Drama post 1

Hi everyone!

I would like to share with you some of the wonderful things I have learned and experienced on my quest to better understanding everything and anything to do with the realm of the dramatic arts!

Having myself had no experience with formal training of any sort, I hope my posts will give a refreshing perspective on the topic at hand. I also hope that these posts can serve as a source of inspiration to other educators who are slightly frightened by the idea of beginning something that is so foreign to them. Not to worry; if I can do it, anyone can!

The first things I would like to discuss are Tableaux. Tableaux is a great activity to do with your class during the beginning of the semester (although it does not need to be limited to only that time of year of course). There are many reasons for this, one of them being that it is an activity that is very simple to understand and to do, therefore, it can serve to increase the confidence of students that they are in fact capable of not only participating in the class work, but excelling in it. The issue of increasing student confidence is especially important for students that are naturally a bit shy, because the more comfortable they become in the class setting, the more risks they will be willing to take and explore. Tableaux are also great to use as segues into many other lessons in the future, because much of what students will work on while engaging in tableaux are fundamental concepts (e.g. character and setting) that they will need to revisit in the future again and again.

Another great thing about Tableaux is that it is not hard to modify to include students with exceptionalities, for example, students in a wheelchair can still participate (and it may become even more enjoyable for the group because of the creative license they are given due to their circumstance).
Here is a link that further explores Tableaux in the classroom.

Expectation From the Ontario Curriculum:
B1. Creating and Presenting: apply the creative process to process drama and the development of drama works, using the elements and conventions of drama to communicate feelings, ideas, and multiple perspectives;