DRAMA SPACES - Youth Arts Programme

dramaspaces6 18/8/05 4:25 PM Page 133. Gather your thoughtsMake yourself comfortable in a place where you will not be disturbed. Get two large sheets of paper and lotsof markers. In the centre of the first sheet of paper, write the age range of the group you have selected.Draw and write on the sheet of paper everything you know about that age group, including what musicthey might like, television programmes they watch, movies they are interested in, as well as the issuesfacing them at their stage of development.Once you have filled that page, turn it over and face down.On the second sheet write the word Greeting.Write or draw everything that comes into your head whenyou think of the words Greeting/Greetings.4. Find a hookPlace the two sheets side by side and see if you can find a hook.This is something that will hook your group’simagination or interest and through which you can explore the issue.A good example of this emergedduring the Drama Spaces course. One Drama Spaces participant working with the 12-to-15-year-old agegroup – mainly boys –suggested using some lines from a track by the rap artist Eminem about being theleader of the band as a hook into exploring the theme of leadership. His young people were fans of the artistand he felt that they would relate to the sentiments in the track rather than coldly dealing with the issue.5. Design your workshopOnce you have your hook, design your workshop.Your warm-up and exercises should all link with this hook or theme.6. Give yourself a breakIf after 20 minutes you have nothing, walk away and return to it another time.On the following two pages, you will find brainstorming worksheets for a Greetings workshop.Here, you can list all of your thoughts on the theme.13