This is a warm-up theater activity to feel how the sense of self changes when body posture and habitual movement are altered. The extended objective is to observe how a person/character’s movements and body language reveal something about his/her feelings.
Moving Through the Space
step 1
Ask students to move through the space.
step 2
Change the nature of the space by describing a different environment, “It’s very thick, you must move slowly. “
step 3
Change the nature of the space again, “Now you are light, so light the wind is blowing you.”
step 4
Tell students to imagine that a string is attached to the tip of their noses, pulling them forward. How does this affect the rest of their body? Students feel how their bodies shift to accommodate their extended nose.
step 5
Tell students to move through the space with their elbow leading the way.
step 6
Call out other body parts to act as the point leading their movement, “Hips! Chin! Stomach! Top of head!”
step 7
Ask students to notice how they feel in these different movement styles: do they feel it’s easier or harder to move? Do they feel older, younger, lighter?
Extension
Ask one student to keep moving while others freeze, then ask others to observe the student still moving. Ask students
to describe the character. “How old is s/he? What does s/he do for a living?” This leads to a discussion of physicality in creating characters
