Creative Writing Through Theater - A Total Physical Response

Try this one on for size.


Imagine you are at the beach.  What sounds do you hear?  Let's make a list of all the sounds you hear at the beach.


Now pick one of those sounds.  On the count of three, make that sound and only that sound.  Listen to the other sounds at the same time, and to the whole beach experience.


After you have listened to the sounds, write down a story about what happened at the beach.  You have lost an object.  That object is important to your family.  Use the sounds you heard at the beach to make your story feel real.

I learned this technique during an outstanding class sponsored by the school district teaching how to use theater to deliver creative writing instruction.  Two experienced and energetic theater teachers taught the class, and the fourteen students in class were willing participants in an acting and writing extravaganza.

Think of a moment in history.  Using all of the actors in your group, create a tableau of that moment.  That means everyone freezes in place to show that one moment.  


Now point to all the actors in the tableau.  What are they thinking?  What's the dialogue?  Write a story describing that moment.

By having our students act out moments in history, we are using the technique called "TPR"--Total Physical Response.  When you use your body to learn, your brain has a better chance of remembering the event and consequently writing about it.  The writing becomes interesting, thoughtful, and creative.

Take a look at this painting.  Pick one thing in the painting--it can be a person, a plant, or an object--and as a group, re-create the painting just as it looks. You don't need to communicate to anyone, just go up and become your object.  Now freeze.


Let's ask each person/object in the painting:  What is your thought bubble? What are you thinking?


Think about the object or person you became.  Write a story describing the scene from that perspective or point of view.

Again, using TPR the students have a better chance of understanding the moment and translating that into a solid piece of writing.

Doing theater in the classroom doesn't necessarily mean putting on plays.  You can just have students act out ideas, concepts, questions--you name it.  When they use their bodies and their words to demonstrate understanding and challenge their creativity, learning is effective and fun.  And it builds self-esteem, too.

So, get out there and let the kids act!