Today in the drama workshop we looked at the story called ‘The Tunnel” which was introduced by the lecturer. The workshop started off by the lecture reading us part of this story, about a bother and sister who were so different and did not get alone well at all due to this. The brother loved to go out and play with his friends whereas the sister would stay in and read alone. In our groups we were introduced into the next five drama conventions we would be using in our workshop.

The first drama convention we done in our workshop was Role on the Wall in this we had to draw the outline of both the boy and the girl character from the story. We then had to write on the outside of the outline what me though about each character and on the inside of the drawing what the character through of themselves.

After this activity we then continued on reading and discover the brother and sister arguing with one another not getting along. So the mother sends them out to play with one another where they discover a tunnel. The brother wants to go through but the sister is unsure and scared.

The second drama convention we looked at in the workshop was mime. For this in our groups we had to act of what we thought would happen next in the story. If the sister decided to follow her brother through the tunnel or did she stay where she was because she was too scared.

We then continued on to look at the third drama convention, which was thought tracking. For this drama convention we had act out why we through both brother and sister act the way they do. Then two people from each group had to stand forward and discuss their reasons for this.

Finally we moved onto our last drama convention being vox pop. For the we had to interview brother and sister before they entered the tunnel and after they entered the tunnel to see how they had changed and grown to like one another. This allows children to “express emotions and communicate with others” (McAuliffe 2007 p27).

In today’s dance workshop it started off with games such as tig, splat and the number game were all students had to link different body parts. From this we then moved onto different stretches so no one would get hurt. Continuing on in the workshop we then told the theme of our workshop would be Halloween. In the groups we worked in the previous dance workshop we were given a picture to use as a stimulus to create a dance move. In my group we were given a picture of a ghost.

Using the dances created in our groups from the previous dance workshop we then went and added different formats to make the dance slightly different than before. The full section then came together to create a full then all groups had the opportunity to showcase the dance they created.

Both workshop linked together it allowed us all to take part in active activities to express oneself and build upon individuals confidence. Both workshops today would work as lesson ideas, which would be engaging for pupils. As dance is “one of the most powerful experiences dance educators can offer children is opportunity to create a dance that reflects their ideas” (Cone 2009).

Reference:

Cone (2009) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances

McAuliffe, D (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 3-11. (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe). London: Continuum.