Play Building Drama Workshop with Daniet veccnio The leaming intention: to use various drama and theatre “genres” to collaboratively build ‘a performance piece (the play) with students. The “product” will be built around a theme (Remembrance Day). Students will have the opportunity to explore this theme and create a performance using: mime, movement, improvisation, music, dance, scripted scenes, monologues, tableaux, choral work, singing, poetry ete. 1, Imagine we have had a lot of discussion in class about Remembrance Day- students know what it is and why we honor the day at school and in our communities. Students may have read some stories, poems and produced some writing (journal, creative). Students have agreed to try and build a short dramatic piece around this theme; the class- a grade 6/7 will present this piece to 3 other classes in the gym on Rem. Day. 2. The plan- teacher has already done a lot of work- arranging a variety of short pieces that will fit together and flow into each other to create an overall mosaic of Rem. Day. Some teachers prepare a lot of this in advance; other teachers (me!!) use a much more collaborative approach and students create most of the piece (but this surely takes a lot longer but is far more rewarding and students truly own the work and learn so much more) Tt might look like this- and this is what we will try to create today! 1. Students each fill in the blank- “To me Rem Day means * or “Rem. Day is (they have max three words- use them wisely. say what is really emotional, important and moving 2. All students are numbered off and keep this “home #” for the duration of the work together 3. #ed students one by one and in numerical order, enter acting area as they say their 3 words and in pairs will build a cross/grave marker with their bodies- all this is finished by the time the last person enters and speaks 4. human crosses now on stage- frozen for 20 seconds- music comes on- students pick music (maybe no singing in this one) 5. now students all quickly move into solo positions in acting area- each balls up on the floor like a rock and sits perfectly quietly. 6. Numerically moving backwards...each gives a startling fact about a war- how many killed, wounded, different wars mentioned, bombs dropped, (the more horrific and shocking, the better) and as they give this short statement, each moves into a dead body position piling atop each other into a huge mass of corpses by the end of the short sequence 7. Now students move out of human corpse pose and move into a tableaux of a war ‘scene- teacher helps make this depiction- all students are involved but three of them-2 boys and one gir! move into the next scene 8. In this short piece the three students will perform a short scene: father wants son to enlist in war, but son does not want to go to war- he wants to go to school. Son