Lesson 9 – Teaching with dramatized Experiences

“All dramatization is essentially a process of communication, in which both participant and spectators are engaged. A creative interaction takes place, a sharing of ideas."

      

·        Some forms of dramatic experiences are play, pageant, pantomime, tableau, puppets and role-playing. The last four are the most commonly used in the classroom due to their simplicity and practicality.

Role-playing is highly effective for lessons in the affective domain. If we want results, we cannot afford to ignore the guiding principles given by experts on the use of puppets and role-playing.

Play – Depict life, character or culture or a combination of all three.

Pageants – Are usually community dramas that are based on local history, presented by local actors.

Pantomime – Is the “art of conveying a story through bodily movements only”

Tableau – ( a French word which mean picture ) is a picture-like scene composed of people against a background.

Puppets – Unlike the regular stage play, can present ideas with extreme simplicity – without elaborate scenery or costume – yet effectively.

Types of puppet

Ø    Shadow Puppet – flat black silhouette made from light-weight cardboard and shown behind a screen.

Ø    Rod puppets – Flat cut out figures tacked to a stick, with one or more movable parts and operated from below the stage level by wire rods or slender sticks.

Ø    Hand puppets – The puppet’s head is operated by the forefinger of the puppeteer, the little finger and thumb being used to animate the puppet hands.

Ø    Glove-and-finger puppets – make use of old gloves to which small costumed figure are attached.

Ø    Marionettes – Flexible, jointed puppets operated by strings or wires attached to a cross bar and maneuvered from directly above the stage.

Role-Playing – Is an unrehearsed, unprepared and spontaneous dramatization of a “let’s pretend” situation where assigned participants are absorbed by their own roles in the situation described by the teachers.