USING DRAMA AS A TEACHING TOOL - Reeling & Writhing

Diagnostic Exercises cont.
TITLE: I’M A…?
LEARNING OUTCOME: This exercise encourages
the development and stimulation of imagination
and encourages participants to think laterally.
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY: A space large enough
for the group to sit in a circle on the floor.
DESCRIPTION: One participant is selected to begin
the exercise by thinking of an object, animal or person
they would like to represent physically in the
middle of the circle. When they have thought of
something, they move into the empty space, strike
an appropriate pose, and exclaim ‘I’m a…’ followed
by the name of the object they have chosen to be.
The participant remains frozen in their pose. For
example participant one might say “I’m a shoe…”,
“I’m a litter bin… or I’m an endangered tiger…”
The remaining participants are asked (ordinarily up
to a maximum of 6 people per picture) to offer
suggestions of what else or who else could join the
frozen picture.Ask the group to consider the pose
and position of the first participant and then all the
different possibilities there are for a context. (The
shoe could be in a shop window, or abandoned in
the street, or in a bedroom.The litter bin could be
in a park or school, over flowing or empty.)
After ascertaining which object they think would
be best to accompany the existing object, the next
participant is asked to place himself or herself in
close physical proximity to the first object, stating
what or who they represent. (The shoe could be
joined by a shoe box, a pavement or a radiator.The
bin could be accompanied by a park keeper, an
empty drinks can or a dog.)
The picture is built up person by person – no one
person having overall say on how the picture is
completed – instead, each new participant
responds to what has gone immediately before.
It is usual for each picture to contain 6 participants,
after which, the picture can be discussed.The first
group of participants return to the circle and the
group starts another picture. It is possible to
include more participants in each picture but keeping
it to around 6 ensures energy is kept up by the
high turnover of participants, ideas and pictures.
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HINTS AND TIPS: The initial object, animal or person
can be themed before the game commences,
so that participants work within the realms of topic
related material, gaining subsequent insight in to a
subject or topic, affirmed by a visual aid
The main aims of this game are to allow the group
to think laterally and to work together to physically
create an environmentally aware, three-dimensional
picture. If suggestions for the next part of
the picture are really not relevant to the first,
briefly discuss why and move on quickly to keep
the energy positive. When the inevitable ‘football
scene’ occurs, actively avoid having more than one
‘footballer’ and think instead about all the different
layers of things to see at a match, inside or outside
the grounds, or at home with the tv. There need
not be any physical boundaries or realities to this
game. Scenes set in space are always particularly
successful!