DRAMATIC PLAY

Directory of situations
Awareness of your body

The relaxation round: In a round, one hand gives, the other receives. We give each other a hand tap, a “fluid”.
Collective breathing

The dolls : Lying on the ground, each for themselves, no communication. "We are going to become rag dolls. The
feet are very soft, very heavy, then the calves. We have the impression of leaving our mark in the ground...". The
leader comes to check by lifting your feet and hands to check that you are really a rag doll. At the end, we wake up
slowly, and we get up calmly at our own pace.

The ribbon: blow gently while imagining that a ribbon is coming out of your mouth. We try to make the ribbon as
long as possible. The leader cuts the ribbon (let the air in without effort )

Washing : we wake up the body by washing. The leader can guide: we massage the face, legs, arms, stomach...

The balloon: we have an imaginary balloon in the pit of our stomach. The leader makes it gradually swell. The
body must evolve according to the size of the ball. At the end, the balloon bursts and pfft we fall again.

The seed : we are a very small seed which transforms into a tree by growing very slowly. The arms are the
branches.
Variants:
- The wind is blowing
- Eyes closed

Animals :
o the starfish :
- Flat back, inhale and exhale to press your entire back on the floor.
- The starfish closes (fetal position)
o cat :
- Make your back round and make your back flat.
- Move like a feline
o the Eagle :
- standing , open your arms horizontally (starting from the shoulder blades) before taking flight.
o the monkey
- move like a monkey (flexible, arms dangling) hang from branches and swing
- Inhale on suspension and exhale on release
o The pink flamingo
- Place yourself on a support (other leg bent, fold then unfold
- same after a trip
o The bear
- move with weight and bend your legs to support the ground
- Vary the speed of movement
- Same on 4 supports.
o The seaweed
- move like seaweed on 2 supports

The little jumping ball : you hold a small ball in your hands which moves more or less quickly, more or less
strongly in your hands. We swallow it and it travels to different parts of the body. We get rid of the ball by “spitting”
it as far away as possible. The body relaxes and calms down.
LVE 14 working group – Drama Project 2019/2020
Space: movement and consideration of space

Everywhere: moving “where others are not”. Stop at the signal, check that you occupy all the space, rebalance if
necessary.

Walking/direction : I walk at the pace indicated by the leader (first everyone at their own pace then the leader
can change the speed). At the signal I stop, I change direction: it is first of all the look that indicates the new direction
and not the physical reversal. Then when I pass someone, I stop, say hello and leave.

Moving on different ground: sand, gravel, mud, grass, water, a thread

Express a feeling by moving : in a hurry, tired, sad, happy, heavy, light…

The leader can tell a story that will guide the actors during the trip: “P wakes up very early this morning, he is
exhausted, he drags himself to the kitchen. The cat jumping on him scared him terribly..."

The imaginary thread : The students move, an imaginary thread pulls them by a part of the body: arm, knee,
shoulder, finger...etc. The thread is pulled hard, gently, jerkily...

I follow, I flee. Everyone says to themselves “I am repelled by Y and attracted by X”. At the signal, everyone tries
to approach their X while moving away from their Y.

The toxic cloud: individuals begin to form a group. The leader explains that there is a toxic cloud in the room, but
he is the only one who sees it. The cloud is first at a height, then the leader makes it move: the players must avoid it
by adopting the ideal positions (by crawling, by stooping, etc.) and by going in opposite directions to the cloud.

The planets Delimit 2 zones. The first is called the 'soft planet', the 2nd 'planet of jumps', a neutral space
between the two. Walk freely in these 3 spaces by adapting your behavior:
 Soft planet: soft bodies, without energy
 Planet of jumps: incessant jumps, leaps, movement
 Neutral space: “Normal” state

The game of billiards : moving throughout the space aiming at a point (working on intention) - If you meet
someone you change direction

Walk of the senses : walk dispersed in space (same when stopping)

- Sight /attention to objects, colors, lights, to others (clothes, colors, etc.)
- Hearing/ detecting external noises , in the room, from one's body (breathing)
- Touch/ explore materials

The walking body : pay attention to the positions of the different parts of the body (head, shoulders, rolling of
the foot, swing of the arms, etc.)
- Explore contrasts: foot position, gaze position, arm swing, knee fixation, etc.
- Stopped posture

Listening to others, taking others into account, sensory listening

Inflatable puppet game: In pairs, we “unblock” the partner’s body which deflates until it becomes limp. Then we
re-inflate it using an imaginary pump (sound exhalation on “ tch ”).

LVE 14 working group – Drama Project 2019/2020

 Colored balloons: the group is in a circle. The leader throws an imaginary colored ball to someone, giving the
name of the color and making the throwing gesture. The receiver in turn throws the ball back. When the rhythm is
established, the leader adds other balloons of other colors. The goal is not to lose the ball.

The mirrors: in pairs, one facing the other, a leader and a reflection. The reflection must perfectly follow its
leader. Pay attention to the rhythm. At the beginning, couples can choose who leads and who is the reflection,
reverse, and secondly, we don't tell each other who starts. The leader should evolve the mirror game by pushing the
leaders to use all parts of their bodies as the couple becomes comfortable.

Samurai game in a big circle: (MP)

 A “kills” B (with a samurai gesture and a cry “Ah”)
 B dies (withdraws on himself + Argh !)
 C and D, B's neighbors, finish him off with a simultaneous gesture+cry

The statue: in pairs, a sculptor, a statue

 Sculptors sculpt what they want, put their statue in the position, with the expression they desire.
 The leader gives different states to sculpt: fear, joy, sadness, shame, cold...
 The leader gives characters or animals to sculpt: a skier, a cat, a guard dog....

The sculptor and his statue:

 The sculptor sculpts his statue then stands next to it in the same position. Then, we reverse the roles.
 The sculptor sculpts his statue (which has its eyes closed) then he will place himself in the same position as
his statue in another place in the room. The statues open their eyes at the leader's signal and must recognize
their sculptor.

Hodgepodge : in the round.

Everyone closes their eyes. No communication, calm. The round must get tangled. The leader always makes sure
everyone is safe. We get tangled without letting go of our hands, taking care not to hurt others, not to force. When
the circle is completely tangled, we untangle ourselves, same instructions. When the disentangling is finished (signal
from the leader), we open our eyes.

Bottle game : in groups of 5 or 6, in a circle, one person in the middle. The people who form the circle are stuck
together. The person in the middle closes their eyes and stands as stiff as possible (like a glass bottle). It naturally lets
itself capsize while remaining rigid. The others receive it gently with their hands and send it back in another
direction, delicately. As confidence builds, the bottle can open your eyes. Be careful, everyone must be very focused
so as not to drop the bottle.

The countdown: the group is in a round, seated, facing away. Someone says 1. We must count as far back as
possible, but if two people say the same number at the same time, we start again at 1.

Crossing : on the circle, catch a person with your gaze, exchange places on the circle without taking your eyes off
each other
- Working on movement, emotions
- Contact

The line : while the animator hits for a defined number of beats, we form a straight line, then we all form a
triangle starting from the animator which symbolizes a vertex...

The guiding hand : In pairs, one leader, one guided. Hand to hand, make the friend's hand travel.
Variation : hands spaced, keep the same distance between hands

LVE 14 working group – Drama Project 2019/2020

 Living picture : a person takes a position of their choice in a space determined by the game leader, according to
their desires, one by one, the other members of the group complete the picture in consistency with the previous
postures.

The photographer: the leader gives instructions in English to a small group in order to strike a pose.

The blind man : Children in pairs throughout the space. One of the two closes their eyes and the children hold
hands. The guide makes his blind partner move.
Variants :
- The blind man places his hand on the guide's shoulder
- Take downtime

Walk with others: Walk at the same pace, then slower and slower until you stop.

“Pilotin” : move around as grouped together (without touching) or dispersed as possible.

On your path: walk in a dispersion and when you meet someone you follow them then you leave them and you
follow someone else.

If one of us stops : walk in dispersion, if one student (or the teacher) stops, the others stop. As soon as the
student leaves, everyone leaves.

Shadowing : Choose a person and walk, always leaving them to your right. Choose 2 people and walk equidistant

My hand is a mirror : in pairs, one leader/one follower. The leader's hand is a mirror, the follower looks at
himself in it whatever the position of the mirror.

THE VOICE

My voice can do anything:

 Stand with your knees slightly bent, relax your shoulders and jaw
 Yawn, sound yawns (awareness of position), emit an “m”
 With this sound : Making a hole in the wall, overturning a chair, turning the pages of a book...

Blast :
 On a sustained sound vvvvvvvvv make a vowel “explode”: vvvvvvvvAvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
 Same thing with the words: wave, worm, bike, quickly, city, coming, thief, veil, see, violin, meat, violent,
Friday… (Extend the v…)

Sagittarius : imaginary target (boat on the horizon line),

 Send small pulses in the form of [ ch ] accompanied by a precise gesture…
 Same exercise with syllables whispered, then spoken then declaimed, counting (from 1 to 10)
 Same exercise with syllables, words

The alphabet : sitting in a circle, we say the alphabet by pronouncing each letter with a particular sound . The
leader says an A (the aaaaah of laughter for example), the group repeats the letter with the same sound. The second
says the B (of the stutterer for example) choosing a different sound, the group repeats…
 same thing with a simple word, for example “hello”
 same thing with a short sentence

The dispute : In pairs, argue using only the letters of the alphabet

LVE 14 working group – Drama Project 2019/2020

 The wall : individually, everyone chooses a sentence and places themselves facing a wall, quite close. Everyone
will test the intensity of their voice: the distance between the wall represents the intensity of the voice. Gradually,
the person steps back and therefore says their sentence louder and louder.

Officer 007: Everyone receives a verse, a sentence

 Walk in space while whispering the verse to memorize it
 Chew the verse = articulate silently (no sound, no breath)
Memorization is complete when the paper disappears into the pocket.

The phrase : everyone moves in the space saying a sentence freely then according to the instructions given by
the leader : whispering, low, slow, high, fast, like a robot, high and slow, loud and high….

Imaginary languages: everyone moves in space. When we meet someone, we say “hello”, the other responds
but in an imaginary language. We can continue the dialogue. When the dialogue is over, everyone goes their
separate ways.

The barker: arrange yourself in 2 lines, face to face, 5/6 m apart. Take a stable position: body straight, feet and
hands still (for the projected voice)
On the signal, the actors of line A say their sentence all at the same time, with their voices raised, line B repeats
it. Line B says its line in turn, line A repeats it.
Same thing while whispering

Introduce an object, an accessory: in a circle, each say their response by manipulating an object (ball, scarf,
stick). The text must remain audible and understood by others
Variation: Carry out tasks imposed by others while saying your lines
Ex: 3 ball throws, walk 5 steps, then lie down from a sitting position

Tongue twisters twisters :

Three turtles trotted across three very narrow roofs.

A hunter who knows how to hunt must know how to hunt without his dog.

What did the donkey drink at the lake? The donkey at the lake drank the water.

I want and demand an exquisite apology.

Fox in socks. Socks in box.

She sells seashells on the seashore.

Bad cats. Fat rats

Express yourself physically

The movers : on the circle, pass around an imaginary object that is light, heavy, fragile, bulky, tiny, hot...

The mystery box : Pass around an imaginary box, open it and express your feelings physically (joy, fear, sadness,
indifference, surprise, etc.)

LVE 14 working group – Drama Project 2019/2020