How To Create a Character Through The Exploration of The Physical

Strand: Creating

Students will be aware of the creation of character through the exploration of the physical.

Students will be able to:

·         Portray appropriate body language in relation to people they know, people they don’t know, people of different status, people of different backgrounds

• Incorporate physical, emotional, and social dimension of characters in scenes 
•  Sustain characters in improvised and formal scenes
• Make clear choice of character traits and behavior 
•  Convey dramatic tension through body language

Sample activities:

• Explore the nature of attitudes to the “stranger”. Half the class role plays as town meeting discussing the problem of the rats. Use Mantle of the Expert as other half of class become officials in the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, etc. 
•  Develop a scene with half of the class focusing on the Pied Piper and issues of distrust and prejudice. The teacher facilitates a forum whereby the other half of the class, as audience, can interrupt and rework the scenes. 
•  Practice dramatic tension: design a mime sequence that manipulates tension and release, e.g., opening jar, defusing a bomb. 
•  In groups, participate in the activity called Boxing Match. Characters include boxers, referee, coaches, etc. No touching or dialogue allowed but opponents and others must react realistically to blows.

Materials: 

• Newsprint, cloth, personal props, old magazines, newspapers, photographs, artifacts, digital camera, DVD player.

Resources:

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning
• Script of The Pearl
• Films, e.g West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann) and Romeo and Juliet (Zefferelli’s Production), Rent (2005, Chris Columbus)