Drama Game: Moving Images

• Age: 10 to adult
• Players: Groups of 3–5
• Time: 20–40 minutes
• Skills: Physical theatre, dance, movement

Demonstrate the technique with the whole group: stand in a circle and ask one person to enter the space and freeze in a random position, making an abstract still image. Now ask a second person to add him/herself in as part of this tableau. The idea is not to plan, but to ‘think with your body’. Do the same with another two participants so that an abstract shape is created by the four players. As each person enters they should relate to the other people's shapes. You may need to remind participants about exploring different levels and body shapes.

Now ask the first person to unfreeze and move to a new position in the tableau. After a moment, ask the others to do likewise, in the same order that they entered the image. (You can count ‘One, two, three, four’ to let each person know when to move.) Repeat this until a movement sequence has been devised in which everybody has three different positions. Now they should practise moving smoothly from position one to two to three and back to one.

Surprise them by playing some music while they are still moving. You will find that their movements become more dance-like as they respond to the beat and atmosphere of the music. Electronic dance music or lively orchestral music works well. Now ask the participants to start inventing a new position and shape each time they move. As they do this it is likely that their movements will become even more dance-like.

The next step is to encourage the players to keep moving so that a piece of continuous movement is created. At this point they do not have to keep to the original order. Anybody can move at any time. Those watching – and the group themselves – may be surprised at how easily they have created this movement piece.

After this you can break into smaller groups (four is a good number) so that everyone can try out the approach. Each group can devise a short piece to perform to the others.

David Farmer runs the website www.dramaresource.com – a site that offers a wide range of ideas, games and courses for drama practitioners. He is the author of several books including 101 More Drama Games and Activities, from which this game is taken.