What else would Jesus Do? (Boal in the Bible)

Warm up games
Knee Tag
Sword fighting
Treading on toes
Force field

Activity

1. Split into groups of 4 or 5

2. Read through the gospel text together
3. List encounters where Jesus intervened in a situation, For example:

Women caught in adultery
Martha and Mary
Zacheus in a tree

4. In your group create images of each intervention in the story (which can be shown to the other groups)

5. Pick one story and create images for what actually happened before and after the intervention.

Explore through images other scenarios before and after (What else could Jesus have done?)

6. 7. Pick a scenario you like and explore adding movement and speech to each image.

Perform to the other groups and Discuss 

8. Replay and  invite people to intervene with alternative interventions.

Building narratives with shapes

In a big circle one person goes in to the middle and holds a shape;
Someone joins them interacting with them in a other shape and so on.
Ask the group what they see? What emotions? What is going on in the story?
Get lots of variations.

Repeat but this time give the group (or groups) 20 seconds to create what ever you call out i.e an emotion or a noun (church, Bicycle,) or the Weather- Hot, Stormy, Hurricane etc.

Repeat again and give the group an emotion to build together- Search together again for a narrative.

Follow up: This is a good exercise to go on and create images from texts, which can create scenes for a drama. Words can be given to characters, which can be built into sentences and so on.

Comment: A good exercise to use with a mixed group as it lends itself to differentiating the task. A good group can be pushed to create scenes to a story where as a less experienced group could stop at just images.

Aadu veedu (goat House)

The game starts with everybody creating a Goat House (two people stand holding arms up to create a house and someone sits down underneath to represent the goat).
If the leader shouts "Goat" all the goats have to change place.
If the leader shouts "House" all the houses change places to shelter different goats.
If the leader shouts “Goat House”, then everyone has to change and recreate Goat Houses with different people.
At the start make sure there are a few free goats, so that they have to compete with the rest when they change.

Nb: Aadu Veeda is the Tamil name version of this game. It simply means Goat House. In the UK this game is more commonly known as house, person, tempest

Variation
You can add to the analogy of house by saying "extension" Two people then have to create an extension each side.

Comment. I have used this game with a group that did not know each other well and it worked very well. I think because it is well structured and the children knew exactly whatt was expected of them. However it does encourage mingling as well

Conducting game

Divide the group into twos and instruct them to create a short sound or rhythm that they will be asked to share with the group.
Everyone shares their sound.
Explain to the group that you as the leader will be a conductor and as you point to a pair they must make their sound/rhythm until you point to them to stop.
As conductor you can bring anyone one in you want at any Time so everybody must be watching and ready.
The conductor also shows the group other signs such as increase or decrease volume using his hands. (or lengthen or shorten sound)
The challenge is for the conductor to create as rhythmical a sound as possible.
When the conductor has had enough he can pass the baton to whoever he wants and he then joins that pair.

Variation:
This can also be done with simple movement to create a dance piece
A outside pair of eyes can watch the action and look for narratives ion the movements. This can be fed back to the pairs and a scene could be devised out of this.
Shapes/movements/narratives can be paired off together to create something

Playback Theatre 2

Retell in a group of 3 how you came to school/work this morning
Other members of the group listen and hold on to 3 images that come out of retelling.
Create 3 images for each persons story in the group
Each group of 3 should have a total of 9 images to show.
Create a stage with a chair to one side where the person who told the story sits.
His/her partners present the 3 images that represent their story, but the author in the chair cannot speak.
You can ask the audience to comment on what they saw or even suggest ideas as to what they think happened.
Each group of 3 takes it in turns to get up and perform their stories and images
Music can be used as an accompaniment to the stories

Variation
The author retells their story out loud to the audience and the partners perform the 3 images at the appropriate time in the story
The author is not allowed to make any additional comments.

Comment: I found this exercise quite moving especially where quite personal stories were shared. It is as if the story tellers story is being valued by the others acting it out and they could show something that the person might want shared but find it too hard to speak about. I was recently doing a project in Manilla with Street Children where we talked about using this exercise to tell some of their stories. Unfortunately it didn't happen but I will keep it up my sleeve for another time.

Alphabet

In groups of 3 make a letter of the alphabet.
Show them to one another and try to guess them.
Choose one group of 3 in turn and the rest of the group brainstorm out loud any words, shapes images or stories they see.
Each group create a short scene using the ideas given with their shape as a component of it.

Variation
You can join groups (shapes) together to create a short scene where they either go together or offer a contrast.

Comment: I did this recently in a school with primary children and it worked a treat. It is something that they had a lot of fun doing without having to think too much, but it opened up a whole load of ideas when they started to look at one anothers shapes.

Stroboscopic Image

In a group of 4 tell one another a personal story about yourself.
As a group agree on 3 images for each story
The narrator (and author) of the story sits on a chair to the side but cannot speak while the remaining 3 perform the image for each part of their story.
Rehearse the sequence so that moving from one image to the other becomes seamless.
The leader (Joker) instructs the audience to close their eyes whilst the first image is being made and then to open them to view it.
This is repeated for each image

Ask the narrator how they felt whilst their story was being shown?
Ask the audience how they felt watching he story? What was it about?

Swapping places

Stand in a circle and look at who's in the circle.
Observe what you see
As you catch someones eye agree with them and swap places
(Nb This may require quite big body gestures)

Ask- What "ing" things were needed for this activity to work (Really spend time teasing them out as there is a lot of non verbal contact in this game)

Progression
Look, agree and swap places with someone but keep eye contact until you cross one another
Repeat this but keep eye contact all the time
Repeat above but agree for one of you to close there eyes so the other has to direct you verbally
Look agree and met in the middle, create a shape, then return to your place. (You can ask what the group saw or noticed in the middle. Any interesting shapes.)

Oppression - Group sculpture

In a group of 4 or 5 each person take it in turns to sculpt the group into an image of oppression.
You should have 4 or 5 images to show
Rehearse linking up each sculpture to create one piece of images
Show your composition back to the rest of the group.
Feedback through the following stages
1. Objectively - Ask the group literally what they see i.e Miles is reaching out towards Lily with his knees bent. Lily's eyes are closed.
2. Subjectively - Interpret what you see, The relationships between individuals, What emotions are evoked by these relationships or some of the images and shapes.
3. Create a scenario or story from the images before you. hat is happening? Who is who? Where are they? etc.

Build a Society - Group Sculpture

Pick one person from the group to position everybody in whatever shape he/she wants in the room to represent what society looks like.
Ask the group what they see?
Is it an accurate picture of society?
Give everyone in the group a chance to sculpt their idea of society
Choose a smaller group and give them the job of moving whatever image is left before them to an ideal picture of society (give a time limit i.e. 30 seconds)
As a group discuss what was the difference s observed between the images of society and the final last ideal image.

Touch Tag Drama

Pick two people from the group to play the tag game
label them A and B
Both A and B put their hand on their back so their palm is facing outwards.
The aim is to tag the others palm with their other hand.
At any point a mediator can call out freeze.
The mediator asks the group: Who are they? What is going on?
The group answer according to what they see. Encourage them to speak out whatever comes into their head. - A night club scene, A lover looking on at a wedding etc

Nb Theatre is made up of wants and desires, I want what you want or I want something different. That is the aim of this game.

With the rest of the group build a picture around the two in the middle. i.e show disapproving uncle at the wedding, What are they saying? etc
With other members of the group create a scene of what happened before. i.e In the bedroom. What is in the room? What happened? or even after this wedding scene.
Illicit questions from the group to create even more scenes and design a piece of theatre.

Out of the chair

Someone from the group sits in a chair which is placed in the middle of the room.
The group's aim is to convince the person sitting on the chair to get out of it.
The person in the chair must accept whatever is suggested to them and is not allowed to dismiss their offer.
For Example:
Someone may say "There is a bomb under your seat." The person in the chair could reply: "Yes I know, my life is too much for me I want to end it all now."
They are not allowed to block the offer by saying "No there isn't"
The person who successfully ousters someone from the chair then goes and sits in the chair and the game continues.

Variation:
You can send more then one person in
You can create a scenario using a number of people, rather than just having one chair.
Scenarios, images that work particularly well could be used to progress the improvisation into a scene or produce a story.

French Telephone

Allocate each person in a circle to look at, so that everyone is looking at someone and everybody is being looked at by someone.
Instruct each person to really observe the person they are looking at and to imitate any movements they do.
Keep encouraging the group to stand still.
You will find that in the circle there is continual movement and it is almost impossible for it to be completely still for any period of time
Tell the circle to exaggerate any movements they see and the circle will quickly become very animated.

Creating images out of words

In a circle facing out, someone shouts out a theme/word i.e. Love
After a count of 3 turn and create an image.
Add a noise/word/sentence/Gesture to the shape
Go to people similar to your shape/sound and interact/improvise with them.
An external leader can observe and put in more people/groups to create an interesting impro/story.
This could be developed into a scene.

Progression
The group can be encouraged to call out 2 words ( eg. noun and an adjective) and then form a shape from that.
You can get people to perform the shapes at different levels of intensity. So a caller would say Jealous Love Level 8 (Highest)

Body Sculpture - Complete the image

In pairs shake hands
One pull away and interact in a different way
Introduce making a noise with new interaction.
Then a word
Then a sentence
Introduce running a scene and interaction with each other.

Nb Boal teaches we are mechanical beings, our bodies influenced by our emotions. This type of activity aims to de-mechanise us from negative influences.

Rythym Factory

Stand in a circle
Someone goes into the middle and intoduces a sound and movement.
Everyone does it and moves around the room doing it.
On the command "change" create a new sound and movement where ever you are.
On the command "Meet" pair up and do you new sound and movement with someone else.
On command "return" come back into a circle and try to do all the same noise and movement but without orchestrating or forcing it to happen.

The Odd Number

The group walk around the room.
The facilitator shouts out 1. Everybody has to hold a shape/Position.
If 1 is shouted out again instruct everybody that they are to return to that exact part of the room and hold the same shape.
People walk around the room and shout 2. They must now found another pose/shape.
Instruct them if 2 is shout they must return to that same place and pose.
As you add numbers 3, 4. 5 stipulate that they must form a shape in 3’s or 5’s. (Choosing an odd number means someone will be left out.)
As a leader be aware of the group shape this can create, where some one is isolated from the rest.
If you get a particularly good design call out that number and draw the group’s attention to it. Generally be aware of the design the different numbers throw up and see if you can pull a narrative out of it
Ask the group what they think might be happening. Who are the group? Why is the person separated?

Progression
This can be progressed by splitting up the room into groups that have been created and giving each group the task of creating a short drama on their scenario which they have decided on from the shape that has been created.

Lonely shapes

Each student thinks about a lonely moment in their lives and creates a shape that it might represent.
Ask the group to walk around the room and on a clap everyone holds their pose.
One half of the group can stay frozen while the others move around the room and have a look at the shapes.
Try to work out what their shape represents.
Then get the other half of the group to view the rest.
Put the participants into groups of 3 or 4 and using their shapes they are to devise a performance, which shows inclusion/togetherness.
They must use their shapes as a starting point. But have a finishing shape where they are united.
Show the different sketches and discus them with the group.
How did it feel moving from isolation to inclusion?

On Trial

Stand the group in a circle and put one person in the middle.
Get the people on the outside to come up with accusations about the one in the middle. .
The person in the middle is only allowed to respond with actions or gesture to defend themselves but not words. (You can get the circle to walk around to make it more accusatory.)
After a while stop and ask the group if they think the person in the middle is guilty or not of the accusations. (You could select a smaller group to sit out and watch who act as the jury)
If they can understand his/her mimed actions then they are cleared of those charges but if not they are guilty.
Ask how did the accused feel in the middle?
How did the accusers feel?

Playback Theatre

Someone retell an incident that happened to them.
In pairs try to show it in a simple repetitive action.
Make it as visual/Physical as possible and only use a few words
The adjudicator asks the person who originally shared the experience if the feeling was encapsulated
If not they can suggest how it might be changed to be more accurate
Experiment with performing the piece in different positions/direction to one another.

Progression
Use more actors to create the playback piece
Use props, percussion etc