Drama Game: Say it again, Sam

Age: 7 to adult

Players: Whole Group

Time: 10 minutes

Skills: Energiser, Icebreaker

Materials: Extract(s) from a play, or any text

Develop pragmatic (social language) skills by exploring lines from a play – or any dialogue

Begin with a pair of lines such as these, or the examples below:

A: To be or not to be?

B: That is the question.

Choose lines from a play, story or course book dialogue. It may help to display the text on a screen, board or in handouts. Stand in a circle. Player A chooses someone across the circle, walks to them and says the first line in any way they like. Player B reacts according to how they perceive the meaning and responds with the second line in a way that feels appropriate. Player A takes Player B's place while B crosses to a third player, reciting the opening line in a different way. The aim is to put different emphasis on the words each time and to explore how the same words can be used to mean many different things.