The Christmas Play
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
Frantic preparations have no doubt already begun in most households for the annual Christmas Play! Costumes are being made, songs being practiced…
Acting is one of the most powerful methods to reach out to children. It exploits their natural instinct to explore by pretending -- an instinct all too often threatened by a world that pushes away from exploring who they are and can be.
In drama, all children are equal and free to explore. There are no wrong answers. There is no competition. It is a chance to gain empathy skills, to feel how it would be to stand in someone else’s shoes. The ability to recognize and understand emotions in others is central to developing children's social skills. Drama helps children learn how to express their feelings to others - an essential part of a child's social development. It also teaches teamwork and responsibility. In short, it is a rehearsal for life.
Parents can encourage their children to enjoy dramatic play, by simply encouraging them to play. It is a good idea to provide props to facilitate performances. They should be colourful and varied; an old nightie, a swathe of netting, hats.
Read aloud and tell stories. Join in acting out the stories you have read together. This will awaken the imagination in a way that imitating scenes from television can not. My children fondly remember defending the upturned sofa while I dragged my Long John Silver wooden leg through the sinking sand and waved my cutlass! Or the evenings when we ate dinner in the dark under the kitchen table to simulate the Anderson Shelter! Drama can reinforce learning. It is learning-by-doing, just like learning to ride a bicycle, which tends to be the kind of learning that is almost impossible to forget.
Drama need not require any script or memorized lines. It can be simple improvisation. There is value in actual performances for some youngsters, but it is the process not the product that is important. Children need to be allowed to enjoy self-discovery and self-expression without being tested.
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTING GAMES
Attending to details
Most actors are very well trained in noticing the details of their experiences. While sitting on a bus they will unconsciously log how the old man moves as he makes his way down the aisle. In order to achieve such attention to detail, one simple training exercise is to make it a routine to tell each other about the day. Practice eases this skill. Encourage your child to move from “I don’t remember” to “I got up” to “When I got up, the floor was cold on my toes.”
Noting how your body reacts
Put out 2 bowls; one with honey, one with salt. You and your child can taste from the bowls in sequence, noting the way your body reacts. Now, try to reproduce those reactions without the tastes.
Mimicry
Sit opposite your partner and try to mimic each facial expression he/she makes, but in an exaggerated form. This helps you to understand how we convey expression.
Journey of imagination
One partner decides on an imaginary journey using the space available. They might be on an alien planet, where chairs are mountains and cushions are craters. The other person is blindfolded and guided through the adventure, “seeing” the scene through their partner’s words and actions (ie space-hopping, swimming etc).
Charades
A tried-and-true family game, where one person acts out the name of a book, play or film and the others have to guess what it is. This game can be extended so that you must act out prepared sentences, such as “Please don’t shout!”, “Is this your shoe?” or “I’m hungry!”
Practicing social skills
Write out a number of suggestions about difficult social situations such as “How would you say you are sorry?”, “How do I get someone’s attention?”, “How do I ask for help?”
It is a good idea for you to start by acting these suggestions out, giving you a good opportunity to show by example how to look at people when you talk, to not shout, to say things only once, to thank people for helping.
Remember - have fun! You are not encouraging an acting career; you are facilitating the development of a human being.
Sharri
Original Stories for Cool Kids
