Exercise: large group tableau scenes

The next train offers college students the chance to follow energetic listening, teamwork, management and group downside fixing. Appearing as a set with a pupil director, the group members will create a tableau scene depicting three moments from a well-recognized story, utilizing every member of the group in a technique or one other.

The phrase “desk” comes from the expression tableau vivant, or “dwelling picture”. College students will use their our bodies and imaginations to create frozen photographs to inform the story – no phrases or sounds allowed. Blinking and respiratory are nonetheless acceptable – and crucial! Chances are you’ll chortle, however each time I play this recreation with college students, there’s at all times somebody asking, “Can I nonetheless blink once I’m frozen?” »

You will have a stopwatch or clock to point the obtainable planning and rehearsal time.

Non-obligatory: A smartphone or digital digital camera to take an image of every scene on the board, so college students can see their work

Heat up

To place college students within the temper of the board, use Desk scenes from a guide Or Numbered tables as a warm-up train.

Instruction

1. Divide college students into giant teams of 8-10. Regulate if crucial based mostly on the variety of college students you might have, however attempt to have a minimum of 2 separate teams.

2. Choose one director per group. This pupil can be liable for the ultimate look of the scene, however is inspired to simply accept strategies from group members. They need to additionally take part as a member of the tableau scene.

3. Give every group a well-recognized nursery rhyme or story with a restricted variety of named characters, akin to The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or Sleeping Magnificence. The teams will select three memorable moments from historical past to characterize in three nonetheless photographs on stage. Let college students know the way a lot time they need to plan and rehearse.

4. Each member of the group needs to be included within the tableau scene in a roundabout way, even when there are fewer named characters than college students. What else can different college students painting? These could be props (just like the spinning wheel in Sleeping Magnificence or a bowl of porridge in Goldilocks), surroundings (like one of many homes in Three Little Pigs), a environment (solar or moon, bushes, background creatures) or no matter is smart for the scene. Encourage college students to make artistic and considerate selections that add to the general image, however do not forget that the director should make the ultimate selections about how the image seems.

5. One other factor college students will want to consider is the transition between photographs. How will the group transfer from every tableau?

6. College students will current their tableau scenes to the remainder of the category.

7. Non-obligatory: Take an image of every scene on the board so college students can see what they appear to be within the frozen picture. Ask your college students: what labored nicely on this scene? What did not work so nicely? Should you present the pictures to the scholars, ask them: Whenever you take a look at the pictures, does the scene appear to be you imagined? What may you modify when you have been to strive the train once more?

8. A mirrored image is supplied (see under) for college kids to mirror on their participation within the train.

Further choices:

• Have college students plan their tableau scenes silently. How will they impart non-verbally?
• Secretly inform every group the story they’re telling and ask the opposite teams to guess what it’s.
• Simply inform the director what story their group is portraying. The director should instruct the remainder of the group with out revealing the story.
• Strive the train once more, altering some members of the group, with much less planning time.

Click here for a free reflection and column.