Verbatim Theatre has it taped

Introduction

Verbatim Theatre is a form of devised drama documentary built around the literal words – word for word – of eye witnesses, reminiscences, memoirs, diaries, media reports of everything from wars to plague, old shops to long-forgotten fun fairs.

It's a unique and fulfilling way of paying tribute to the past and drawing lessons for today. Verbatim Theatre can be risky, as drama often is, but it's a worthy experiment in social history that will expand teenagers’ performance skills in unusual settings.

These 90-minute sessions are designed to give students confidence in creating Verbatim Theatre. This scheme of work is less a template, more a recipe book of ideas, possible routes, and a presentation of some of the challenges to be explored by teachers and students together.

It's worth noting that some practitioners use extracts from particular plays as a form of verbatim, giving voice to a character. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a popular choice.

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<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>Verbatim Theatre is a form of devised drama documentary built around the literal words – word for word – of eye witnesses, reminiscences, memoirs, diaries, media reports of everything from wars to plague, old shops to long-forgotten fun fairs.</p>
<p>It's a unique and fulfilling way of paying tribute to the past and drawing lessons for today. Verbatim Theatre can be risky, as drama often is, but it's a worthy experiment in social history that will expand teenagers’ performance skills in unusual settings.</p>
<p>These 90-minute sessions are designed to give students confidence in creating Verbatim Theatre. This scheme of work is less a template, more a recipe book of ideas, possible routes, and a presentation of some of the challenges to be explored by teachers and students together.</p>
<p>It's worth noting that some practitioners use extracts from particular plays as a form of verbatim, giving voice to a character. <i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</i> is a popular choice.</p>
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