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
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, 16 March 2009
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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.
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.
Friday, 22 February 2008
Everyday Action/Movements
Description
1. In a circle, ask each individual to choose an everyday movement or action e.g. brushing teeth, combing hair, sweeping, lifting something heavy, climbing stairs. With music, each person shows their movement and everyone else copies it and repeats it twice so that it acquires a rhythm with the music.
2. Split the group into pairs and ask them to select four of the movements they have seen in the circle. Then ask them to use the four actions to create a movement phrase to the music, in unison, that they can remember and repeat. Depending on the length of the session, ask each group to show their movement phrase at this point – if there is not a lot of time, just ask them to make sure they can remember it.
3. Now ask the pairs to create a second sequence by making the following changes to their first movement phrase:
i) Make one movement very fastii) Make one movement very slowiii) Use a change of directioniv) Use a change of level
(The groups can combine changes if they wish e.g. they might make one movement both very fast and in a different direction. They may also naturally start to experiment with timings and facings which can be encouraged e.g. one person moving after another instead of in unison, one person moving behind another instead of at their side. In the process of doing these changes the groups may also notice that a story or an emotional content starts to be generated and they might wish to make further changes/adaptations to develop it.)
4. Ask the groups to show both their pieces and encourage the other pairs to observe and comment on how the changes made in the second phrase affected the performance. Some useful questions to ask might be:
i) What difference(s) did it make to the phrase when you made the changes? ii) What kind of ‘story’ or emotion/ ‘feel’ did the movement phrase start to express (if at all)?
Rationale· Accessible because based on movements chosen by participants rather than using ‘given’ movements· Movement with music is often enjoyable and fun in itself and has the additional benefit of not requiring language to achieve successful outcome· Encourages cooperative and collaborative working which enables young people who speak different languages to get to know each other through ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’· Participants can develop the tasks with more or less complexity, which allows for different levels of experience/skill within the group
Development
· Experimentation with a range of ‘manipulations’ of movement can lead to a range of interesting and potentially more complex outcomes e.g.
Speed – fast, slow, varying pace Dynamics – smooth, hesitant, jerky, tense, erratic. Repeating, reversing, adding, subtracting movementsAdding more people, removing peopleUnison, canon, solo, different phrases at the same time. Staging - perform in different spaces, different facings
· Putting phrases to different kinds of music (different moods, feels, instrumental, non-instrumental) to see how it affects what is conveyed by the movement and how the movement might need to change to work with the new music.
· This task can be a good starting point from which to develop both dance work and physical theatre with young people. Experimenting with familiar/everyday movement can lead into both abstract and more narrative work depending on the interests/needs of the group. You may decide to work with very specific everyday movements as a particular theme/issue is being explored e.g. movements from work situations (typing, lifting etc).
i) For example, using the ‘manipulations’ suggested above can take the movement further and further away from the original ‘source’ material into more abstract movement work e.g. the action of typing may no longer be recognisable as it has become part of a choreographed sequence of movements which are engaging to watch because they effectively complement the chosen music.
ii) Alternatively, it might be that a group wants to create a physical section within a more narrative drama – by creating a ‘choreographed’ sequence of everyday movements associated with the theme/idea of the drama, the movements can acquire a powerful symbolic impact which heightens the dramatic moment.
1. In a circle, ask each individual to choose an everyday movement or action e.g. brushing teeth, combing hair, sweeping, lifting something heavy, climbing stairs. With music, each person shows their movement and everyone else copies it and repeats it twice so that it acquires a rhythm with the music.
2. Split the group into pairs and ask them to select four of the movements they have seen in the circle. Then ask them to use the four actions to create a movement phrase to the music, in unison, that they can remember and repeat. Depending on the length of the session, ask each group to show their movement phrase at this point – if there is not a lot of time, just ask them to make sure they can remember it.
3. Now ask the pairs to create a second sequence by making the following changes to their first movement phrase:
i) Make one movement very fastii) Make one movement very slowiii) Use a change of directioniv) Use a change of level
(The groups can combine changes if they wish e.g. they might make one movement both very fast and in a different direction. They may also naturally start to experiment with timings and facings which can be encouraged e.g. one person moving after another instead of in unison, one person moving behind another instead of at their side. In the process of doing these changes the groups may also notice that a story or an emotional content starts to be generated and they might wish to make further changes/adaptations to develop it.)
4. Ask the groups to show both their pieces and encourage the other pairs to observe and comment on how the changes made in the second phrase affected the performance. Some useful questions to ask might be:
i) What difference(s) did it make to the phrase when you made the changes? ii) What kind of ‘story’ or emotion/ ‘feel’ did the movement phrase start to express (if at all)?
Rationale· Accessible because based on movements chosen by participants rather than using ‘given’ movements· Movement with music is often enjoyable and fun in itself and has the additional benefit of not requiring language to achieve successful outcome· Encourages cooperative and collaborative working which enables young people who speak different languages to get to know each other through ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’· Participants can develop the tasks with more or less complexity, which allows for different levels of experience/skill within the group
Development
· Experimentation with a range of ‘manipulations’ of movement can lead to a range of interesting and potentially more complex outcomes e.g.
Speed – fast, slow, varying pace Dynamics – smooth, hesitant, jerky, tense, erratic. Repeating, reversing, adding, subtracting movementsAdding more people, removing peopleUnison, canon, solo, different phrases at the same time. Staging - perform in different spaces, different facings
· Putting phrases to different kinds of music (different moods, feels, instrumental, non-instrumental) to see how it affects what is conveyed by the movement and how the movement might need to change to work with the new music.
· This task can be a good starting point from which to develop both dance work and physical theatre with young people. Experimenting with familiar/everyday movement can lead into both abstract and more narrative work depending on the interests/needs of the group. You may decide to work with very specific everyday movements as a particular theme/issue is being explored e.g. movements from work situations (typing, lifting etc).
i) For example, using the ‘manipulations’ suggested above can take the movement further and further away from the original ‘source’ material into more abstract movement work e.g. the action of typing may no longer be recognisable as it has become part of a choreographed sequence of movements which are engaging to watch because they effectively complement the chosen music.
ii) Alternatively, it might be that a group wants to create a physical section within a more narrative drama – by creating a ‘choreographed’ sequence of everyday movements associated with the theme/idea of the drama, the movements can acquire a powerful symbolic impact which heightens the dramatic moment.
Music and Image as a stimulus
Description
In a circle, the leader starts to mime he/she is holding an object and passes it to the next person. Then when we pass the object it changes shape and when you pass it to the next person to you add a sound.
The group are asked to spread around the room and listen to four different tracks (songs) they move to the rhythm of the music in different ways and think about doing something of their daily routine.
Leader: “Ok now all of you are ready to come with me to my specials trips, the only think you need is to know that in this table you can find thousands of items you will need for each trip; you can take a maximum of 3 items for each trip” The leader has a selection of pictures of different places s/he picks one and shows the picture to the group and asks them to prepare the bag for the first trip; when they are ready to go s/he put one of the tracks and explains to them when they hear the music they should imagine themselves in the place and when they hear the music turning down very slowly they should freeze and make a picture. They can talk to each other, they can play any games, or if they want they can be by themselves. After the picture ask each of them to tell you about they journey and the experience.
Rationale
1. Objects: To find different ways to pass and pick up the object also we can see how the people of the group start working as a team, the object can be big and heavy or fragile and long or is a baby. The objective is to stimulate the creativity and trust of the group through changing the shape and adding a sound.
2. Music: Through the music is very easy to engage the attention of the young people, is a good way to stimulate the creativity because they feel the freedom of expression and they want to follow their own internal rhythm.
3. Music and image: This particular exercise helps us to explore creativity and concentration also gives us the chance to share different experiences going back in time and space looking for traditional events or typical activities from the countries where the young people come from.
Guidance
Objects: Nobody is allowed to change the object till it arrives to the leader to start again.
Music: Participants should be encouraged not to dance, only walk, run, talk, jump, or do any movement of their daily routine. If you identify the nationality of the group you may want to try to find music from their country, it will help to create a good atmosphere. The tracks need to be poles apart for example: Tango, Reggae, Classical, and Jazz.
You could give the chance to each member to organise a trip, in that way every time it is more difficult to guess what kind of items they need.
In a circle, the leader starts to mime he/she is holding an object and passes it to the next person. Then when we pass the object it changes shape and when you pass it to the next person to you add a sound.
The group are asked to spread around the room and listen to four different tracks (songs) they move to the rhythm of the music in different ways and think about doing something of their daily routine.
Leader: “Ok now all of you are ready to come with me to my specials trips, the only think you need is to know that in this table you can find thousands of items you will need for each trip; you can take a maximum of 3 items for each trip” The leader has a selection of pictures of different places s/he picks one and shows the picture to the group and asks them to prepare the bag for the first trip; when they are ready to go s/he put one of the tracks and explains to them when they hear the music they should imagine themselves in the place and when they hear the music turning down very slowly they should freeze and make a picture. They can talk to each other, they can play any games, or if they want they can be by themselves. After the picture ask each of them to tell you about they journey and the experience.
Rationale
1. Objects: To find different ways to pass and pick up the object also we can see how the people of the group start working as a team, the object can be big and heavy or fragile and long or is a baby. The objective is to stimulate the creativity and trust of the group through changing the shape and adding a sound.
2. Music: Through the music is very easy to engage the attention of the young people, is a good way to stimulate the creativity because they feel the freedom of expression and they want to follow their own internal rhythm.
3. Music and image: This particular exercise helps us to explore creativity and concentration also gives us the chance to share different experiences going back in time and space looking for traditional events or typical activities from the countries where the young people come from.
Guidance
Objects: Nobody is allowed to change the object till it arrives to the leader to start again.
Music: Participants should be encouraged not to dance, only walk, run, talk, jump, or do any movement of their daily routine. If you identify the nationality of the group you may want to try to find music from their country, it will help to create a good atmosphere. The tracks need to be poles apart for example: Tango, Reggae, Classical, and Jazz.
You could give the chance to each member to organise a trip, in that way every time it is more difficult to guess what kind of items they need.
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