Drama Game: Text Sparkle

Age: 5-16

Players: small groups

Time: 20-30 minutes

Skills: speaking and listening, mime and movement

This activity is based on an approach developed by the Royal Shakespeare Company and can be applied to play scripts, story books or literature. It works particularly well for poetry, Shakespeare, or other imagery-rich text. You can use it with a text that you are studying with the class or use it as an introduction to a new play or speech.

Divide the text into sections, four to six lines for each group (roughly one per person in each group). Start by demonstrating with a few students to show how they can make a still image or movement for a single phrase or couplet. Encourage the group to come up with movements and images which can be literal or emotional responses to key words in the line.