Students will demonstrate their ability to solidify their ideas by creating the last section of their piece.
Materials Needed
A hat
Lesson Directions
Play the game Celebrity with them. This will help them get loosened up and a break from working so hard on their piece. Have each student tear up a piece of paper into four small sections (or however many names you want them to contribute). Have them write one famous person’s name on each small section. The famous person should be someone that every person in the class will know; they can be fictional or real, literary figures, movie stars, television stars, political figures, sport icons, musicians, cartoon characters, etc.; but they need to be so obvious that anyone in the room will be able to recognize the name. Fold the sections of paper in half and put them all in a container. Divide the class into two teams. Call one member of each side up at a time and give them a pre-determined amount of time (one minute) to get their class members to guess the name on the piece of paper without saying any part of the name. You are the scorekeeper that will keep track of how many correct celebrities are guessed each round. The game can be played in three rounds (the papers are put back into the container between each round):
Round 1: The team member who is “playing” can use any physical or verbal communication to give clues to the celebrity they are trying to get their team to guess. Round 2: The “player” can only say three words and any physical communication to give clues. Round 3: The “player” cannot speak or make any verbal sounds to give clues – use those pantomime skills!
STEP 1: Transition- Now that you are warmed up lets devise our last section of the piece.
STEP 2: Group Practice- Once again this is an improvisation time for the students to explore what they want to do with their theatre piece. They need to come to some conclusion and end the piece.
STEP 3: Check for Understanding- Once the students have had time to rehearse the last section, have them piece all three sections together. If things change or they have new ideas this late in the process see if it is something that they all agree would enhance the story and not complicate it. Remind the students that this needs to be clear to an eight year old to an eleven year old.
STEP 4: Group Practice- Try to go through the piece at least twice without changing anything! This will help them solidify for their performance for the elementary schools.
**The devised theatre process can take you anywhere and can be anything. It really depends on the students in your class. With this class we also included music, and small set pieces. Costumes can be discussed and be a part of the piece as well. You can also include set pieces. The process will be different with every group of students but make sure they understand who their audience is and why they are creating this piece and don’t get lost in the creation of the piece.
**Any additional lessons would be rehearsing the piece for when they tour it. Whenever they are going to perform it would be helpful to go through the piece at least 1-2 times a week so they don’t forget what they have done.
Assessment
Students can be assessed on their participation in the final cuts and solidifying of their piece.
