Drama techniques-4

Alter ego

The actor remains silent whilst one or more people speak her/his thoughts
Character profile

A written description of a character's details (such as age, interests, likes/dislikes) which helps an actor to play that rôle.
Dramatic moment

A crucial point in the drama where the tension has built towards a climax which leads to a choice or the possibility of change.
Evaluation

Making judgements and assessing dramatic activities. At this stage the formulation and understanding of ideas is more important than the “quality” of the dramatic performance. This can be achieved through discussions, through individual or group writing in the form of diary extracts, reports, letters, by drawing, or by characters thinking aloud.
Forum theatre

Students perform an improvisation which is stopped and the audience intervenes to change the direction/emphasis of the drama. This may then involve members of the audience taking an active rôle in the continuation of the improvisation. Freeze frame

Stopping the action in order to get a still visual image.
Hot-seating

A person in rôle sits away from the rest of the group and answers questions in rôle.
Improvisation

Taking on an unscripted rôle and acting as if you are in a make-believe situation.
Mime

Portraying a character, or telling a story by body movement (usually without words).
Reflection

Assessing and thinking about dramatic activities. This is essential if the students are going to get the maximum benefit from these sessions.
Rôle play

Taking on the “persona” (imagined personality) of another character.
Rôle on the wall

A technique used to build up a character profile for a chosen person from a group. “Brainstorm”, recording all the ideas on flipchart paper.
Rolling drama

A method of presenting work in which groups perform quickly in sequence, to show detailed scenes within a larger frame.
Scenario

The details of a dramatic situation, setting the scene.
Shared brain

Similar to Hot-seating, but using two or more actors to answer the questions. Sociogram

The actors place themselves physically as near or as far from a given character in the drama as they feel emotionally.
Stimulus

An event, piece of art or activity that leads to drama. It can be in the form of a poem, story, an artefact, a letter, a diary extract, a picture, a newspaper report and so on.
Teacher in rôle

The teacher takes on a rôle within the drama and leads the session as if she or he were that person.
Thought tracking

Tapping the students on the shoulder in order to prompt them into vocalizing their thoughts whilst remaining in character.
Thought tunnel

A way of helping students experience emotions. Position the students in two lines down the centre of the room to form a tunnel. A volunteer walks down the tunnel in rôle while people from either side speak “thoughts” to him or her. The aim is to force the student walking down the centre to experience a variety of opinions or emotions. The student is then asked to communicate how the different emotions made him or her feel.