Activity 8: A New Family
 
 
  Objectives

By working through this activity, you consider a number of different ways in which material can be shaped for performance to an audience, and also make use of hot-seating in order to develop your understanding of the characters involved.
 
 
  Outcomes

By working through this activity you will:
 
 
create a storyboard summary of your drama piece
 
 
complete a storyboard summary of the hot-seating exercise.
 
 
  Resources

To complete the activities you will need access to:
 
 
Kar2ouche Rehearsal Room Content Library
 
 


  Activities
 
 
  Introduction
 
 
  1. First read/listen to the audio files of the extract from the newspaper report, "The Mother of all Divorces", in the text/audio window.
 
 


  Development
 
 
  2. The report covers the following episodes:
 
 
the court case (paragraphs 1-3)
 
 
Gregory’s life with his biological family (paragraphs 4-8)
 
 
Gregory’s life with his foster family (paragraphs 9-11)
 
 
  In your group, try out different ways of ordering these scenes. For example, you could perform them in the order in which they happened, or perform a number of flashbacks from the court scene. You may find it helpful to draw a chart of the main events and climaxes of the action so that you can be sure of maintaining the interest of your audience to the end. You may need to try out several different options before you are happy with your version.
 
 
  3. Next, give some thought to how you will establish the context of the piece using the set and props.
 
 
  4. Finally, when you have cast the roles, hot-seat each of the main characters in order to gain a better understanding of their feelings and motivation.
 
 
  5. Use the rest of the available time to prepare for your performance to the rest of the class.
 
 


  Plenary
 
 
  6. Your group will have the chance to perform your completed piece to the rest of your class, and to watch other groups perform their work. When evaluating other groups’ work, think about the following aspects.
 
 
The way the action unfolds, and the effect of the structure of the piece on the audience.
 
 
The use made of the set and props.
 
 
The way in which each member of the group has tried to communicate the characters and their context to the audience.
 
 


  Extension/Homework
 
 
  7. You can make a visual record of part of your group’s hot-seating exercise using the Hot-Seat storyboard. The format of each frame has been set up for you. You may re-pose the characters if you wish and then fill in the speech bubbles. Copy extra frames onto the end of the storyboard and complete these, if you need them.
 
 
To open the Hot-Seat storyboard
 
 
  8. You can also create a storyboard summary of your finished piece showing how you made use of the performance space and set, and how you ordered the action of the piece. Do not try to record everything, but focus on key moments in each of the scenes.
 
 




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