Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Classes
Acting like animals!
Explore characterisation through animals
Student drama resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 3 and 4 drama
What will I learn?
You will:
explore and create roles
respond imaginatively
perform to communicate dramatic meaning.
Welcome to the class
Duration: 00:36Before you begin
I hope you have lots of energy today and are ready to discover more about drama and animals!
You'll need:
space to move around safely
paper, pencils
camera or phone.
- Watch
Watch the video about using animals to create characters.
Approaching character through animals with Complicité
Duration: 07:202. Explore
Write down up to 3 characteristics of each of the animals in the pictures, including how they look, sound and move.
For example, a mouse is shy, small, quiet, squeaky, twitches and scurries.
3. Create
Choose 2 animals and create a frozen image (tableau) for each one using your body and face.
A tableau is a still image that is presented by actors taking on roles and freezing in that position. The visual image is composed much like a photograph.
Take a photo of each of your animal character tableaux.
Share your photos with your teacher!
Ask them if they can tell which animal you created.
4. Perform
Create a short individual drama performance (monologue).
Act out 1 of the animals, this time adding sounds and verbal elements. Think about the characteristics you wrote about in activity 1. Now try to make them come to life!
Consider:
sounds your animal makes. Does it make different sounds when it is angry or excited?
movements your animal makes. What does it do when it is looking or hunting for food, near people or when it is resting?
You might like to perform your monologue for your class or record your monologue using video with audio.
Well done!
You have completed this Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Class.
Third-party content attributions
"European wood mouse" by Marie Hale is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Goanna 1" by tobyandtamar is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
"Cute kitten a bit shy" by Tambako the Jaguar is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
"Discus Fishes" by sas_pictures_2008 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
"Lion_Leeuw_P7144603_©vh" by whippets.chrichri is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
"Suricata suricatta - meerkat - suracte - Erdmännchen 11" by Norbert Nagel is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
"Canberra Kangaroo-1=" by Sheba is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
"Louisville Zoo 08-26-5014 - Gorilla 4" by David441491 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Student as a meerkat, © Heather Williams, 2020, reproduced and communicated with permission. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, these images may be reproduced free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australia only.