Commedia dell’arte workbook (in progress)

Drama Workbook: Discovering Commedia dell’arte (Before You Know It)

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Welcome

In this workshop, you’ll explore a series of fun, exaggerated, and highly physical drama games. You won’t be told the name of the style at first — the aim is to discover it through doing.

Your goals:

Play fully and take risks

Observe your body and movement

Reflect on what you notice about characters, status, and humour

At the end, you’ll see that you’ve been working in Commedia dell’arte, a lively form of theatre with exaggerated characters, masks, and comic routines.

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Session 1 – Body Awareness

1. Neutral Body

Task: Walk around the space with relaxed, neutral movement. No acting, no emotion.

On a signal, freeze into a strong “statue.”

Reflection:

How did your body feel before and after the freeze?

What did it feel like to control your posture completely?

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2. Exaggerated Walks

Task: Walk across the room leading with different parts of your body: nose, chest, hips, knees.

Explore how each walk feels different.

Reflection:

Which “center” felt most powerful?

How did your walk change your energy or status?

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Session 2 – Status and Character

3. Status Lines

Task: Line up from “lowest status” to “highest status” based on your body’s presence.

Try interacting with a partner: the low-status serves the high-status, then swap.

Reflection:

How did status affect your movements or gestures?

How did it feel to switch roles?

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4. Mask Exploration

Task: Using a half-mask or covering your face with your hand, move and gesture to communicate.

Exaggerate your physicality to make meaning clear.

Reflection:

How did hiding your face change your acting?

Did you feel more expressive or restricted?

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Session 3 – Archetypes and Improvisation

5. Archetype Machines

Task: Secretly take on a stock character (e.g., greedy master, sly servant, pompous captain, romantic lover).

Move through the space until your classmates can guess your archetype.

Reflection:

Which gestures made your character obvious?

Was it easy or hard to embody someone so exaggerated?

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6. Gibberish Dialogue

Task: In pairs, improvise a scene using only gibberish and gestures.

Focus on rhythm, clarity, and expression — not words.

Reflection:

How did you communicate emotion without language?

Did gestures feel more important than dialogue?

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7. Lazzi Routines

Task: Practice short, comic routines (lazzi), e.g., tripping, pretending to lift too much, exaggerated falling.

Perform mini-scenes around these routines.

Reflection:

How does physical comedy make a scene funny?

Did you find timing challenging?

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Session 4 – Relationships and Plots

8. The Lovers’ Dilemma

Task: Two “lovers” improvise a dramatic or romantic scene.

Servants or masters may interrupt, confuse, or sabotage them.

Reflection:

How did interruptions change your scene?

Did exaggeration make the story clearer or sillier?

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9. Improvised Stock Scene

Task: In groups of 4–5, create a short scene:

Two servants plotting mischief

A pompous master giving orders

Lovers trying to meet secretly

A Captain boasting and being deflated

Reflection:

Which archetypes were easiest to play?

How did the scene feel as a complete ensemble?

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Final Reflection – The Reveal

You have explored:

Exaggerated movement and status

Masks and physical expression

Stock characters (masters, servants, lovers, captain)

Gibberish dialogue and comic routines

Congratulations! You’ve been doing Commedia dell’arte, a 16th-century Italian form full of humour, masks, and physical theatre.

Last Questions:

Which archetype did you enjoy playing the most? Why?

Which activity was funniest?

How is this style different from other theatre you’ve done?

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Extension Activities

Performance Challenge: Groups create a 3–5 minute scene using at least 3 stock characters and 1 lazzo.

Journal Challenge: Reflect on how exaggeration or masks change how you tell a story.

Noh theatre workbook (in progress)

Drama Workbook: Discovering the Secrets of Noh Theatre

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In this workshop series, you’ll play a series of unusual drama games. At first, you won’t be told what theatre style we’re working towards.

Your job is to:

Take part fully

Notice how it feels to move and speak in these new ways

Reflect after each activity

At the end, we’ll reveal the theatre tradition you’ve been training in — one of the oldest and most refined performance forms in the world.

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Session 1 – Stillness and Awareness

1. Walking the Space in Silence

Task: Move around the room without talking.

Keep your body upright and balanced.

Each step should be calm, even, and deliberate.

Stay aware of the group — keep the space balanced.

Reflection:

How did it feel to slow down?

What did you notice about the group’s movement?

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2. Slow Motion Pathways

Task: Cross the room in extreme slow motion.

Focus on balance and smoothness.

Imagine time itself is stretching.

Reflection:

What was difficult about moving this way?

Did you feel more focused or more frustrated?

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Session 2 – Stylised Movement

3. Hakobi Walk (Sliding Step)

Task: Learn the sliding walk:

Bend knees slightly, body upright.

Slide feet forward smoothly, no bouncing.

Keep your head steady, eyes forward.

Reflection:

How is this walk different from normal walking?

What effect does it create?

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4. Mirror Movement

Task: In pairs, one leads, the other mirrors slowly and precisely.

Later, try as a whole group without a leader.

Reflection:

How did you know when to move?

Did the group ever feel completely in sync?

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Session 3 – Symbol & Gesture

5. Gesture as Symbol

Task: Take an everyday action (drinking tea, opening a door).

Strip it down into a single, simple, stylised gesture.

Perform slowly and precisely.

Reflection:

How did your gesture change when you simplified it?

Did it feel more powerful or less natural?

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6. Mask Work (Neutral or Simple Masks)

Task: Wear a simple mask (or cover your face).

Perform a gesture or movement.

Use posture, gaze, and breath to express meaning — without your face.

Reflection:

How did the mask change the way you moved?

Did you feel more exposed or more powerful?

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Session 4 – Voice and Silence

7. Chant and Chorus

Task: Learn a short chant (nonsense syllables or lines of text).

Speak together, in rhythm, as one voice.

Add slow movement underneath the chant.

Reflection:

How did it feel to speak as a group?

Did the rhythm affect the atmosphere?

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8. Ma – The Space Between

Task: In pairs, create a silent “encounter” (meeting, farewell, or conflict).

Use stillness, pauses, and eye contact.

Each silence must feel intentional.

Reflection:

What happened in the silence?

Did the pause feel empty, or full of meaning?

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Session 5 – Bringing It Together

9. Short Ritual Sequence

Task: In groups, create a short sequence that includes:

Hakobi walk

At least one symbolic gesture

A moment of silence (ma)

A simple chorus line

Perform it for the class — no naturalism, only ritual.

Reflection:

How did it feel to perform in this way?

What effect did it have on the audience?

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Final Reflection – The Reveal

You have explored:

Stillness and deliberate walking

Ensemble awareness

Symbolic gesture

Masks and ritualised voice

The power of silence and space

These are all part of Noh Theatre, a 600-year-old Japanese form built on discipline, symbolism, and ritual.

Last questions:

Which activity was most challenging?

Which activity felt the most powerful?

How is this different from Western drama styles you know?

Theatre of the Oppressed workbook (in progress)

  Drama Workbook: Exploring Power and Change (Before You Know the Style)

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Welcome

In this workshop series, you’ll play a series of drama games. At first, you won’t be told the name of the theatre style we’re working towards.

Your job is to:

Take part fully

Reflect honestly

Notice what each activity makes you feel about power, control, and change

At the end, you’ll discover how all of this connects to a world-famous form of theatre.

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Session 1 – Trust & Awareness

1. Name & Movement Circle

Task: Say your name with a bold gesture. The group repeats. Continue around the circle.

Reflection:

How did it feel to have the group copy you?

Did any gesture feel especially powerful or weak?

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2. Columbian Hypnosis

Task: In pairs: one leads with their hand, the other follows with their face. Swap. Then try leading and following at the same time.

Reflection:

How did it feel to be the leader?

How did it feel to be the follower?

What happened when you both led at once?

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Session 2 – Images of Power

3. Image Theatre – Static Sculptures

Task: In groups, create a frozen image with your bodies showing a theme (e.g., freedom, school, fear). The audience looks and interprets what it might mean.

Reflection:

What did the image seem to “say”?

Did different people see different meanings?

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4. Image Theatre – Transformation

Task: One at a time, audience members step in and change the image slightly (without words). Each change shifts the meaning.

Reflection:

How did small changes affect the overall picture?

What did you learn about how power can shift?

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Session 3 – Opinions Made Visible

5. Yes/No Lines

Task: The teacher makes a statement (e.g., “School uniforms are good”). Stand on a line from YES to NO to show your opinion. Move if your view changes.

Reflection:

Did you ever change your position? Why?

How did it feel to see where others stood?

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Session 4 – Rehearsing Change

6. Forum Theatre

Task: In groups, create a short scene where someone is treated unfairly (oppression). Perform it once.

On the second performance, the audience may shout STOP!, step into the role of the oppressed character, and try a new strategy.

Reflection:

What did it feel like to step into the scene?

Were all strategies successful? Why or why not?

How did the audience’s involvement change the story?

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7. The Joker (Optional Extension)

Task: One student becomes the joker (the facilitator). Their job is to invite interventions, keep the energy moving, and ask questions.

Reflection:

How is the joker different from a traditional director?

Did their questions change how you thought about the scene?

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Final Reflection – The Reveal

You’ve just explored:

Leading and following

Images of power and transformation

Making opinions visible

Scenes of oppression and intervention

All of these activities are part of Theatre of the Oppressed, a style created by Augusto Boal.

Last Questions:

Which activity felt the most powerful? Why?

Which activity made you think about real life outside the classroom?

How could these methods help people in society challenge unfairness?

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Extension

Performance Challenge: With your group, create a 3–5 minute Forum Theatre piece about a real issue in your community.

Journal Challenge: Write about a time you felt powerless — what strategies (real or imagined) might help shift that power?

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Absurdist workbook (in progress)

In this workshop series, you’ll be playing a sequence of drama games. You won’t be told the final style we’re aiming for until the end. Trust the process: play boldly, reflect honestly, and notice how it feels to work in these unusual ways.

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Session 1 – Breaking Language & Logic

1. Gibberish Conversations

Task: In pairs, have a serious conversation using only gibberish.

You can’t use real words.

Use tone, rhythm, gestures, and facial expression to show meaning.

Reflection:

How did you try to make yourself understood?

Did your partner “understand” even without words?

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2. Broken Telephone (Illogical Version)

Task: Play “Chinese whispers” — but each time, deliberately misinterpret the sentence.

E.g. “The cat is on the roof” → “The hat is on the soup.”

Reflection:

How did the meaning change?

Was it frustrating, funny, or both?

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3. Circular Conversations

Task: In groups of 3–4, hold a conversation about something trivial (e.g., lunch, the weather).

Every line must bring you back to the starting point.

The conversation must go on… and on… and on.

Reflection:

How did it feel to circle back endlessly?

Was there humour in the repetition?

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Session 2 – Waiting, Ritual, Contradiction

4. Waiting Without Purpose

Task: In pairs, imagine you’re waiting for something important — but you don’t know what.

First in silence.

Then add small, meaningless bits of dialogue.

Reflection:

What did you notice about the feeling of time passing?

Did you feel tension? Boredom? Comedy?

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5. Illogical Questions & Answers

Task: One partner only asks questions, the other only answers — but answers must never make sense.

Q: “What time is it?”

A: “The fish wore a hat.”

Reflection:

What happened when logic disappeared from the dialogue?

Did it create humour, frustration, or confusion?

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6. Status Freeze (Contradictions)

Task: Create freeze-frames of everyday scenes (e.g., job interview, dinner).

Add dialogue that completely contradicts what your bodies show.

Reflection:

What effect does it create when words and actions don’t match?

Did the audience laugh or feel uncomfortable?

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Session 3 – Absurdist Structures

7. Repetition Improvisations

Task: In pairs, you may only use 1–2 lines (e.g., “Shall we go?” / “We can’t.”).

Build a whole scene using repetition, tone, and physicality.

Reflection:

How much meaning can you create from so little text?

Did it ever feel pointless? Funny? Strange?

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8. The Endless Game

Task: In groups of 3–4, invent a “ritual game” with rules.

The rules keep changing arbitrarily.

The game must continue without an end.

Reflection:

How did it feel to play a game that never finished?

Did the “rules” give it meaning — or not?

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Final Reflection – The Reveal

You’ve just explored:

Nonsense language

Circular conversations

Waiting without resolution

Contradictions between words and actions

Repetition and ritual

Meaningless games

This is the world of Theatre of the Absurd.

Last questions:

Which activity felt the strangest to you? Why?

Which activity was the funniest? Why?

How do these games comment on human life, routines, or communication?

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Extension

Performance challenge: In groups, create a 3–5 minute sketch using at least two techniques from the workbook.

Journal challenge: Write about how Absurdist theatre might reflect the human condition.

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