Tuesday 15 December 2015

More Passion For Performance

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It's that time of the year where my students apply to be part of the upcoming ISTA festival. As part of the application I ask them to write a brief explanation about why they love Performance and why they want to take part. The answers I receive affirm that this is such an important subject for students to be able to study.



I already posted one of these statements, last year, and again this year I have received some powerful words from some others:

Julia B: "Theatre is my way of life. it is the air that I breathe, the water I drink. The adrenaline of being on stage, the lights, crew, cast, there's nothing better. And it doesn't stop there. The way I walk, talk, socialize has been influenced by acting. My mind thinks of a million different ways to create ideas and possibilities. The ideas flow and inspire myself and others with their concepts and originality. After I discovered my love for the stage, i couldn't stop. It was like a bottle was popped open and the soda started pouring out. 

There's a moment on stage that every actor knows about. The room silences, all eyes looking at you. But we don't get swallowed by fear, we use the energy of the atmosphere to embrace the performance. Create a new persona, make the audience forget about their lives and all live in that scene together.

ISTA is about meeting people, making long lasting friendships, and using everyone's passion for theatre to create something magical."


Julia G: "I've loved performing since I can remember. I would get really excited during the holiday season beacuse me and my cousin would always come up with a little skit and perform in front of our whole family. ever since those tiny performances, my love for theatre only grew bigger. 

I have to admit, I love the spotlight, but theatre taught me so much more. It taught me how to work in a team, communicate with other and communicate with the audience. It also taught me how to be self-confident and made me more and more like the people that I look up to, that would walk into a room and grab everyone's attention."

Alice F: "I love the experience and feeling of exhilaration and excitement of working with others and performing."

Brenna F: "ISTA is an acting opportunity that I don't want to miss. Only now, I know that it's not just about the light and costumes and applause or even the friends. Now, when I am on stage, I am not Brenna anymore. I become both me and not me. Once timid, acting brought me out of my shell, into the limelight. Without acting, I would still be watching others from the outside. To me, acting isn't just a hobby- it's something you commit to, and once you're committed, you can't go back."


Thursday 3 December 2015

Monday 16 November 2015

Artist Toolbox: The Queen's Rules

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A quick improv game to add to your toolbox. This one was taught to me by a student and I love it! But the students love it even more!!

It's a great warmup and helps with getting students out of their shells.

The Queen's Rules



How to play:

One student sits on a chair or 'throne' in the middle of the stage, as the Queen or King. Leave half of the class in the audience to watch and then the rest line up next to the stage. These participants are the Queen's servants. To stay in the game they must do her biding without making a mistake.

As the first servant enters the stage, the Queen announces "You are dead, because you didn't (do something).
e.g. "You are dead, because you didn't bow to me when you entered."
or
"You are dead, because you didn't present me with cake."

The servant then leaves the stage and joins the back of the line. The next servant must remember to complete the Queen's task (bow/give cake, etc). Once they have done this, the Queen announces to this servant the next rule, e.g. "You are dead, because you didn't fly in on a broomstick before you bowed." They leave the stage and the next one enters. (note: the Queen needs to be quite specific about her instructions. She must specify when in the order the new rule happens. She can increase the difficulty by adding rules into the middle of the routine sometimes, instead of always at the end of the list.)

Now the new servant must now fly in on a broomstick and then bow. They are killed and a new rule is added. The rules can involve telling jokes, completing elaborate series of actions, acting like a complete buffoon; whatever the Queen wishes. However, if a servant forgets a step of the pattern they are eliminated from the game.

Keep playing until you're down to the last surviving servant or until is time to switch the audience for the actors and start all over again with a new Queen or King.

Fantastic fun!

Comics Which Pack More Than Punches

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Recently I've delved into the world of comics and discovered to my delight that not all comics are the pulp of the standard superhero story. Although I have enjoyed reading some Marvel and DC, the sugary shallowness of the majority of their lines can't come close to the richness of some of the more unusual comics I've discovered so far.

Here are a few of my recommendations for comics which pack much more than just punches...

Jim Henson's A Tale Of Sand

Jim Henson tried unsuccessfully a few times to get the screenplay of A Tale Of Sand made into a movie, however Ramón K. Pérez has brought it to life now with his stunning illustrations. I don't want to tell too much about the story, which for the most part needs to be deciphered from the images, but suffice to say that this surreal fairytale of sorts is captivating and challenging in its appeal. It's a breathtaking race through the desert, which seems to be without rhyme or reason, but the wealth of artwork will persuade you to go back multiple times to uncover all of Henson and Perez's ideas.

As a warm-up for the comic you might want to check out Henson's intriguing short film- Time Piece...





IDW's The Infinite Loop

The Infinite Loop is a time-travel adventure about fighting for love when the odds are stacked against you. Teddy fixes anomalies in time by suppressing them, but when she meets Ano, “a time paradox” and the girl of her dreams, Teddy must decide between fixing the time stream or the love of her life, both of which have unique consequences. This comic fights for strong female role-models, same-sex couple's rights and for love above all. I was also so impressed to see that at the end of each issue was a reader's coming out story. It's a gripping sci-fi story as well! 

Here's an interview with the creators which gives you a good feel of what they're working towards. 





A combination of striking visuals and haunting prose, The Rime Of The Modern Mariner updates Colderidge's classic poem for the "careless kind' of modern humans. It's message of pollution and ecological destruction makes for a chilling read, while at the same time Hayes' illustrations drive the sentiments home.

I picked this book up for only around £15 which is incredible given the amount of work which has gone into the art. It will be remaining in my book collection for ever now though, it's too special.

Here's a post from Hayes himself about the book to find out more.


and finally for now...


#musicomics

When reading comics I like to listen to music which adds to the cinematic feel of the story. Here are my suggestions for albums or artists which I think complement these picks. I've also tweeted about other combos via my twitter page on the hashtag #musicomics







A Tale Of Sand- Bob Dylan: Pat Garret And Billy The Kid OST












The Infinite Loop- Anything by M83











The Rime Of The Modern Mariner- Eluvium: Nightmare Ending

Monday 9 November 2015

Mood Music

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These are the playlists I use frequently in my teaching. They're great if you need a particular atmosphere or emotion in the room. Although there are already thousands of these playlists on Youtube, it's always useful to have some of particular moods.

So, check them out below!





Calm 

Scary 

Sad 

Energetic

Tense 

Heroic

Hopeful

I'll be updating these and adding more as I create them. 

Friday 18 September 2015

Haiku of my thoughts

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haiku of my thoughts/
a fresh way to explain them/
makes feedback anew//


Why not ask students to give their feedback on their colleagues' performances in the form of a haiku? They will have to choose their words carefully and present them in a creative way. The haiku will encourage them to distill their feedback into it's most important components.

How To Write A Haiku

Haiku Inspiration



Tuesday 8 September 2015

Artist Toolbox: Theatre Whispers (Telephone)

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As well as being hilarious, this is a great activity for practicing precise, expressive movement scores.

We have just started a unit on masks and I decided to use one of my favourite exercises as a lead into the unit and I found that it was of great use in explaining some key points- Theatre Whispers
based on the popular game Telephone or Chinese Whispers

Start by arranging your participants into a line running away from the stage with their backs turned to it. You probably don't want more than 10 people taking part each time as there is a bit of waiting time between turns. The rest of your group who aren't participating can watch the hilarity unfold.

The first participant in the line turns around and watches while you mime a story out on the stage. Something simple, like walking the dog and picking up poop, or posting a letter then realising too late that it doesn't have a stamp on it. The story should have some clear details but not be too long.

Once you finish the story, the first participant repeats it exactly, action for action, while the second person watches and tries to learn the score. Then they repeat it for the third and so on...

Usually what happens is that by the time you reach the end of the line, the participants before have forgotten parts, or reproduced them in a different or sloppy way and the action has completely changed. After the final participant has reproduced the score, show them the original and all together you can laugh about how different it is.

 As well as running this game just for fun, it's also great for focusing on precision as participants try to copy the movements exactly, focusing on elements like their facial expressions, tension in the muscles and trying not to imprint their own personal characteristics on the score. You can even stop/start the exercise and ask the audience to comment on what is changing.

And when someone showering becomes someone dancing, or someone drinking in a disco becomes someone eating a steak dinner, it's very funny!

Finally, here are some simple story ideas that you can use for starting points:
-a farmer trying to catch a chicken which has escaped
-waking up, doing a workout and then showering
-burying a treasure chest
-making a fried breakfast
-sitting in a disco waiting to be asked to dance, then dancing
-walking the dog, not picking up its poop, walking around the block and then standing in the poop on the way back
-posting a letter, realising it's missing something and trying to break the postbox open to get it back
-making a packed lunch, packing your school bag and leaving the house


Monday 7 September 2015

1 + 1 = 2! (Building Up To Devising)

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Getting started in a devising project can be difficult. A group of students who are given a broad stimulus or a task can have trouble getting past the ideas stage and into making.

Here's my 3-step tip for drama teachers to get their students kick-started into action:

1. One Is The Loneliest Number
Start with individuals spread out around the room, sitting or laying comfortably in their own space. Present them with your stimulus, topic or idea and allow them their own time to think about it. What does it mean to them? What images come to mind? Which words would you associate with that?

The more time students have to visualise at this stage, the easier ideas will come to them when you begin. 

After sufficient reflection time, ask them to prepare, on their own, a short response. I usually ask for one sentence of dialogue or a list of 3 words and a movement or frozen image. Keep the response simple, easy to manage. Playing music during this time helps students to feel like they can stand and speak to try out their ideas. Give them 2 minutes to come up with something.

2. One Plus One Is Two
Pair students up and ask them to share and then combine their material. They shouldn't add or subtract too much material at this stage, just find an interesting way to structure their material. For example, they could complete their movements simultaneously while reciting the list of words. Or alternatively, they could repeat one movement 8 times, then follow it with a mini dialogue constructed out of their sentences, etc, etc. 
Give students a short amount of time to do this 4/5 minutes is usually enough. A deadline speeds up progress. Their material does not need to be polished as it's going to change again in the next step.

3.Two Plus Two Is Four
When their time is up, pair up pairs and ask them to present their material to each other. Then they start to build a 1 minute presentation from their material. At this stage they can have more creative control over the component parts. Developing and building the material they previously made, they can use this list of verbs to help them process their ideas further:

Change
Scale
Subtract/Add
Animate
Distort
Contrast
Contradict
Hybridize
Repeat
(for more like this refer back to my post on Richard Serra's verb list)

Perfection at this stage should still not be too much of a concern. This is about organising some initial ideas into a format which can be viewed by other makers in order to receive feedback and after to develop it further.

After 20-30 minutes, ask the groups to present (informally) their compilations. The audience should give feedback on what the presentation made them think about, what they liked, what they would like to see more of, etc.

Your students should now have got past the stagnant discussion phase and be kick-started straight into the generating/developing ideas stage! Now let them work more intensively on their devised performances ...


Monday 31 August 2015

Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Drama Teacher Bonus)

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If you haven't already read them, go back and see my posts about the modern world of board games here and here.

Now, here are some great board games that you can use in drama class:

For Quick Thinking Improvisation And Role Playing
Snake Oil - one player each turn takes on the role of a customer (anything from a cheerleader to a caveman to Santa Claus) and then the other players have to sell them an item created out of their hand of cards. For example, player A is a Police Officer and B tries to sell them a cage-wallet while C tries to sell them some candy-handcuffs. Hilarious and quick. The kids love this one!


For Starting Discussions And Improving Non-Verbal Communication
Concept -  In this game the goal is to guess words through the association of icons. A player chooses a word or phrase that the other players need to guess, from the placement of pieces on a board full of icons. A little difficult to understand from this description but a fascinating game and great for launching into devising!







For Bluffing, Role Playing And Deduction
One Night Ultimate Werewolf- This re-imagines the much loved Werewolf or Mafia and condenses it into an incredibly tense and exciting 10 minutes. Ideal for introducing students to keeping a straight face while bluffing, as the werewolf team will need to persuade everyone in the group that they are in fact human. Hilarious, addictive and quick to play, you can slot this in at the beginning or end of a class, no problem. Also perfect for taking on trips!






Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Part 2)

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So you've read Part 1 of this post and the game is still on. You'd like to know more about some great games to get into the modern world of board gaming? Well then, hold on to your meeples, people coz here we go!!

The Best Game To Play In 20 Minutes (With Your Gran)
And the award goes to
For Sale - a super fast game where you're bidding on properties (ranging from a cardboard box to a space station) and then flipping these into cash in the second half of the game.

It's super simple to learn, cheap to buy and portable. Great with kids, mums and dads and even the old folks too. If you only want to dip your toes into the hobby first, then this is a great place to start.




The Game For The Person Who Is Already Hooked To Computer Games
Get them away from the computer screen for half an hour with
Loony Quest - a game which simulates a platforming video game. Players trace lines on a sheet of plastic and then place this over the level to collect victory points, dodge enemies and complete quests. 

Exciting for all ages, you'll be surprised how difficult it can be to draw accurately at a distance. A game where the kids normally beat the adults! It has multiple levels in various worlds so can be made as short or as long as you want too.






The Game To Play When The Players Tried To Kill Each Other During The Last One
There is a whole world of cooperative games out there, but my one of my favourites and also the most popular one out there is 
Pandemic - a game in which players are working as a team to save the world from four epidemics. By moving around on the board, collecting an using cards and lots and lots of teamwork, this game is a great way to bring family and friends together.




The Game That You Stick On The Table And Everyone Goes WOW!!!
Because it looks so damn good...
Abyss- gone are the days of the simple graphics of Ludo or the cartoons of Game Of Life. For something much more grown up and so, so gorgeous, it's this game. Set in the depths of the ocean, players compete to have the most influence over the races that live there. Plus, remember when the money in games was crappy paper money, well in this game you're trading pearls! that's right, and you keep them in a shell. It's surprising simple to learn too, but with bags of replay value- what a game! 


and here's a closer look at the artwork:





And finally (for now),

The Best Game For Couples
More and more, my wife and I play together after dinner or during the weekend. One of our faves is
Jaipur -in this simple game you are traders buying, exchanging and selling goods ranging from silk, to rubies and gold. It takes about 30 minutes to play, is portable and has an exciting tension throughout play. Plus it has camels in it. What more could you want? Seriously, your own herd of camels. 





Friday 19 June 2015

Mr. Moneybags is dead. (Part 1)

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As well as being a drama teacher, I am also a massive geek and one of my main geekeries is Board Games!!!!

Now, I'm sorry to break it to you. I know you loved it when you Passed Go and received 200 big ones!! OK, I know it was usually a pain when you went to jail but it felt so good to roll doubles and get out finally, yeah? I know you loved seeing Mr. Moneybags on that crinkly paper money, clasped in your tiny fist, even if you hated giving it to your little sister. It wasn't a waste of your time at all.

That time spent playing Monopoly with your family, falling out over property, waiting ages for your turn, moaning about taxes, getting bad luck in the Chance cards; well that was time well spent! Right?

In many ways it probably was; playing board games with friends and family is a wonderful way to spend free-time. But what if I told you that it could be time better spent? What if I told you that, like an episode of Game of Thrones, Mr. Moneybags has been killed off and there are now arequired in board games? What if I told you that out there in the world of play there are so many better games?!

But before I get stuck into some board game talk, please let me give you my credentials in this field...

The first games I ever remember playing were the perennial ones... (side note: that's the first time I've ever used perennial in a sentence I think!)

 





Back when I was a kid, I was a master of Kerplunk and Draughts, a dab hand at Operation, a shark in Scrabble and Monopoly, but my family never played that often. Perhaps because only particular people in our family were good in particular games or because all to often games would divulge into distraction or argument between us kids. And yet I always had in the back of my mind a desire to play games. Play in its different forms has remained important to me as I have grown older and I love taking the opportunities to play when they present themselves. 

And then about three years ago, just around the time I moved to Brussels, I fell back into gaming. It was Monopoly that brought me back in actually. My fiancee and I had some time on our hands and so we decided to pick up a copy of Monopoly. I think we played it once. Because shortly after that i stumbled upon a website called BoardGameGeek. (Upon first impressions, it's a quite confusing and very unsightly site to go to on your first visit. For first time people, I think The Dice Tower does a much better job.) But through BGG, I started to discover this world that I never knew existed. I really thought that the only board games that were out there were the ones that you could find in Argos or WHSmith, or Walmart. 
Who knew that there were literally thousands of new games being released each year? Who knew that these games had solved all those problems of excessive chance, imbalance, long down-times, boring themes, complex rules or over-simplicity from the games of yore? Who knew that there was a legion of podcasters, video reviewers, conventions and gaming groups all willing and eager to play and talk about games?
-Not me, that's for sure.

Since that point three years ago, I have accumulated a decent collection of modern ('designer' as they are known) board games; ranging from hilarious party games to games that are perfect with two, from light but exciting games to thrilling, epic strategy games. I play games with my fiancee, with students in a game group at school, with colleagues in social events, with my family when ever I'm home and with my friends pretty much every time we meet up. The games are funny, rich in theme and stories, challenging and tense. 

So, if you've made it this far and you're still interested then perhaps you'd like to know how you too can get involved in this wonderful world of fun?! What games should you start with....?

Well, the most famous designer board game out there is The Settlers of Catan or Catan it's known now. 
 

Catan is the hobby's flagship. It's been out for 20 years now and is pretty well known, even outside of the hobby. I've only ever played it on my iPhone and I think there are actually better and more fun games out there now, but if you want to start where many other people have then watch this:


One of the best games to get started with is Ticket To Ride. It's what is called in the hobby as a 'gateway game'- perfect for getting started in modern board gaming; easy to learn, great for families, simple rules but yet challenging and fun.




In Part 2, I'll outline some of the games I would suggest you should try. In the meantime, these guys do a great job of reviewing games and have some suggestions of their own:
Game on!!!




Monday 15 June 2015

Alice vs Wonderland: wonderful video production

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We're very lucky at ISB to have a talented video production expert- Lisa O'Leary (Lisa on twitter). She does some fantastic work with the students and also for our productions.

I wanted to show off the work she did on Alice vs Wonderland this year, so please take a look at these two videos to see some of her and her student's work. Top notch!

This first one is a compilation of student work, but at time-stamp 12:15 you can see the full Alice vs Wonderland finale compilation.

The second video is of this years MS Spring Production of Alice vs Wonderland, with video and projections from Lisa and our assistant technician Francesco Di Paulo. Filmed by Lisa too!


More of Lisa's video, all of the ISB Performing Arts Department, here.

Walking for water: an immersive adventure in Grade 4

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It's days like this that make my job so special!


To get Grade 4 students thinking about the people all around the world who have to walk long distances to collect water, we took students on an 'adventure' through the woods. Students role-played detectives in search of a little boy, lost and in need of help, in the forest. Along their journey they began to discover the lengths that the little boy, his mother and the other people in his town had to go to in order to get water. 


This video is a document of the story; the first part we discovered together and the second the students imagined how it might continue afterwards. Written and created by a group of Grade 4 students.

Kids at this age have the wonderful combination of a rich imagination and a developing knowledge and understanding of the world. Throughout this activity they were curious, excited, compassionate and were able to make many connections between the different areas of their learning. 

As a teacher my heart was warmed by the students compassion for the character I was playing. The photo below is an example of what happened time and time again when the activity came to its conclusion. When they found the 'little boy', crying and alone, each group reached out to his character and offered their support. With an arm around my shoulders or a comforting smile, they told the boy they would help him find medicine for his mother or explained they knew the way back to his village and could take him there. For the children, there were no boundaries stopping them from helping him, just as there were no boundaries preventing them from helping the village of Maimba (see below).


The Grade 4 teaching team did a fantastic job of finding unusual and interesting ways of approaching this unit (also a fundraising event for a well in Malawi), including poetry writing, crafts, sports, a talent show and much more.
“All’s Well That Ends With a Well” Celebration Day
Wednesday June 3rd 2015

On Wednesday June 3rd, the Grade 4 classes will be hosting the “All’s Well that ends with a Well Celebration” day in honor of our annual Water for Life service learning project. This day will focus on the importance of water access and sanitation; specifically highlighting the impact shallow wells have on providing access to clean water in developing countries. Our goal for this day will be to use our unique talents and crafts to fund-raise and help others in need to gain access to fresh clean water. 


Over the last 2 months the grade 4 team has learned all about the importance of access to clean water for the purpose of bathing, washing clothes, cooking and drinking. We have also learned that there is a set amount of water on the earth and not everyone is able to get access to usable water.  All humans need water to live, so having access to clean water is very important to everyone’s lives.  As a part of our “call to action” as international citizens, we have decided to help African Enterprise raise €1200 to build a shallow well in the village of Maimba, Malawi. We choose Malawi because each year over 3000 children die there because they do not have fresh clean water to drink. 

Days like this make me feel even more grateful for my situation here at ISB.
I'm grateful for being able to do things like this as a regular part of my job.
I'm grateful for having a management that supports me and gives me the flexibility in my role to make time for this.
I'm grateful for having access to a wealth of resources, including access to a beautiful forest.
I'm grateful for being able to work with such excited, enthusiastic and compassionate children, everyday.


Tuesday 19 May 2015

Launching Narrative: grade 2 storytelling project in Expressive Arts

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Recently, I had the pleasure of working with our Grade 2 students on a short project to launch their upcoming unit on story writing. To get the students excited and stimulated to start writing their own invented narratives, the Grade 2 team and I devised a two hour Expressive Arts session which we ran with each class. We're incredibly lucky here at ISB to have a wealth of resources, such as the lighting and sound equipment, staging blocks, parachutes, costumes and even a load of fake trees! So we filled my room with a range of stuff that could be easily manipulated to create different environments and then we brought the students in.

Sitting in among the trees by the doorway, I asked the students to use their imagination and think about where they might be. Answers ranged from a forest, to a secret path in a King's garden, to an alien planet, and everything in-between.  Then I asked them who they might be and again I received a wonderful range of answers: the King's guard, a group of scientists, explorers, pirates, fairies, castaways...

From this point, we selected one of the possible starting points (for example, a group of scientists called in to investigate strange happenings in the King's garden), then I asked the students to leave the room and re-enter in character to begin the adventure. The story developed organically as we travelled through the different environments, if we left the forest then I would ask 'where are we going next? who might we meet? how will we get there?'  and as characters emerged in the storyline, I would throw on a costume and improvise an interaction.

The students immersed themselves in the adventure and at every opportunity I would be overwhelmed by their ideas, each offering a different direction that the story could go in. We would chose one possibility for the current adventure but at the same time highlight the others as equally valuable options.

By the end of the session, we never finished the adventure in my studio, the story remained unfinished. So that when students sat down to write, the following day or week, they had a starting point for their own story and from there they could take it in any direction they wanted.

And the results that are starting to be sent to me are magnificent:





Saturday 28 March 2015

Short time. Short film. Great minds. Great results.

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Just 40 minutes, a stimulus, a smart phone and a group of brilliant young minds produces this...


This video was produced by a group of ISB Middle and High School students at our recent devising weekend lead by Gemma Paintin from the performance company Action Hero. Starting with Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall the students devised together in various ways, resulting in a wealth of quality performance material being produced.

I find it incredible that the students could have created the concept for this film, planned and shot it in various locations, recorded and edited the voiceover and then cut the whole thing together in just 40 minutes, using only one smart phone.

I love that we have that much technological power in our hands, but it is to the credit of the students that they know how to use it to this capacity.

Friday 27 March 2015

Artist Toolbox: Chance Encounters

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Favourite exercise for generating movement: 'Chance Encounters'
This is an exercise in chance encounters and can be really useful for stimulating storylines, situations and movements scores. As a whole group, in a clearly visible place like on a white-board or flip-chart, write a 10 point list of short gestures/movements. It can be something like this or it can be your own variation on this.
e.g. 1. Turn head
2. Raise hand
3. Put head in hands
4. Smile
5. Stand up/Sit down
6. Move behind a chair
7. Put your hand on someone’s face
8. Close eyes
9. Cross/uncross arms/legs
10. Clench fists









Set up a bench or a row of chairs for 3-5 people, on the stage. During the presentation, performers can only choose and complete movements from the list. There is no limit to how many times each movement is completed, if at all, and the order is up to them. As the exercise runs, chance encounters will happen such as: two people turn their heads to look at each other, while the person sitting between them puts their head in their hands; or one person smiles while another puts their hand on their face; and so on. 

As the exercise works on chance, there will be moments that do not work as well as others, but push through these and encourage the performers to ‘listen’ to the each other instead of trying to force pre-planned situations out of the material. There are moments when a pause is also necessary and eye contact can be key. Except from a set action like a Smile, neutral faces is also recommended. Also, feel free to add a range of background music to set/change the tone of the exercise.

After running it for a while, take a break and get feedback from the audience. What was working? What storylines appeared? Which characters emerged? And then start it up again for some more!