Workshop 11 : Staging part 3

Setup: What do we need?

  • A workspace: The provided room should be sufficiently spacious and arranged in a way that can accommodate all participants and allow freedom of movement, as the workshop requires physical engagement.

The Participants:

Preschool students aged between 4 and 7 years, with the group not exceeding 30 students.

Facilitators:

School teachers, educators, drama instructors

Objectives of this workshop:

  • Explore characters
  • Bring the spatial staging to life to achieve a form of representation

Time Required:

45 minutes

Implementation:

The workshops will utilize techniques of bodily expression and theater.

Outcome:

By the end of the session, the children will have:

  • Practiced their interpretive skills
  • Enhanced their understanding of space

1. Session Start

The Clap
In a circle, the children pass an applause to their neighbor (by clapping their hands) while going around the circle. To make the applause pass, the students must look into each other’s eyes before clapping their hands!

2. Warm up

  • You can review the instructions from last time (walk, stop, hop, rhythms, numbers, environments) to assess the students’ progress from one session to another. We
  • walk in the space embodying the different characters created by the students.

3. Improvisation

  • We revisit the tableau of the setting and gradually incorporate the characters one by one. We bring to life the various interactions with the characters.

  • For the students forming the tableau of the setting, we guide their evolution: if we are in a forest, the wind can rustle the leaves of the trees; if a dragon breathes fire, the forest could catch on fire…

3. End of session

Clap
The leader stands facing the other group members to be well seen by all. They position their arms horizontally and start clapping their hands above their head. The others should imitate them while following their rhythm. Then, gradually, the leader will accelerate the rhythm until it leads to applause.