Drama Sensory Series: Games & Exercises Focused on Hearing and Listening

This month, we’re going to be using the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) as the basis for exercises and theatre games. This week, we’re looking at sight-based exercises: observing, watching, imitating, and focusing on performance aspects that we can see. Here are five exercises to try with your students that use sight as their focus, with five additional exercises in the giveaway below. 1. The mirror exercise is a great starting place for sight-based theatre exercises. Students must watch each other carefully in order to accurately match their partners’ movements. Once students are doing well with mirroring in place, have them do a shadow walk, observing their partner’s movements around the room so they can imitate them as precisely as possible. 2. Create tableau scenes using photographs as a basis for the scene. Divide students into small groups. Have one student act as director and demonstrate to each group member how they have to stand or sit in the tableau scene. For an added challenge, give directors a time limit for how long they can look at the photograph (e.g., 10–30 seconds) or how many times they can come back to look at the photograph (e.g., a maximum of three looks), and then have them direct the rest of the group from their memory of the photo as best they can. 3. Use observation as a writing prompt. Have students go to a location with a lot of small group conversation, such as the hallway or cafeteria. Observe people talking with each other, but don’t listen to what they’re saying. Write a scene or inner monologue of one of the people, based on what you observe visually. 4. More advanced students can use observation to create a character from their surroundings, using inanimate objects as a prompt. Have them silently observe an empty classroom or hallway for three minutes, then return and create a character inspired by something they saw; for example, a cracked tile, a forgotten backpack, a light flickering. Write a monologue or scene based on that object or image. As an extension, have students get up and perform the scene or monologue they wrote, or improvise a monologue or movement piece based on the character they’ve created through their observation. 5. Have students observe each other performing scenes or improv work, and give each other feedback specifically focused on what they saw visually. For example, they can comment on the performing students’ physical movements and gestures, facial expressions, blocking choices, or use of props/costumes/set pieces/lighting, but not on aspects like vocal volume or clarity or use of music or sound effects, which are hearing-based feedback notes. If students need help giving feedback, these resources might be helpful: Effective Peer Feedback, Giving and Receiving Feedback, and Giving Feedback with Kindness.

This month, we’ve used the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) as the basis for exercises and theatre games. For our final week, we’re taking all five senses and bringing them together to create a full theatrical sensory experience. As a recap, check out our previous sense-based posts: • Sight-based games & exercises • Games & exercises focused on hearing and listening • Storytelling inspired by taste & smell • Movement & physicality-based exercises (touch) Final Activity: Director’s Vision Choice Board• Students will select a play or musical to create their director’s vision for. • Students will decide on their overall concept/vision for the play or musical. • Students will complete various tasks for each of the senses, demonstrating how their choices contribute to their overall vision for the show. See below for student task ideas. Feel free to add additional choices or alter the ones suggested. This project can be completed individually or in pairs. Instructions 1. Describe your overall vision for the show in one phrase. For example: “Shrek the Musical in outer space,” or “a gritty Mafia-style Romeo & Juliet.” If students would prefer to just do the show as written, that’s fine too. 2. For each sense section, select two tasks to complete. For advanced students or for a larger project, complete all three tasks per sense. 3. Complete and submit all work, including a detailed list of different mediums used (video links, links to Spotify or Apple Music playlists, physical vs. digital mood boards, shoebox-sized dioramas, etc.). 4. If any choices require a live performance, you’ll need to book a time block to perform your piece(s) for the class and teacher. (Teachers: Be sure to block off class dates/times for performances, and provide students with a list of available dates and times so they can complete their tasks.) 5. Respond to the reflection questions (include this with your full submission) found in the giveaway below. Sight • Create a visual timeline of the show from beginning to end, using a long roll of newsprint. Include instances that occurred prior to the show that trigger the situations within the show. Find or draw images to add to the timeline and use appropriate fonts in the style of your director’s vision. • Create a connections board showing how all the characters in the show are related to each other: marriages, family members, friendships, work colleagues, and so on. Create or find images of each character in the style of your director’s vision and attach them to a bulletin board or poster board, use yarn or string to connect the characters, or create a digital version. Do not omit any characters; if someone isn’t connected to anyone, note that on the board. Include broken connections, such as former friends, exes, or enemies. Use a different colour of yarn to illustrate those connections. • Rehearse and perform a brief (five-minute maximum) selection from the play or musical. A live performance or video performance is acceptable. You may perform by yourself or have additional students assist you as needed. You can wear rehearsal blacks, use costumes/clothing from your own closet that support your vision of the show, or use one item to identify each character. The teacher will decide whether you may perform with script in hand or must have it memorized. Sound • Write a song for a musical adaptation of a play, or a new song for a musical (you may use an existing song as the melody/structure, or create an original song). For bonus points, record yourself performing the song (audio only or video/audio is acceptable) and submit it with your lyrics. • Create a playlist of music to play during pre-show, intermission, and post-show. Choose a minimum of 10 songs that demonstrate and complement your vision of the show. Include a write-up of why you selected each song. Note: If any version of the show has an existing soundtrack, none of those songs may be included in your playlist. • Create a soundscape of at least five sound effects and three pieces of incidental (background) music that support your concept of the show. Include a list of where each sound effect/piece of music is included in the script (act, scene, line/cue). Touch • Create a shoebox-sized 3D model or diorama of your set. Include small cutout figures of at least two characters, as well as models or cutouts of any moving aspects of the set. Include notes about any important transitions and scene changes and how they would work. • Create a texture design board/scrapbook for your show. Include tactile materials such as fabric swatches, trims and buttons for costumes, wallpaper samples or carpet samples for sets, or small hand props (any props must fit in a shoebox-sized container). Submit at least five textures/items, and include a write-up explaining the purpose of each item. • Create a hairstyle and makeup look for a character on yourself, another student, or a mannequin that supports your vision of the show. Include close-up photographs of the front, both sides, and the back of the face and head, and/or a time-lapsed video of you creating the look. Scent & Taste • Look through your script and note any references to food or drinks. This could include any scenes that are set somewhere people might eat and would require food props onstage, such as a wedding, BBQ, banquet, or picnic. Make a list of those items and estimate the quantities of what you’d need for a weekend run of four performances. For bonus points, look up or create a recipe for one of the food items. • Or, if there are no food references in the script… What types of food were served in the geographic area or time period your show is set in? Create a sample menu of what people would commonly consume. Consider factors such as the economic status of the characters; for example, royalty would dine better than peasants. • Create a signature drink and snack that could be sold at the concession stand for the show. For example: “Queen of Hearts’ cherry lemonade” or “Mad Hatter’s sweet iced tea,” and “March Hare’s tea biscuits” for a production of Alice in Wonderland. Include a design for how you’d style the price list and/or the actual snacks/drinks. For example, you might include “eat me” and “drink me” tags on the snacks and drinks for the Alice suggestion. • Create a written “scent tour” of the scenes in the play, using descriptive language. What does the world of your play smell like? For example, if the show is set in a carnival, describe in detail the scent of crisp fall air, the pungent odor of gasoline from the rides, and the various smells of the food vendors such as cotton candy, candy apples, popcorn, and French fries. Note any scent changes from scene to scene.

These games and exercises are my go-to activities for teaching beginning drama students. They’re fun, engaging, effective, and give students a well-rounded overview of topics such as drama classroom and theatrical etiquette, various nonverbal and scripted performance techniques, introduction to scene and character analysis, and more. First Week Essentials• You and your students can learn each others’ names using the Silent Line-Up game, the ABC Name Game, and the Action Name Game from 3 Tips to Learn Students’ Names Quickly, and get to know a bit more about them by playing Move Yer Butt and Mixer from Getting to Know You Games. • Practice and reinforce classroom rules and theatre etiquette guidelines with the Act It Out game. • Creating a set of Community Agreements is an essential first week activity for you and your students. • And here’s even more First Week Activities for you to use. Ensemble-building and trust-building are key topics to cover through warm-ups, games, and classroom exercises. Nonverbal Theatrical Techniques: Mime, Tableau, Dance & Creative Movement• Elephant Walk is one of my favourite nonverbal warm-up games. • Start by teaching students about neutral position (from 3 Tips to Help Student Actors Stop Fidgeting), which helps them learn focus and body awareness. • Our Middle School Miming series has great tips for teaching students about miming technique. Try Preparatory Skills; Big, Small, Heavy, Light; and Interacting with a Wall to start. And of course, the Mirror Exercise is a classic mime exercise that everyone should use. • We’ve got lots of tableau exercises here at the Theatrefolk blog, but my go-to is Tableau Scenes from a Book. • Dancing in the Drama Classroom is another way to explore nonverbal storytelling and creative movement. Group Scene and Monologue Preparation & Practice• Always be sure to warm up the voice for speaking and singing, including breath control and enunciation exercises. • Scene analysis exercises help students gain a deeper understanding of the character they’re playing and the scene as part of the whole play. Don’t start rehearsing without doing some preparatory work first! • Teaching Students How to Rehearse in the Drama Classroom helps them use their in-class rehearsal time effectively. • Students also need to know the basics of stage directions. Try playing Trapdoor to learn the difference between upstage, downstage, stage left and stage right. • Once students have a good foundation, they can start working on partner and group scenes (which are generally less nerve-wracking than jumping right into monologues). If you need some great scripts for students to study in class, check out Theatrefolk’s Top 10 Plays for Scene Work. Work on analyzing, rehearsing and then presenting their scenes for the rest of the class. • Then, move on to monologues, both for performance and as part of an audition. I always have my students do mock auditions, so they get to practice going through the audition process before actually auditioning for a show. Specialty Topics• Improvisation is a vital skill for beginning drama students to help them think on their feet and work as a team. Here are the Top 10 Tips for Teaching Improv. Some of my favourite improv games include Scenario Generator, Props and Word at a Time Story, Commercials, and “Yes And…” and “No, But…”. • Puppetry is a great topic for students of all ages and levels of ability. Puppet Dance Parties are a fun starting point for introducing puppetry to your class. • Stage combat should only be taught by a qualified and experienced fight director, but you can introduce stage combat safety, responsibility, and fight analysis without even throwing a punch or picking up a sword. • You can teach introductory technical theatre topics to your beginning students, even if you aren’t the most technically inclined teacher. Costumes, props, makeup, sets, lighting, sound, special effects — there’s a technical area for just about everyone. We’ve got a collection of 15 Tech Exercises for the Non-Technical Teacher that don’t require a lot of equipment or extensive technical theatre knowledge. • You can bring together and show off all the skills your students have learned and developed over your time together with a class showcase. It could be a private performance for just your class or a public presentation with an invited audience — whatever works for you and your students. You can end each class with a quick verbal check-in with your students, or give them a few minutes to respond in writing to an exit slip prompt. Check out the giveaway below for a collection of exit slip prompts that you can adapt to many different lessons. Related Reading: Curriculum Planning: Introductory Skill Building