Building Narratives with shapes

Purpose of the Activity

This activity helps learners explore imagination, storytelling, teamwork, and physical improvisation by using simple shapes as the starting point for creating scenes and narratives.

Materials Needed

- A set of basic shapes (paper cut-outs, cards, or objects) such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, stars, and ovals.

Step-by-Step Instructions

·       1. Form a Circle: Have the group stand or sit in a circle so everyone can see the shapes clearly.

·       2. Introduce the Shapes: Place the shapes in the center and explain that each shape can represent anything in a story.

·       3. Choose a Shape: Invite one participant to pick a shape and describe what it could become.

·       4. Build the Narrative: Go around the circle, with each person adding a new detail to the story.

·       5. Add Movement (In small groups): Ask participants to act out what the shape represents using gestures or simple movements.

·       6. Introduce More Shapes: Add additional shapes to bring new characters, objects, or twists to the story.

·       7. Wrap Up the Story: Guide the group to bring the narrative to a natural conclusion and perform their story to one another.

Reflection Questions

·       How did the shapes influence your ideas?

·       What surprised you in the story?

·       How did working as a group change the narrative?

·       What did you enjoy most about the process?

Learning Outcomes

Participants will practice creative thinking, collaboration, improvisation, story structure, and communication skills.

Elasticity

Find a partner and face one another
Move around anywhere in the room but keep eye contact with each other
when leader shouts "change" you must change partner
Experiment with levels, distance, pace etc

Comment: This requires a certain amount of trust in the group to be able to maintain eye contact but is a good way of finding out the groups closeness.
This is a good spacial awareness exercise working with a partner and being aware of those around at the same time.

Knee tag

Find a partner and face one another
The idea is to try and touch your partners knee 3 times before they touch yours 3 times.
You can increase the difficulty by making each pair put an arm behind their back.
On the command "Change" You must find a new partner to do combat with.

Comments: Great to use with a new group especially as a way to get to know one another. This is also a good spacial awareness exercise as individuals are not just to watch their partners moves but be aware of those around them.

Mexican wave

In a circle one person sends a clap around the circle
Try to get the gap between claps as small as is possible.
First send it clockwise and then anticlockwise.
If you create 2 circles you can race to see which circle is faster.
Encourage people to be alert both with their eyes, ears and body.
You can make the circle tighter to increase the speed of the clap.

Comments: This is a fun one to use with a new group to introduce the idea of play and team work. It is good to use with a group who may be a little nervous about doing drama to loosen them up.