Why do we do it?

This strategy provides a low-risk space for participants to respond in text or image form to a series of connected, open-ended prompts that frame the beginning of a course, unit or topic. Ideally the prompts invite participants to make authentic connections between the topics to be explored and their lived experience. This is also an opportunity for the facilitator to see and learn about participant experience.

Directions:

Prior to the activity, the facilitator writes open-ended statements/questions at the top of a poster-sized piece of paper, one statement/question per page. Facilitator provides each participant a marker and asks that all participants respond to each question/ statement in any order. This is a silent activity, and, often, music is played in the background. The facilitator may choose to participate in the activity as well. After participants have put a comment on each page, they are encouraged to take time to read what the other participants have written. The strategy concludes with the facilitator bringing the full group back together to analyze and synthesize the statements on the pages and to make connections to a larger inquiry.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Make sure you have a comment on each page.
If someone has written exactly what you wanted to say, you are welcome to put a check mark by that statement.

Possible Variations:

After everyone has written one comment, participants may write brief responses to other people’s comments.
Participants can choose to respond with symbols/images as well as words.

Reflection:

What did you notice about yourself during this activity?
Which statements/comments got the most check marks? Why?
Are there specific words/phrases that appear on multiple pages? Why do you think this happened?
What do these ideas have to do with our larger inquiry?

2) Exploding Atom (ACTIVATING DIALOGUE STRATEGY)

Source: Jonathon Sullivan

Number of Players: 3+

Space: Open area where the group can spread out

Materials: None

What is it & Why do we do it?

Exploding Atomis an out-of-your-seat strategy in which participants express their opinion on their own continuum that starts at the center and moves to the outer most point of the standing circle space. Like Vote with Your Feet, this strategy allows participants to see the range of opinions in their class while embodying their own opinion.

Directions:

Before the activity, the facilitator creates open-ended (not right/wrong) statements that evoke an opinion from participants. Clear a space in the room and ask that all participants join you in a small circle in the center of the room. Explain that you are now standing in the “yes” area. When you read a statement, if the participants agree with what you have said then they will stand in the center of this space as close together as possible. Ask participants to expand (explode) out as far as they can from the center. Explain that they are now standing in the “no” area. Ask participants to move where they think “maybe” might be. Clarify that each participant is on his or her own continuum between “yes” and “no.” Read out prepared statements such as: I like to watch movies. Or, I think people with money should share with those who are poor. Ask the participants to vote with their bodies by standing/exploding to the place that best expresses their opinion on their individual continuum. Facilitate a discussion after some statements where participants can explain why they have placed themselves in the position they did.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Remember, this is about your opinion. There is no right or wrong response to the statements.
Turn to someone standing close to you and discuss why you are standing where you are standing.
It’s about listening, and agreeing to disagree.
No one has to speak. People can say “pass” or “it’s been said.”
Can someone from this group standing at “yes” tell me why you are standing where you are?

Possible Variations:

Participants can stand in a line or continuum instead of the atom shape (see Vote with your Feet).
You can put a water bottle (or other object) in the middle of the circle for the participants to see where “yes” is.
You can alter “yes”/”no” to “strongly agree”/”strongly disagree.”

Reflection:

Take a moment to notice the room and where people are standing. What do you see?
Let’s hear from the where the largest group is standing first, would anyone like to share why they are standing where they are? (Always make sure that the smallest group has the last word.)
After each discussion allow participants to move themselves on their own continuum if they choose.

3) 3-D Models (ACTIVATING DIALOGUE STRATEGY)

Source: Katie Dawson

Number of Players: 3+

Space: Any

Materials: Miscellaneous craft supplies such as pipe cleaners, straws, paper, tape, markers, crayons, popsicle sticks, and feathers.

What is it and Why do we do it?

3-D models invite participants to use a range of materials to create an abstract, visual representation of a key concept, theme or personal belief. Participants then verbally respond to what they see in each other’s models while the artist listens to the interpretation. This strategy asks participants to transfer between multimodal forms of expression (text to visual to verbal). Participants practice deep perception and explore how to use the elements of visual design to interpret and make meaning of a 3-dimensional sculpture.

Directions:

Invite participants to reflect on a specific concept, question, or theme. Have them write down their thoughts, then invite them to circle or underline three key words or phrases that most speak to the prompt. Once participants have prepared their ideas, invite them to use the craft supplies available to create a model representing their ideas. They are able to use the selected three words/phrases within the model if they choose to include text. Otherwise, no text can be used. The model can be literal or abstract. All participants should createtheir own model.

After everyone has completed his or her model, the facilitator guides a reflection conversation about each piece of art through questions like:

What do you see in this 3-D model?

What might be an interpretation of these observations?

Take one observation and then ask for multiple interpretations of it.

What do these interpretations invite us to think about the larger concept/question/theme we are exploring?

After the participants have observed and interpreted the 3-D model, the artist getsone minute to say anything s/he wants to clarify or offer in addition to the group’s observations and interpretations.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Think about how the texture, line, and shape of the materials might help you communicate the meaning of your three ideas through your 3-D model.
What is another interpretation?

Reflection:

What did we do in this activity?
Were the responders’ interpretations consistent with your expectations? How so or how not so?
How did others’ interpretations of your model impact your thinking?

4) People to People (THEATRE GAME AS METAPHOR STRATEGY)

Source: Various
Number of Players: 6+ (even numbers are ideal)
Space: Open Area
Materials: None

What is it & Why do we do it?

In this activity, partners collaboratively problem solve in order to physically connect different body parts based on prompts from the facilitator. This icebreaker invites participants to engage in safe physical contact through non-verbal negotiation. The facilitator also has the opportunity to scaffold the level of risk through intentional choices about which body parts participants are asked to connect.

Directions:
Invite participants to begin walking around the room. When the facilitator says “People to people,” participants must find a partner and stand next to them. The facilitator gives a series of instructions for the participants to follow. For example, if the facilitator says “elbow to elbow” participants must touch elbows. Both participants must follow the direction, so it is not only one elbow from each participant touching- it is both elbows from both participants. The facilitator might then say, “elbow to knee” and each participant must find a way to touch their partner’s knee with their elbow. The facilitator gives two or three instructions to participant pairs, and then invites them to begin walking around the room again. At the command “People to people,” participants find another partner and the facilitator gives the participant pairs two or three new instructions. Repeat this process a few times, offering participants challenges to problem-solve with their partners.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Is there another way you might be able to accomplish this?
Make sure you’re taking care of your partner.
How can you work together to accomplish your task?

Possible Variations:

Invite participants to offer suggestions for instructions.
Challenge participants to come up with instructions that require careful problem solving.
If the group becomes really comfortable with working in pairs, try having participants perform the given tasks in groups of three.
This strategy can also be played without any physical contact;participants imagine that they are connecting with magnets so body parts are close together but not actually touching.
This strategy can be used to regroup students into working partners for the next activity.

Reflection:

What did you notice about yourself in this activity? What did you notice about the group?
What was challenging about this activity? How did you work to overcome those challenges?
How can this activity serve as a metaphor for a larger inquiry or goal of our group?

5) The Great Game of Power (IMAGE WORK STRATEGY)

Source: Augusto Boal

Number of Players: 3 +

Space: Open Area

Materials: 4 chairs and a water bottle

What is it & Why do we do it?
The Great Game of Power is an activity that explores representations of power through the visual reading of an image constructed out of 4 chairs and a water bottle. This strategy models the DAR thinking routine – Describe, Analyze, Relate – as a way to generate multiple interpretations through dialogic sense-making with a group.

Directions:
Ask for a volunteer to silently arrange the chairs and bottle so as to make one chair become the most powerful object, in relation to the other chairs. Any of the objects can be moved or placed on top of each other, but none of the objects can be removed altogether from the space. The volunteer does not reveal his/her thinking behind the arrangement. Next, the rest of the group interprets or “reads” the image as the facilitator asks:

Describe: What do you see? Describe the way the chairs are positioned.

Analyze: What do you think that could mean? Why do you say that? Which chair has the most power? Why? What could another perspective on this picture be?

Relate(ask questions related to whatever you are studying): If we are thinking about this is relationship to the play Romeo and Juliet, what moment might this image represent?

Encourage a number of different interpretations. Have another volunteer repeat the activity.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Remember you can place the chairs in any way you wish.

How can the water bottle be used in your image? What does it represent?

Possible Variations:

This strategy can be used to discuss types or systems of government, character relationships, or representations of power within story or history.
It is also possible to place a body in the image to take power away from the chair if that line of inquiry is productive.

Reflection:

What ways did the chairs and people show power in this activity?
What makes a person powerful?
Who is powerful in our world now? Why?

6) Real and Ideal Images (IMAGE WORK STRATEGY)

Source: Augusto Boal, Games for Actors and Non-Actors

Number of Players: 4 or more (best with more)

Space: Open room

Materials: None

What is it & Why do we do it?

Real and Ideal Imagesasks a group of participants to build an image with bodies of a “real” challenge or problem and an image of the “ideal” solution. The group may also build the “images of change”: multiple images that show how to move from a real problem to an ideal solution. This activity supports participants’ ability to understand the complexity of solving problems within authentic circumstances and provides a way to dialogue about multiple solutions both verbally as well as physically.

Directions:

Divide participants so that some are playing and some are the audience. The facilitator teachesor reviews how to make a frozen image (doesn’t move, captures a moment in action using the body and face, strong point of view, tells a story, uses levels). Then, the facilitator poses a problem or offers a reflection prompt for the group to consider, for example: What does bullying look like at our school or How do we feel about the standardized tests which will begin tomorrow? Once the prompt is offered, the group can be given time to dialogue and generate ideas, or they may be asked to explore their understanding spontaneously without additional dialogue. Either way, the group is asked to create a frozen picture, which represents the “real” problem. This can be done with one small group volunteering to explore the prompt, or multiple small groups working simultaneously to explore the prompt. Once an image is created, the facilitator dialogueswith participants about what they see and why they see it. Next, the group is asked to imagine a solution to the “real” problem that was just presented. What would it look like if we could wave a magic wand and the problem has been solved?The same “real” problem group maintains their characters and now creates an image of the “ideal” solution. The facilitator reads the new image and dialogue about what participants see. The final portion of the strategy invites participants to build 2-3 images between: how do we move from the “real” problem to the “ideal” solution. This final exploration can be done as a full group, or smaller groups can work independently to create their own “images of change” to share with the larger group so that multiple solutions can be explored and analyzed.

Possible Side-Coaching:

Is this an authentic representation of the real problem? If not how can we make it more real?
How does the character get from the real problem to the ideal solution? What has to change? Remember we can’t magically get rid of systems of power or the antagonists in our lives.
Push your point of view in the frozen picture.

Possible Variations:

Some participants can be the clay while others sculpt the group into images (see Sculptor/Clay)
Hold a hand over a frozen character and ask the group to speak her/his inner thoughts.

Reflection:

What are the bodies doing in this image?
Because the bodies are doing _____, what do you interpret that to mean? What is the story?
What makes change in our world? How do we become agents for personal or collective change?