Middle School

Tableau is a fantastic introductory theatre topic for middle schoolers. The word “tableau” comes from the phrase tableau vivant, or “living picture.” In tableau, students use their bodies and imaginations to create visual storytelling moments. The big difference between tableau and miming is that mimes can move, while tableau scenes must remain still. Students create frozen pictures (or “freeze frames”) to tell a story visually, without movement or sound. That being said, blinking and breathing are always allowed in tableau, even while students are holding frozen poses. This may seem obvious, but inevitably at least one student in every class will ask. Tableau scenes are generally performed with two or more students, and there are many additional ways of making a tableau scene exciting and engaging. One key to creating a successful tableau scene is focusing on details, such as facial expressions, body posture, positioning of the fingers and hands, and direction of eye gaze or actor sightlines. Audiences will naturally look at what the actors onstage are looking at, so students should use that to their advantage. As well, using a variety of physical levels (low, medium, high) is a great way to create an interesting tableau scene. One of the challenges of tableau is staying still and not wiggling, fidgeting, or looking around to see what other groups are doing. The more students can stay focused and trust in their stillness, the more successful they will be in portraying their story. It also helps for them to choose frozen poses that they can safely and accurately maintain; for example, students might want to avoid poses that require them to stand on tiptoe or on one leg for long periods of time. As well, students must work to clearly portray the relationships between their characters while staying frozen. Planning ahead with the members of the group and really “committing to the bit” (taking a risk and not worrying about what you look like) can help a lot with this task. Even though the poses are frozen, students also need to keep the energy flowing as best they can throughout the scene. Again, making eye contact with their group members, choosing strong and active poses, and using lots of different facial expressions really helps the scene to feel alive, despite being still. One way to practice tableau is by recreating an existing photograph in frozen picture format. Students can either copy the photograph as best they can themselves, or have one student act as director and help guide the rest of the group into place. Once students feel more comfortable with the process of creating a frozen picture, have them try creating their own tableau stories. Give them a topic (such as making dinner, going to the beach, or learning to drive) and have them create three tableau scenes: a clear beginning, middle, and end. For example, if the topic is making dinner, students might create scenes of chopping the vegetables (beginning), setting the table (middle), and sitting down to eat the meal (end). For learning to drive, students might create scenes of a student sitting in the car in park (beginning), freaking out after narrowly missing a parked car (middle), and high-fiving the driving instructor at the end of the driving lesson (end). Have students hold a beginning tableau scene for a minimum of five seconds, slowly move to the middle pose, hold the middle pose for five seconds, slowly move to the final pose, and hold that one for an additional five seconds. At the conclusion of the ending scene, have students say “scene” to close the performance. To check your students’ comprehension of the information shared here, please have them complete the worksheet found in the giveaway below.

By this point, students will have learned about and practiced miming preparatory skills (including stillness, focus, and visualization), portraying items of different weights, and interacting with a wall. All these exercises will help students to work up to this miming sequence of interacting with a door, which is more complicated than students will likely anticipate. We’ve broken down the sequence into three main steps, so students can practice and build their miming skills. Remember: the goal of miming is to “make the unreal, real.” By moving slowly and deliberately and using their visualization skills, students can achieve this goal. Let’s jump right in. Step 1: Students will first plan out and then practice reaching towards the invisible “door” and grasping the doorknob. Have students stand in neutral positions — feet flat on the floor, hands by their sides, shoulders and arms relaxed. With their right hand, students will reach across their body on a diagonal line in front of the left side of their body, extending their arm at around waist height. Look at the air where you imagine the doorknob would be, and see in your mind’s eye a spherical (round) doorknob. Reach forward and grasp the spherical doorknob on the invisible door in front of you. Remember that you have to give the doorknob “shape” by splaying your fingers wide, reaching forward, then placing your fingers around the shape of the doorknob without “crushing” it. Hold your fingers out so they are curved around the invisible doorknob. Hold this position for a couple of beats. Then, release the doorknob and replace your hand by your side. Practice this motion three to five times, and then repeat on the other side, with the left hand reaching in front of the right side of the body. Step 2: Next, students will practice opening the door. Again, starting from neutral, have students go through the process of reaching for the doorknob with the right hand and grasping it. Then, students will slowly “turn” the knob in the direction of their choice, and then slowly PUSH the door away from them, keeping their arm steady and level while they are moving it. This is because the doorknob needs to stay level; it can’t shift up and down the door. Once the height of the doorknob is established, it has to stay at that height throughout the sequence. Be aware that the door would have hinges on the right side (opposite side to the doorknob, near the student’s right elbow), so their hand would move away from themselves on a slight curve towards the right, following the direction of the door. Hold the “door” open for a few beats, then slowly “close” it again. Practice this motion three to five times, then repeat on the other side. Students would grasp the doorknob with their left hand, push open the door away from their bodies and towards the left, and then close it again. Step 3: Third, students will practice opening the door, walking through it, and closing the door behind them. Starting from neutral and with the right hand, students will reach for the doorknob, grasp it, turn the knob, and push the door open, keeping all movements slow and precise. Once students have “opened” the door, they will slowly walk through the door, turning slightly clockwise towards their right hand. They will switch hands and grasp the invisible doorknob on the “other side” of the door with their left hand. They will release the doorknob with their right hand, then slowly push and close the door away from themselves. Remember to keep the doorknob height consistent, and make sure the door is closing in the correct direction. Once the “door” has been closed, students will release the doorknob and let their hand and arm rest next to their side. Stay on that side and repeat the sequence, remembering that they are now on the other side of the invisible door and they’ll need to repeat the motions with the left hand and on the opposite side. Repeat this full process three to five times. Extension: There are many different kinds of doorknobs/door handles, so students have some options to explore once they are comfortable miming a spherical doorknob. For example, have students try this sequence again with a thin vertical door handle (completely mounted to the door) or a horizontal door handle (one that you can jiggle the handle up and down on). As well, students can explore pulling the door towards them. They’ll just need to remember to step out of the way of the invisible door coming towards them. At the end of class, have students fill out an exit slip (found in the giveaway below).

We’ve all seen the classic “mime stuck behind an invisible wall” routine, and when you mention miming to students, typically they’ll immediately start waving their hands around in that fashion. This sequence takes a lot of focus and physical stamina, even though the movements are small. The more deliberate and mindful the movements are and the more concentrated the students are on their eye focus, the more “real” the sequence will appear to the audience. Let’s get started. 1. Practice.Have your students start by practicing interacting with an actual wall. Have them stand facing a wall in the drama classroom, about 12–15 inches away, depending on how long their arms are. They’ll need to be able to place their palms flat against the wall while keeping a bend in their elbows; they shouldn’t be stretching to reach it. Have students stand with their hands by their sides. Look at the spot on the wall where you will place your right hand. Take your right hand, slowly raise it to around face height, softly spread the fingers apart, and place the palm against the wall firmly and with intent. Now, look at a different spot on the wall where you will place your left hand. Keeping the right hand on the wall, raise the left hand to face height, spread the fingers apart, and place that palm firmly against the wall. Feel the wall against both hands; the wall is strong and unyielding, and even if you press hard against it, it doesn’t move. Keeping the left hand on the wall, look at a new space on the wall, remove the right hand, and place it firmly on another place on the wall. Keeping the right hand on the wall, remove the left hand and place it somewhere else on the wall. Repeat the motions of removing one hand from the wall and placing it on another part of the wall, while always keeping one hand against the wall and looking towards the new spot on the wall where you will move your hand. Look, remove, place, repeat. Keep movements slow and purposeful — removing and placing, rather than sliding. To end the routine, take one hand off the wall and let it rest naturally against your side. Then, take the other hand off the wall and let it rest against your other side. 2. Visualize.Have students come away from the walls and find a place around the drama classroom, facing you. Students will stand in neutral positions, with feet flat on the floor and arms resting at their sides. Have students close their eyes or gaze softly forward. Using their visualization skills, students will picture in their mind’s eye the wall they were just interacting with. Imagine the wall — what colour is it? What material is it made of? How thick do you think it is? How far away from the wall are you? (It should be the same distance as when you were interacting with the actual wall.) Keep that image clearly in your mind as you move to the next step. 3. Make the unreal, real.If students have their eyes closed, have them open them now. Look straight ahead and “see” in your mind’s eye the wall in front of you. Start the same motions as when you practiced touching the actual wall: look towards where you will place your right hand (around face height), slowly raise your right hand, softly spread the fingers apart, and firmly place the palm in the air “against” the invisible wall. This first step is important, as it establishes the parameters of where the wall is in relation to the student. The wall can’t move around or it will become unreal to the audience. Keeping the right hand in place “on the wall,” look to where you’ll place your left hand, raise the left hand, spread the fingers apart, and place that palm firmly in the air “against” the invisible wall. Make sure that the left hand is placed at the same distance away from the body as the right hand, or the “wall” will be crooked. Students might notice that their fingers or palms feel tingly or warm — they’re getting the blood flowing from moving their hands so purposefully! Repeat the motions of looking at the new place on the wall, removing one hand from the wall and replacing it on another part of the wall, while always keeping one hand against the wall. Look, remove, place, repeat. As always, keep the movements slow and purposeful. Keep the distance between your body and the “wall” consistent at all times. To end the routine, take one hand off the wall and let it rest naturally against your side, followed by the other hand. If necessary, have students shake out their arms and hands afterwards to release any built-up energy or tension. 4. Perform.Split students into small groups and have them perform this sequence in front of the rest of the class, to demonstrate what they’ve been practicing. Give students a specific number of hand movements to perform, or have them keep moving until you ring a bell or make a gesture to indicate to them to end the routine.

In our previous Middle School Miming article, students explored using their hands and arms to maneuver invisible objects of various sizes around a circle. Now, we’re adding moving throughout the classroom space to our miming. When they’re moving around the room, encourage students to be on high alert about crashing into another student. This is called spatial awareness — being mindful of your surroundings and being able to navigate safely through your physical environment. At this beginning stage, movements should be slow and purposeful. This helps students to make solid physical choices and interactions with mimed objects clearer and easier for the audience to understand. Students should use all parts of their bodies and faces to elevate their mime work. They should also continue to use a “beginning, middle, and end” framework. This can be as simple as entering the space in character, interacting with the various challenges/obstacles (listed below), and exiting the space in character. And remember: no talking is necessary for any of these exercises! You’ll need a small bell or buzzer for this exercise. Alternatively, the teacher can clap their hands when needed to indicate when a movement starts or ends. If your students need a visual cue, wave a small flag or hold up a small sign. InstructionsWarm-Up: Have students warm up by playing a partner version of Follow the Leader. Have them split up into pairs. Partner A will walk slowly around the room — this is to make it easier for Partner B to follow them precisely. They should start by walking as they usually do, before adding any character walk choices. Partner B will follow them, trying to copy Partner A’s exact walk. Focus on details like the pace of their walk, the size of their steps, how their arms move, if their gait is bouncy or smooth, and so on. Make sure both partners get a chance to be the leader. For the main part of the exercise, have all the students gather on one side of the room. Three or four students will cross the room at a time to the other side. Have students walk slowly across the room to the other side so they can focus on accuracy rather than speed. At various times throughout the exercise, they’ll complete the tasks listed below. 1. Still: Students will use their visualization skills to imagine that the path in front of them is booby-trapped with floor traps or rays coming from the walls that will freeze them in stillness. At various times while students walk across the floor, the teacher will ring a small bell and students will stop moving (like they’ve been caught by a trap) and hold a still pose. When the teacher rings the bell again, students will continue moving across to the other side of the room. Repeat as many times as you wish while students are on their path. To keep the pace going, have the next round of students enter when the first round is halfway to two-thirds of the way across the floor. 2. Sticky: Before they start to move, have students use their visualization skills to imagine that the path in front of them is littered with wads of chewed up gum, sticky mud puddles, or blobs of glue. Have students walk across the floor, then when the teacher rings the bell, they will step onto a “sticky” spot on the floor. They’ll show to the audience that their foot is stuck by trying to lift it (just their foot, or by grabbing their leg with their hands and trying to pull it), moving the rest of their body around the sticky spot, pretending to pull really hard away from the spot — any action that demonstrates a concerted effort. When the teacher rings the bell again, students will manage to “peel” their foot off the sticky spot (with much difficulty) and carry on crossing the floor. Have students explore being extremely careful not to touch another sticky spot, avoiding stepping down hard on the sticky foot lest they get stuck again, or getting their food stuck again and having to repeat the process. They could also have a nearby classmate help them get “unstuck.” Have the next round of students enter during the next bell ring to keep the pace going. 3. Slippery: This is the most challenging and risky of the three explorations, so approach this one with caution! Have students use their visualization skills to imagine that the path is covered in ice or slime. Have them enter the space, then when the bell is rung, slow down and very gingerly step, slide, or glide across the floor (as best they can, especially if the floor is carpeted). Please avoid full-out falling unless your students have done safe fall training with a fight director. As well, they should avoid reaching out for friends to “steady” themselves, as they might inadvertently pull them over. Students might explore getting lower to the ground and crawling or shuffling on their bottoms across the “slippery” surface, or acting skilled with slippery surfaces as a skater or skier. After the exercise is complete, students will fill out and submit an exit slip (found below).

Students new to mime will often just start moving their hands haphazardly, like an item magically appeared in their hand out of thin air. But one of the ways a mimed object is made “real” is by portraying the process that a person goes through to physically interact with an object. We don’t think about it because actions like picking up and passing objects to a classmate are things we do every day. But if you break it down, it’s actually a full series of movements: reaching for the object, grasping it with our hand(s) and gripping it without squishing or dropping it, lifting it and accommodating its weight and size, manipulating the object in some way, and then dispensing of the item somehow, such as by passing it to another person or setting it down. That’s a lot of steps! When miming, each series of movements needs a beginning, a middle, and an end — like a miniature story. This makes the invisible, mimed object more clear for the actor to portray and for the audience to understand. In this exercise, students will practice accurately miming objects of different sizes and weights: small, big, light, and heavy. Using the beginning/middle/end framework, each student’s beginning movement is taking the object from the student on their left. The middle movement is holding/interacting with the object. The end movement is giving the object to the student on their right. Let’s get practicing. Instructions1. Have students stand in a large circle. 2. The teacher will introduce the four invisible “objects” that students will be passing around the circle, one for each category listed. (“Objects” is in quotation marks because the items will be mimed and therefore aren’t real.) For example: • Small: an eraser, a ping-pong ball, a thimble • Big: an inflatable pool float, a giant novelty teddy bear, a large cardboard moving box • Light: a feather, a balloon, a silk scarf • Heavy: a bowling ball, an encyclopedia, a brick 3. The teacher will start the exercise by slowly “picking up” the small “object” off the floor (a beginning movement) and describing the “object” verbally. While the item is being described, students will use the visualization technique they learned and practiced to imagine the object in their mind’s eye. Remind students that the item is not a magical item and doesn’t change (grow, shrink, etc.) as it’s passed from person to person — each student needs to maintain the structural integrity of the mimed object. 4. The teacher will slowly pass the invisible small object to the student on their right, who will take it from them. The student will briefly interact with the item in some way (holding it in their palm, passing it from their left hand to their right, testing the weight of the item), and then pass it to the student on their right. Each student will repeat the process with the invisible small object: taking it from the student on their left, manipulating it somehow, and passing it to the student on their right. Remind students to move slowly and deliberately, so everyone can see clearly how the mimed object is being used. Audiences will look at what the actor is looking at, so encourage students to use their full bodies and faces — especially direction of eye focus — while miming. 5. Have students observe how they themselves and their peers interact with the small item. How do they pick it up? Does the student next to them place it in their hand or do they hold it in their palm for the next student to pick up? How firmly or loosely do they need to grip the item? Do they use one hand or two? 6. When the final student passes the object back to the teacher, the teacher will place the object back on the floor (the overall end movement). 7. Repeat the process with the big, light, and heavy “objects.” Students will need to adjust their lifting and passing movements to accommodate the differences in the objects. Compare and contrast the movements needed to accurately portray each of the objects. 8. If your students get really good at this exercise, try the exercise again with “objects” with two qualities: big and heavy, big and light, small and heavy, small and light. Remember to continue to use the beginning/middle/end framework. Note: If your students are having trouble visualizing or miming certain objects, it may be helpful for them to start by interacting with four real objects representing each of the four qualities. For the big and heavy items, be sure to select objects with some size/heft, but that aren’t so unwieldy that they’ll seriously hurt someone if they’re dropped. Be aware of the strength level of your students — some students might not be able to lift very much weight, and you don’t want students to hurt themselves. Once they are clear on the physical qualities of the objects, they may be able to more accurately portray them.

The Emergency Lesson Plans: Middle School Drama Class Task Sheets resource is specifically designed for the middle school drama teacher. Everything you need is at your finger tips: task sheets with activities in drama subjects such as playwriting, design, theatre jobs, and theatre vocabulary; a template lesson plan with substitute teacher fill-in forms; and teacher notes with activity time management and suggestions for how to address industrious students. You’ll never worry about being unexpectedly absent again!

Miming is a great topic for middle school drama students. The art of miming uses the actors’ bodies and imaginations to tell a story, without using their voices. It’s all about “making the unreal, real” through thoughtful and purposeful movements. But before we jump into mime work, students need to learn and practice three preparatory skills: embracing stillness, developing their focus, and visualization. These skills will help students prepare their bodies and brains to explore different miming exercises. 1. StillnessIt can be challenging for students to practice stillness, as they are generally hardwired to move, wiggle, and fidget. But it’s a skill that can be practiced, and can be used in so many situations. All miming exercises should start with stillness. This allows students time to breathe, ground, and centre themselves before starting into purposeful mimed movements. To work on stillness, start by reviewing and practicing “neutral position”. As a reminder, it’s a body position where the actor is standing with their feet flat on the floor, about shoulder-width apart, knees relaxed (not locked), back straight, arms and hands by their sides, looking forward without any facial expressions, and silent. You may also have students use a seated neutral position. A seated neutral position is where the actor sits in a chair or stool with their feet flat on the floor, back straight, hands placed gently on thighs, looking forward without any facial expressions, and silent. Blinking and breathing is always allowed! Have students practice standing or sitting in neutral for short periods of time. Start really small, like 10 seconds of stillness and silence. In between practice sessions, encourage students to move and shake their wiggles out. Then gradually build up to longer increments of time. You can also try having students start in neutral for a count of 5, move slowly over the count of 5 into a specific pose, hold the pose for 5, and then move slowly back into neutral over a count of 5 again. Repeat as many times as you wish. 2. FocusThe classic mirror exercise is a great way for students to practice focus. It’s a drama class standard for a reason! Students partner up and face each other. One student acts as the leader, moving their arms, hands, head, and face in slow and steady patterns so that they can be “mirrored” by their partner. The emphasis on slow and steady is key for students to focus on precision and exact movements — looking at details all the way down to the fingertips, and making each movement purposeful. The goal for the follower is to copy the leader exactly — if someone were to watch the pair, they wouldn’t know who was leading. Start this exercise with having students stand with their feet planted, so it’s one less movement they have to think about. It’s also a good way for students to practice stillness in their lower bodies. Once students are demonstrating good focus and precision with just their upper bodies, you can add in lower body movements (legs, feet, hips). Once students feel more confident with the pair mirror exercise, add a layer of challenge by having them make groups of four and complete the exercise in a diamond shape. 3. VisualizationIn mime work, any “props” are invisible — just air. To convince an audience that the mime is actually interacting with a real item (a flower, a rope, a gift box, a door, and so on), students need to make their movements precise and purposeful. To help them do this, they need to visualize the item. Visualization is to imagine or “see” something in your brain, or mind’s eye. If students have a clear picture in their heads of what the item they’re portraying looks and feels like, that really helps them to bring it to life through their movements. Students can practice visualizing by having the teacher lead them through a guided visualization experience. As a bonus, it’s a great way to practice stillness and focus at the same time! Have students sit comfortably in the room, where they can hear you easily. If they feel safe to do so, they can close their eyes; otherwise, have them choose a focus spot in the room to softly gaze at. Choose a familiar object, for example, an ice cream cone. Then, have your students listen intently as you describe the item in detail, using all five senses to create an image in their mind’s eye. For the ice cream example, you could describe the size and shape of the ice cream cone, the choices of toppings, the feeling of the melting ice cream touching your hand as you grip the cone, the coldness on your tongue as you take that delicious first bite. Leave some details open to the students’ choices. For example, you might suggest that the ice cream is your students’ favourite flavour. Then, with students still seated and with the images still clear in their minds, they can start to explore some small movements associated with the item, such as holding the imaginary cone in their hand, taking a bite and savouring the taste, or wiping a drip of melted ice cream off their hand. All those sensory details, combined with students filling in their own personal details, will help them to create a super-clear picture in their mind. When students are in the midst of visualizing an object for actual miming activities, they won’t take this much time or go into this level of detail in those moments, but this is a way to introduce them to visualizing and help them develop those visualization skills. When they’re able to clearly visualize an object, it will be that much easier for them to portray the item through their movements for an audience. We’ll be exploring this in upcoming articles, so stay tuned!

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Middle school: a wild mix of excitement, nerves, and really big eighth graders. With a large cast and relatable characters, School Daze by Lindsay Price is an ideal choice for middle school performers navigating their first day of school. You remember middle school. That first day can be a funhouse or a hall of horrors. Will I fit in or be left behind? Did I wear the right clothes? How will I find the right class? Why do those eighth graders look so big... Middle school is the tricky tightrope between being a kid and being a teenager. How did you fare? Did you fall off the tightrope? Did you hold on? See the characters in School Daze try to keep their balance on the first day of middle school. Let's hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play?When I’m writing or thinking about writing, my number one method of finding play ideas is observation. Looking at what’s happening around me, listening to conversations, and most importantly, listening to my customers and my audience. Before writing School Daze, I had only written plays for high school students and never considered middle school. After a trip to a conference in Texas, I met so many middle school drama teachers who were looking specifically for plays written for middle school performers and dealing with middle school issues. And the big thing they told me middle school students didn’t want was fairy tales or similar childish stories. I took on the challenge and this play was actually the first of many middle school pieces. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences?Middle school is a tricky tightrope. How do you manage the first day successfully? 3. What's the most important visual for you in this play?I love the image of Sam and Pat standing with cafeteria trays trying to figure out how to navigate this new world. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?Avoid blackouts. Blackouts take the audience out of the world of the play and if you have one after every scene, the play is going to feel quite choppy. Using staging and music to move from scene to scene. Keep scene changes to a minimum and focus on keeping the play moving! 5. Why is this play great for student performers?I’m thrilled at how schools respond to this play. Some schools present it year after year to their feeder schools as an introduction to Middle School. And because it’s in the vignette format, it’s easy to rehearse with a large cast because you can have several scenes practicing at once. Perfect for Middle School classrooms. 6. Who is your favourite character in the play?I love the race scene because it takes a typical middle school event, moving from class to class, to the extreme. It also gives actors a lot to play with — there’s the humour of the characters and the physical action of the slow motion running. Every time I’ve ever seen the play, this scene has always been a highlight. 7. What is your favourite line in the play?"Everyone at my old school hates Skinny Marie and I know, I just know, she's going to try and be my friend because we're the only ones who know each other."

Do you need a simple warm-up to quickly get your middle school students into the drama class mindset? Try this classic game, with a drama class twist. Students will share what they’re bringing on vacation with them, and then act out what they’re bringing. Start with the basic instructions below, then try out the variations, or make up your own variations! No special equipment is needed for this warm-up. Instructions:1. Have students stand in a circle. 2. Select a student to start. This student, we’ll call them Student A, will say “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing my [insert item here].” This item can be anything: a tractor, a crocodile, an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics, a bowl of tapioca pudding. The more unusual, the better. Student A then must act out the item: driving the tractor, using their arms to show the crocodile’s jaws, lowering their head as if someone is putting the medal around their neck and waving to the crowd, making or eating the pudding, etc. They can mime the item, or add a vocalization, sound effect, or short simple line (for example, “Mmm… I love tapioca pudding!”) if they wish. 3. The student next to them, Student B, then says, “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing [insert Student A’s item]” and acts out Student A’s item, exactly as Student A did. Then Student B adds on: “and I’m bringing my [insert item here]” and they act out their own item. 4. The student next to Student B, Student C, says, “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing [insert Student B’s item]” and acts out Student B’s item, exactly as Student B did. Then Student C adds on: “and I’m bringing my [insert item here]” and they act out their own item. The play continues around the circle with each student bringing their neighbour’s item and then their own item, until each student has had the opportunity to participate. Variations:• Make it a name game by having students use each other’s names: Student B says “(Student A) is going on vacation and they’re bringing [insert Student A’s item]” and acts out Student A’s item, exactly as Student A did. Then Student B adds on: “and I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing my [insert item here]” and acts out their item. • Make it a memory game by having students repeat everyone else’s item before adding on their own (a huge challenge for the students at the end of the circle!). • Make it a physical warm-up game by having everyone in the circle mimic the student’s action after they present their item. • Make it a brainteaser game by having students follow specific parameters for what they can bring, such as something that starts with the same letter as their name (for instance, Padma must bring peanuts, a pencil, or a pillar), or something that has the same number of letters as their first name (for example, Michael must bring something that has seven letters, such as a gorilla or a cabinet). Or, have them choose items in alphabetical order (Student A brings apples, Student B brings a bicycle, Student C brings a camera, and so on). • Make it a mime exercise and charades combo game by having students say “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing my…” and act out the item without saying what it is. Have the rest of the group guess what the item is. • Create your own classroom variations. Have students describe and write out the instructions in their own words.

There are many different ways to analyze a scene for classroom study or performance: verbing, marking up the script, identifying subtext, making lists, and more. Some of these methods are easy and fast-paced, while some are more challenging or tedious. For younger or newer drama students, try introducing the concept of scene analysis by thinking like a detective solving a mystery. Look for clues and piece them together to solve the puzzle of the scene. Using the characters’ lines, stage directions, and text, students will figure out the who, what, where, when, and why of the scene. They’ll demonstrate how they discovered the information by using specific moments in the text as proof. First, read the scene at least twice, first as a pleasure read. You can have students read quietly by themselves, out loud in partners/small groups, or as a full class. Next, read the scene a second time to start delving into the details, looking to answer the questions below. Remember, they use the 5 W’s — who, what, where, when, why — as a questioning framework. Feel free to add additional 5W questions to your students’ analysis if you wish — these questions are a starting point. 1. Where does the scene take place? • A geographic location – New Jersey, Brisbane, Tokyo, New York City… • A general location – The jungle, an enchanted forest, a desert… • A specific location – Grandma’s kitchen, Mr. Kinkade’s classroom, Doune castle… 2. When is the scene happening? • A specific date, year, era, or time period. (Some shows are very specific. For example, the opening line of “Tune Up #1” from the musical Rent is “December 24th, 9 pm, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script.” Heathers: The Musical starts on “September 1st, 1989” in the song “Beautiful.”) • The time of day – Morning, afternoon, evening, night? • In relation to the rest of the show – Is this scene at the beginning or end of the show? • In relation to other scenes – What happened immediately before and/or after the scene? (This will be helpful when students get to the “why” questions.) 3. Who are the characters? • Basic information that we know about them – name, age, occupation, etc. • What do we know about them? Likes, dislikes, personality traits? • What is their relationship to the other character in the scene? Friends, family, a couple, enemies, coworkers, strangers? 4. What are the characters doing in the scene? (And why?) What are the characters feeling in the scene? (And why?) • In terms of what the characters are doing, start with what they are literally doing — washing the dishes, doing homework, going for a walk. What is the purpose of these actions? Do they relate to the scene somehow? • From there, consider what the characters are “doing” in a more interpretive sense. one character might be trying to convince another to do something, or a character might be saying one thing but meaning another. This is where proof from the text really helps! • The characters might come out and say something specific about how they’re feeling (“I feel sad”), or they might have [sadly] or [sniffling] as a stage direction to illustrate their emotions. Conversely, the characters might not be so direct in expressing their emotional state, so compare and contrast how your students interpret the characters’ feelings. 5. Why is this scene happening? Why is it important? • Something needs to happen. Some new information has to be shared or something has to change from the beginning of the scene to the end of the scene, otherwise it doesn’t move the plot forward. What moments in the scene stick out to your students? • Look back to the “when” questions and think about what happened before and after the scene. How does the action of this scene progress the plot of the show? 6. How do we know all this? Give proof, quotes, and examples from the text. After answering the questions, have students complete an exit slip: Describe the purpose of scene analysis in your own words. Take it to the next level:Character Analysis Exercise Script Analysis for Actors Script Analysis: Six Ways to Fill the Gaps Scene & Song Analysis Using Emojis

It’s exciting when well-known books, films, and television shows get turned into stage productions. Plays and musicals like The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, The SpongeBob Musical, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child feature favourite characters and epic moments, real and in person! These types of shows are a great way to engage your students in the drama classroom and capture their imaginations, bringing many different possibilities for storytelling onstage. Students can find inspiration in these types of shows and have great fun in creating their own interpretations and adaptations of the different scenes and moments onstage. However, younger students are often quite literal and don’t always know how to translate large, fantastical scenes from the script to the stage, or more often, the screen to the stage. They see giant battle sequences, characters flying or falling, car chases, magical transformations, or large sporting events and expect them to look exactly like they do on the screen or on the page. They don’t think of things like green screens, stunt people, post-production editing, or the thousands of dollars it takes to achieve these effects in a film or television show. These moments aren’t impossible to translate to the stage; we just need to look at them differently. We bring them to life through theatricalization, meaning “in a dramatic and representative manner.” It’s not exact; rather, a theatricalized moment represents the image and story, with the audience suspending their disbelief. They know the moment they’re watching onstage isn’t going to be perfectly realistic, yet what they’re seeing is still believable and evokes emotion. How can we challenge our middle school drama students to bring the unreal to life onstage? Let’s explore the process of coming up with simple yet creative solutions for staging these types of scenes. Start by having students share video clips of action-packed moments from their favourite movies or shows, live or animated. Have them point out moments that are exciting and ones they would like to create onstage. Then, either as a full class or in small groups, come up with ideas on how to bring the scene to life onstage. For example, let’s say the scene features a character driving a car. Your students likely will not be able to bring a full-sized functional car onstage. However, there are lots of ways to make a car “appear” onstage, using items they might find in the drama classroom or in their backpacks. For example: • Have students mime or create tableau scenes unlocking the car door, entering the car, steering, etc. • Have an actor sit on a rehearsal block or stationary chair and hold a circular object, such as a paper plate or a Frisbee, as the steering wheel. • Have one student push another around the room in a rolling desk chair or wheeled stool. • Use a toy car as a puppet and have another classmate narrate what’s happening. In these instances, the audience knows there isn’t an actual car onstage, but they understand that the action and selected props are used in a way that represents the car. Once students have brainstormed some ideas about how they could stage these scenes, have them get up on their feet and try creating the scenes. Give them a set amount of rehearsal time and then have them present their work in front of the rest of the class. Below you’ll find some examples of scenarios your students can work on in the classroom if they need ideas. Be sure to remind them to treat their bodies and those of their friends’ gently and safely, especially if they’re creating battle scenes or similarly physically risky scenes. If available, students can use items from the classroom and their own possessions, but if there aren’t any items available, mime, tableau, and slow-motion movements are all fun and effective! • A large sporting event — anything from a hockey game to a Quidditch match • Peter Pan and Wendy flying to Neverland • A battle sequence, such as the Battle of Helm’s Deep from Lord of the Rings or the battle between the White Witch’s army and Aslan’s army in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe • The Evil Queen transforming into the Witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Casting a spell in the Harry Potter universe • An underwater sequence, such as Ariel and Flounder exploring her grotto in The Little Mermaid • A horse race or trail ride • Tarzan and Jane swinging on vines through the jungle • Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit’s hole and his friends trying to help him get unstuck • Heroes trying to find their way through a giant hedge maze How will your students tackle these epic scenes in a creative way? For a greater challenge, have your class figure out two ways to stage each scene! Related Articles: Create a World Create a Giant Onstage Putting Together a Drama Class Adaptation Project Playwriting Exercise: Exploring Adaptation Scene Self-Staging: Teaching Students to Block Theatrically and Independently

Theatre is all about conveying emotions onstage through our voices, gestures, facial expressions, and body language. With middle schoolers, who are often in the midst of learning how to deal with their own emotions, it’s not always easy for them to know how to portray feelings onstage, or even have the language to describe how they’re feeling. Let’s help them figure it out. Materials You’ll need a thesaurus or the ability to do a web search for synonyms, as well as a dictionary and your blackboard/whiteboard or a large piece of paper to write on. Instructions 1. If you’re using a large piece of paper, turn it horizontally so it’s long. On one side of the paper (or blackboard/whiteboard), write the word happy. On the other side write sad or angry. You can make two lists if you’d like to work on both sad and angry. Draw a horizontal line between the two emotions to connect them. The centre of the line represents neutral. For example: HAPPY ------------------------ (Neutral) ------------------------ ANGRY You could also draw a small vertical line down the middle to represent neutral. 2. Imagine that the horizontal line is a spectrum. The outer edges are the happiest and angriest you can ever be in your life. The closer to the centre (neutral), the less intense the emotions are. 3. Have students brainstorm other emotions that are similar in tone to happy and angry, then determine where they fit on the spectrum. Use a thesaurus or this page of emotion prompts if they need help. Which is a more intense happy feeling: content or glad? Excited or ecstatic? Which is a more intense angry feeling: annoyed or irritated? Furious or fuming? Where would they put each emotion on the spectrum? Aim for a minimum of five words per side. If students don’t know what a word means, have them look up the definition and share it with the class. 4. Help your students understand what each emotion word might feel like. For each emotion, have students fill in the blanks: When (event) happens, I feel (emotion). Or I feel (emotion) when (event) happens, but I feel (different emotion) when (different event) happens. You can then use these sentences as prompts for students to practice portraying the different emotions. For example: "I feel happy when I have my favourite breakfast. I feel thrilled when I get a birthday present. I feel overjoyed when the present is a new puppy!" OR “When my brother drinks the last juice box in the fridge, I feel annoyed. When he won’t share the TV, I feel angry. When he blames me for something I didn’t do, I feel furious!” 5. Have students write (using the printable worksheet below) or discuss: • How do their bodies feel? (Tense? Tight? Hot? Cold? Jumbled up? Something else?) • What do their faces do? (Smile? Frown? Stare? Turn red?) • What does their voice do? (Cheer? Scream? Gasp?) • What actions do they do? (Jump up and down? Clench their fists? Kick something? Fall to the ground? Cover their ears?) • How do they demonstrate the different levels of emotion? 6. Have students stand up and act out the small scenes they created from the fill in the blanks in steps 4 and 5. Check out Tips to Help Students Raise the Stakes in Drama Class for help with this. You also might consider having students use the movie Inside Out as a reference. How do the Emotions stand? Move around? What do their faces do? 7. Reflection / Exit Slip Questions: “How can this exercise make you a better actor?” or “How can this exercise help you with your role in our class performance/school show?” Additional Resources: Choice Board Exercise: Portraying Emotions Physicalizing Emotions: How to Make Emotional Performances Consistent and Repeatable

Something teachers notice frequently when working with middle school students is that when the students are performing a two-person scene onstage, they tend to turn their bodies directly towards whomever they're talking to. This is understandable, as that’s what people do naturally to hear each other better and establish the fact that they’re listening. However, when students are onstage and turn their bodies away from the audience, they’re essentially closing themselves off. It makes it more challenging for the audience to hear the performers and see their facial expressions. Of course, we know there are times when performers must turn away from the audience, and in those cases, ensuring that students have worked on projecting their voices without shouting is key. But with all skills, practice makes progress, so let’s start by reinforcing the concept of “cheating out” towards the audience. Cheating out refers to actors standing with their bodies facing out towards the audience, but slightly angled towards their scene partner and looking at them out of the corner of their upstage eye using their peripheral vision. This gives the audience the illusion that the actor is speaking to their scene partner, while the audience can still see them. It also makes it easier for students to project their voice, as they aren’t facing fully sideways or towards the back of the stage. So let’s practice. Here are two games you can play with middle school drama students to practice "cheating out" towards the audience by using exaggerated body movements and standing positions. Students are going to feel strange or unnatural playing the games, and that’s the point — they’re meant to practice moving their bodies differently onstage. For both games, you’ll need copies of a short (one page or less) two-person scene for each student. You’ll also need a pack of Post-it Notes or index cards and tape for the second game. Game One: Toes ForwardGive students a copy of a short (one-page or less) two-person scene. If you wish, read the scene out loud before playing the game so everyone can hear it. Select two students to go first, draw names out of a hat, or ask for volunteers. Have the two students act the scene out in front of the rest of the class cold-reading style, with script in hand. Encourage students to use lots of movement and gestures in their scene and try not to just stand in one place. The catch is that no matter where or how students move on the stage, their toes must point towards the audience. This forces students to keep most of their body facing the audience. How will they move, stand, and bend the rest of their body? If you wish, have an audience member count (silently) how many times the students’ toes move away from the audience. Repeat this game until each student has had a chance to perform in front of the class. Game Two: Post-ItGive students a short (one-page or less) two-person scene. If you wish, read the scene aloud as a group. Have two students volunteer to start the game. Stick an index card or brightly coloured Post-it Note on each student’s back. *Have them act out the scene using lots of movement and gestures, but they have to keep the Post-it on their back hidden from the audience. *Again, this forces students to keep their bodies open towards the audience. Have audience members count (silently) how many times they see the Post-its. Repeat this game until each student has had a chance to perform in front of the class. For both games, after everyone has had a chance to perform, ask students verbally or have them write a reflection on what was the easiest and the most challenging part of the game. How did this game help to make them a better actor? If you played both versions of the game, which one was easier? Which one felt more natural? How can they apply or adjust this technique to a real onstage performance? Again, there will be many times in theatrical productions and scene work where students will turn away from the audience, as instructed by the director. But it’s always good for students to practice opening themselves out to the audience, and to make this slightly unnatural, theatrical way of moving and standing start to feel more normal when they’re performing.

*Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. * A Recipe of Me by Kate Kilpatrick is an incredible ensemble play with authentic middle school characters for middle school students. We see people all the time but don’t always know their stories. A Recipe of Me is great for social-emotional learning and understanding others. Leah and her siblings are relegated to the kids table in the kitchen AGAIN for Thanksgiving at Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Elliott’s house. Worse, they’ve had their phones taken away. This leads to the siblings searching the cupboards for snacks. What they come away with is Grandma Lucy’s secret family recipe box. They think they’re going to find juicy gossip. Instead, they find heartfelt stories about their family told through recipes. Stories they never knew. A beautiful look into the world of a family rooted in love and food. Food is the language that everyone can speak. This play was written specifically for middle school performers and won top honors at both the Florida Jr. Thespians District and State levels. Why did we publish this play? A Recipe of Me is a play specifically written with middle school aged characters for middle school performers, and we’re always on board with that. Further, it’s a thoughtful, engaging look at how we see other people – especially the people we see all the time like our family. A beautiful show with dynamic characters AND easy to stage. The original production had a card table with five chairs – the rest was taken care of by an ensemble and the imagination. Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? This play started with a passion project called Come to the Table, where we took a cast of middle school students to an assisted living facility in their community and had them interview the seniors about their favorite family recipes and food traditions. I knew I wanted to write a play about the importance of food and tradition in family cultures, and how food – similarly to theatre – is a universal way to bring people together. I always knew I would use elements of the interview transcripts while writing the play, but I also wanted to prioritize writing something for middle school students where they actually got to play middle-school-aged characters; from the beginning, I knew I didn’t want middle schoolers playing seniors. I believe A Recipe of Me authentically captures the love and respect cultivated in our interviews in a creative, fresh perspective to which middle school performers can easily relate. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Food is love. Family is love. Food is family. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? I think the use of the ensemble allows so much room for play and creativity throughout. Whenever there is a breakout Recipe of Me moment, there is an ideal moment for devising tableau, pantomime, and other collaborative unique to each production. For me, those ensemble moments are what breathe life and detail into the story. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Use this script as a way to inspire young performers to connect with their own family food traditions and stories. The more you can get them invested into the story, the stronger the play will be. Our auditions for the show (before the script was even written) was asking the students to prepare a story about food in their family (Have you ever been cooking and something went wrong? Who taught you how to make your favorite recipe? etc.), and at our very first rehearsal, students made their own Recipes of Me and shared them with the cast and crew. There is so much flexibility in this story – find the heart and playfulness that resonates with you and your cast. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? Simply put, because it was written for student performers. Students helped me devise and revise the script. Even the characters that are from different eras are portrayed as their younger, middle-school selves. It doesn’t ask young performers to try and put themselves in the shoes of adult characters – it was truly intended for young people. 6. Do you have any advice for people looking to perform this play online or socially distanced? Utilize your ensemble! You can easily create striking stage imagery with a distanced ensemble. Physical closeness will not make or break this story. For those attempting to stage it online, I would say the same – think of ways you can use your full cast when supporting the break-out Recipe of Me moments throughout the play.

Box by Lindsay Price is a middle school vignette play with flexible casting. It can be expanded for a large cast or reduced to a cast of 10 with doubling, and has excellent small scene and monologue opportunities. Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible. How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change? Michelle Wilson and the fantastic drama group at Davison Middle School in Davison, Michigan were able to share “all the feels” with their performance of Box. Cast, crew and audience members were all left with the incredibly unifying message that we’re all in this together: “I have done Box several times with my 7th and 8th grade Introduction to Theater students (public school). I love the play. A fun fact is that the scene with groups A B and C always makes a parent cry–because of all the students on stage (with each other) yelling “I am alone!” It really shows how alone we feel in our culture, even though we are surrounded by people who feel alone. TIPS: I had a grandparent of one of the students make me 6 heavy duty plywood boxes with these dimensions (2 of each): * 2 ½ feet high, 2 ½ feet wide, 1 ½ feet deep * 3 ½ feet high, 1 ½ feet wide, 1 ½ feet deep * 5 ½ feet tall and 2 feet wide and deep They are heavy, so the students have to work together to move them, but we use them all the time for improv, and have used them for many productions of Box. They are so strong, students could jump up and down on them and they wouldn’t break.”

The Super Non-Heroes by Taryn Temple is a fantastic middle school play that looks at friendship, acceptance and discovering yourself. Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Powerless Charlie sticks out like a sore thumb in a school full of superheroes. Smellinator can’t control her powers and forgot to do her Villain 101 homework. Golden Boy won’t follow protocol. And Toxic Sludge is, well, toxic sludge. When a supervillain attacks the school Charlie must dig deep within herself. She may not be a superhero but she discovers her unique talents to save the day. Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Patrick Derksen and the dedicated drama group at Border Valley School in Reinland, MB did – and they did a super job sharing their super selves in their production: “Just wanted to thank Taryn Temple and Theatrefolk for a great play! Border Valley School in Manitoba performed “The Super Non-Heroes” last week and we had a blast. The kids loved their roles so much; we had a lot of fun figuring out superhero backstories and character traits. We also enjoyed creating costumes, hair, and makeup for the different superheroes. I heard many positive comments from teachers that even younger students understood the plot and positive messages, and they appreciated the strong roles for girls.”

Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Taryn Temple’s The Super Non-Heroes is a fantastic middle-school play that with an important message: Be kind to people, especially those that are different from you. We are stronger together than we are by ourselves. Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Powerless Charlie sticks out like a sore thumb in a school full of superheroes. Smellinator can’t control her powers and forgot to do her Villain 101 homework. Golden Boy won’t follow protocol. And Toxic Sludge is, well, toxic sludge. When a supervillain attacks the school Charlie must dig deep within herself. She may not be a superhero but she discovers her unique talents to save the day. A fabulous middle school play that looks at friendship, acceptance and discovering yourself. Who doesn’t want to be a superhero? The fantastic group of drama students at Cherokee Community Schools in Cherokee, Iowa were super excited to transform themselves into a team of super heroes – and non-heroes – complete with fun and flashy costumes that really set the tone. Directed by Jason Wood , the students brought their “larger than life” characters to the stage, demonstrating to everyone present that there truly is strength – and success – in numbers.

Relevant themes, easy-to-connect-to characters and fun, fun, fun! Hoodie by Lindsay Price examines appearance and image in middle school, allowing students to immerse themselves in subject matters and issues that they deal with every day. Middle schoolers face a tornado of questions every day. What do I wear? What if I wear the wrong thing? What is she wearing? What do I look like? Stop looking at me! Hoodie examines image and appearance in the vignette style and poses what may be the most difficult question of all – Do I stay in the clump or do I stand alone? The incredible middle school student performers at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, New Jersey had an amazing experience with their production of Hoodie. Director Todd Ross shared how the show and performance really resonated with the entire cast – starting with a unique casting experience that really started off things on the right foot: “Some of the interesting and unique things I did with this show was to “audition” by having all 18 kids pick a character out of a hat. They were all like WHAT???? Are you serious??? To tell the truth, it is amazing how certain people got characters that were exactly like them, I don’t think I could have cast it better that what happened randomly. Several kids came to me after the show and told me that at first they didn’t like the play but by the end they loved it. They felt awkward at first (too close to reality) but through the process gained the confidence and comfort to be in those type of places. Wow, we (you, me, the show) did our job. The head of the middle school thinks this show should be on tour at schools all the time.”

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. ** The middle school comedy, Rebootilization by Alan Haehnel, is a full length extravaganza with parts for everyone – and we mean **everyone. Stories all over the world are under attack. Pages are going blank in a pandemic so big, the government’s involved. That’s where SynCryn comes in. Not an ordinary lab, SynCryn has the original narrative DNA for every story on ice and a plan to save the world from story obliteration. It’s an easy rebootilization process… so long as there aren’t any glitches in the software, or the director doesn’t go crazy, or the stories thaw out too quickly, or pirates get loose. If none of those things happen, it’s foolproof. Why did we publish this play? This play is an amazing feat of casting. You can fit every middle school student on your stage and give them a part. It’s also amazing with its take on the genre. We normally shy away from anything fairy tale associated but this play is so unique, it demands to be shared. Alan tackles the age old question: do stories matter? But that’s not all that’s going on here: youth vs age, technology vs tradition, past vs present. These are delightful discussion starters and this is a delightful piece of theatre. Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? This was actually a commissioned play. I wrote it for the Overland Trail Middle School in Overland Park, Kansas. I had written a much shorter, small-cast treatment of this idea before. When I did, I thought how much I liked the concept, so I welcomed the chance to expand the idea in Rebootilization. Plus, I love the juxtaposition of the old stories with new technology. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. No matter how much technology may influence our lives, we must remember the crucial influence of the old stories in our culture. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? The chaotic scene when everything is going wrong. If the director and the cast can pull off this confluence of noise, characters, set, and action in a successful way, in a way that seems like artful disaster, then I have confidence that every other element of the play will be handled well. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Pace, pace, pace! Keep it snappy! 5. Why is this play great for student performers? Opportunity. This show would typically be performed with a lot of doubling of characters, so the chances to get be busy both on- and off-stage are numerous.

Vignettes. Flexible casting. Expandable cast size. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities. If you’re looking for a middle school play for your students that truly has a bit of everything, look no further than Box by Lindsay Price. Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible. How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change? The talented middle school group at Punta Gorda Middle School in Punta Gorda, Florida had an amazing experience with their own production of Box and director Rudi Wolfahrt was happy to share how the show struck a chord with everyone involved: “Very simple to produce, but the greatest experience was how the message of Box resonates with cast members, students and adults. We received many positive comments after our production. I recommend producing this show in front of the student body. The audience was engaged and related to the characters.”