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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Absurdist Theatre

a progression of 8 games

each explained with mechanics, learning goals, and how it links to the next:

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1. Gibberish Conversations

How it works: In pairs, students have a conversation but may only speak in gibberish (nonsense sounds). They must rely on tone, rhythm, and gesture to convey meaning.
Skill focus: Removes reliance on logical language; emphasises rhythm, sound, and body language.
Why first: It loosens them up and disrupts their instinct for logical dialogue.
Progression to next: Having discovered “nonsense speech,” they can now explore how meaning shifts when logic is stripped away.

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2. Broken Telephone (Illogical Version)

How it works: Like “Chinese whispers,” but each student must deliberately misinterpret or distort the message before passing it on. Example: “The cat is on the roof” becomes “The hat is on the soup.”
Skill focus: Breakdown of logical communication, playful distortion of meaning.
Link forward: Shows how language can disintegrate, preparing for games that explore futility and circularity.

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3. Circular Conversations

How it works: In groups of 3–4, students hold a conversation where each line must somehow bring the conversation back to the starting point. Example: they argue about where to go for lunch, but it always circles back to “Maybe we should just stay here.”
Skill focus: Repetition, circularity, futility.
Progression: Students see how conversations can loop pointlessly — a hallmark of Absurdist dialogue.

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4. Waiting Without Purpose

How it works: In pairs, students are told: “You’re waiting for something important. You don’t know what. You must keep waiting, even if nothing happens.” No dialogue at first, just physical action.
Skill focus: Stillness, awkwardness, anticipation without resolution.
Link forward: Introduces the core Absurdist theme of waiting for meaning. Next, add dialogue to see how characters fill the emptiness.

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5. Illogical Questions & Answers

How it works: One student can only ask questions, the other can only answer — but the answers must never logically connect to the questions.

• Q: “What time is it?”
• A: “The fish wore a hat.”
  Skill focus: Disjointed dialogue, randomness, frustration, humour.
  Progression: Builds confidence in playing with illogic and keeping a straight face.

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6. Status Freeze (Contradictions)

How it works: A freeze-frame exercise where a pair improvises a situation (e.g. job interview, lovers quarrel), but their words contradict their physicality. For example: sitting in defeated postures while saying “I’ve never felt stronger in my life.”
Skill focus: Disjunction between action and language.
Progression: This deepens the Absurdist sense of dissonance between what’s said and what’s shown.

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7. Repetition Improvisations

How it works: Two actors are only allowed to use one or two lines (e.g., “Shall we go?” / “We can’t.”). They must build an entire scene using repetition, changes in tone, and physicality.
Skill focus: Rhythm, futility, comedy through monotony.
Progression: Prepares them for Absurdist scripts that use limited language for big effect.

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8. The Endless Game

How it works: In groups of 3–4, students invent a game or ritual (e.g., clapping, chanting, passing an imaginary object) that seems to have rules, but those rules keep changing arbitrarily. The game must continue forever without conclusion.
Skill focus: Arbitrary rules, futility, invented ritual.
Culmination: They have now touched on key features of Absurdism: nonsense language, circular dialogue, futility, waiting, arbitrary ritual, contradictions.

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Final Step: Revelation & Connection

After these games, you reveal: “Congratulations. You’ve just been working in the style of the Theatre of the Absurd.” Then show them extracts from Beckett, Ionesco, or Pinter — they’ll recognise the patterns they’ve already experienced in their bodies.

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W

grd 8

Grade 8 

For each section there is a test and an analytical/creative piece

Term 1: Foundations of Narrative

This term is dedicated to the foundational skills of close reading and textual analysis across both written and visual mediums. The focus is on identifying and analyzing the core elements of storytelling, such as character, plot, and theme.

Unit Focus: Short Stories, Written and Video

• Core Texts:

  • Written:

    • The Sweater by Roch Carrier

    • Raymond's Run by Toni Cade Bambara

    • The Day the World Changed by M. T. Anderson

    • Am I Blue? by Bruce Coville

    • The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

  • Video:

    • Snack Attack

    • The Cat Came Back

    • The Sweater by Roch Carrier

    • Alike

    • Hair Love

    • Signs

    • • "Zero" (2014): An animated film that uses the concept of numbers on people's clothes to explore social prejudice and the fight for equality. The stunning animation and clear narrative make it an ideal text for visual analysis.

      • "Hair Love" (2019): An Oscar-winning animated short about a father learning to do his daughter's hair for the first time. It is a beautiful story about family, love, and self-acceptance that also addresses issues of representation.

      • "Signs" (2008): A popular live-action short film that tells a romantic story through the use of signs and notes. It's a delightful and clever narrative that showcases how a story can be told without spoken words.

• Learning Goals:

  • Analyze and compare how plot, setting, and character are developed in both written and short film narratives.

  • Examine how authors and filmmakers use point of view and perspective to shape a story.

  • Identify and articulate the central themes and conflicts presented in a variety of short texts.

  • written (or video) analysis of a shared aspect between two texts

  • video analysis of how a video text can more fully engage the audience

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Term 2: Narrative and Structure

This term focuses on a deeper, more sustained study of a single, extended text 

Unit Focus: Novel Study and Henry V (or other Shakespeare to develop rhetorical skills)

• Core Texts:

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: The primary novel study for this term.

• Learning Goals:

  • Conduct a comprehensive analysis of a novel's themes, character development, and narrative structure. (first 'real' essay)

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Term 3: Narrative Poetry

This term explores the rigid, rhythmic structure of traditional storytelling through ballads. Students will learn to appreciate the different ways that a single narrative can be told.

• • Ballads:

    • Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer

    • The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

    • The Listeners by Walter de la Mare

    • Supplementary: Modern song lyrics that function as ballads (e.g., from artists like Taylor Swift or Bob Dylan).

• Learning Goals:

• Analyze the poetic and narrative elements of ballads, identifying and explaining the use of meter, rhyme, and refrain.

• Compare and contrast how themes are explored in a full-length novel versus a condensed narrative poem.

• create your own ballad

You will want to start The Promised Neverland before this half-term ends

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Term 4: Visual Media and Persuasion

This term is dedicated to developing critical media literacy skills by deconstructing how meaning is created and conveyed through visual and persuasive texts. Students will analyze the techniques used to communicate a message in a sophisticated visual medium and in advertising.

Unit Focus: Anime and Advertising

• Core Texts:

  • The Promised Neverland (Anime series): The primary text for a deep dive into the conventions, symbolism, and themes of Japanese animation.

  • Advertising:

    • SAAB "Built by Jets"

    • Volkswagen "Think Small" and other contemporary ads

    • Axe "Chaos" billboard campaign

    • Supplementary: A variety of campaigns from different brands (e.g., Nike, Coca-Cola) across different media (social, print, TV).

• Learning Goals:

  • Deconstruct the visual and thematic elements of anime, analyzing how symbolism, character archetypes, and plot conventions work together.

  • video character study

  • video study of an element of the series, trope, symbol (motif), 

  • Identify and evaluate the rhetorical strategies used in advertising, such as AIDA, visual and literary rhetoric

  • Explain how different types of media (e.g., billboard vs. TV ad) are used to target a specific audience and convey a message.

  • create an ad to extend an already pre-existing campaign