CHAPTER-15 

  EXPLORE  

For the Teacher

I’m sure you have created stories with your toys!

                                                                                 

                                                          Namaste Vidusha

                                                                                     

Awesome! Have you missed anything? Your list looks good! But, of all the things you listed, did you remember to write ‘the space around you’ and ‘the space within you’ (mind). These are the most important things you will need. Let us find out more about these … 

Let us EXPLORE 

ACT 1 SCENE 1—WALK OF WONDER 

Activity 1

Activity 2

You are in a Situation ! 

Teacher’s Note  Start with the speed activity as a warm-up. After 4–5 rounds of different speeds, introduce simple changes in the situation. Examples are given already. Teacher can add on more. 8–10 seconds gap can be given for every new instruction

Imagine yourself in a situation

BASIC  “Walk like you are walking on thorns”, “Walk as if the floor is slippery due to oil spillage”,“Walk like you are on soft cotton” … and so on.

ADVANCED   “Walk like you are barefoot on ice … now there is cold wind blowing … you don’t have warm clothes except a muffler … the strong wind blows it away.”

Teacher’s Note  This is a practice that must be followed for all activities. At the end of the activity, everyone sits in a circle to share their experiences

      

Circle Time Notes
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Activity 3  : Sit — Turn — Jump  

 

Start with the speed activity as a warm up. Be careful! Do not touch others or land on your friend’s feet after jumping. Follow the instructions from your teacher — start walking. Sit when you are asked to SIT, then continue to walk. Turn around when the teacher calls out TURN, and then continue to walk. Just hop in your place and continue to walk, when the teacher calls JUMP. This will change the speed and order of instructions.  So, BE ALERT!

Basic Interchange the actions! Now, Sit means TURN, Turn means JUMP and Jump means SIT (change pace and order

 

 

ADVANCED  

Substitute SIT, TURN and JUMP with other words. For example — IDLI is to Sit, VADA is to Stand and SAMBHAR is to Jump. The teacher can build a story and hide these words in it. For example, yesterday, my friend had brought Vada in her lunch box. She shared a piece with me, but there was no Sambhar.r

 

Now let’s play another game that requires you to be more alert and focused than the previous one. Are you ready?  

         

Discussion and Feedback

Discussion and Feedback • Which part of the activity did you enjoy the most? Why?

 • Did inter-changing the meanings of the commands make it more challenging? 

• What would you use to replace IDLI, VADA, and  SAMBHAR?

 

Circle Time Notes
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You have played well. You are ready for the next level! But I’m sure you have realised that you need more practice.Whenever you find some free time, play these games. Not only will you have fun, but also improve your skills. Want to know what we  are doing next?

Wonderful! That was fun! Whenever you see people in different postures, at home, on the street or anywhere you go, try to give it an interesting meaning. In your mind, of course! Trust me it will be a lot of fun! This ability to give new meanings builds your creativity. CREATIVITY is the ability to produce something new, original and sometimes unusual. They are ideas that help in communication, solving problems or to just have fun. This ability to think creatively will help you as you grow older also. In theatre, you can use this to create different scenes and visuals. Speaking of creating new  visuals and scenes, the next activity is just that!

Activity 5 :Group Structures

Instructions: You are given a keyword. You can discuss and plan in your group for 3 mins. All in the group take different positions to depict the scene. Do not take difficult positions that might hurt you. Remember, everyone’s position is equally important to depict the whole theme. No talking is allowed while acting or depicting.

 Teacher’s Note :     Divide children into groups of 5–6 depending on the strength of the class.

Did you see how creativity can help you in making or innovating new things! It requires a lot of creativity to present an idea without speech. You have done it well! Since you have used only your body to communicate, this is called BODY LANGUAGE. You are using your hands, legs, head and torso as words in a language. That is creativity! Discuss with your friends about creativity in each group. Observe how ‘thinking differently’ from everyone else is so wonderful. Share such instances from your home or other situations you have experienced.  

Activity 6 : Magic Pit (Object)

Instructions -

Let us sit in a circle. We will now take a headcount. The teacher calls a random number. When your number is called out, you go to the centre of the circle, where the invisible magic pit is present. You pick one object from there and enact it as though you are using the object taken from the invisible pit. The other children will guess your object. 

Tip: Not just your action (body language), but your expression also helps people understand better.

So, apart from your actions (body language) what is equally important? Your EXPRESSION. What is on your face becomes very important while acting. When you put together body language and expression, what are you doing? You are communicating. This is very important for creativity. If you cannot communicate your idea to others, even the best idea could go waste! Theatre is about creating stories and telling them to an audience. Right? So, if you are good with creative ideas, you will also be able to learn how to communicate. So being involved in theatre regularly will not only help you grow creatively, but also improve your communication skills. If you can  express better you are better understood. We will now take this creativity and communication to the next level.