Process drama: The Three Islands
For a group of about 30 and three Teacher-in-role.
The aim of this process drama is to make participants reflect and be more aware of the difficulties of integration and inclusion, and of the importance to put aside our personal needs in behalf of the community. Besides, the participants learn to cooperate, taking decisions, and should have fun.
Materials: photos of the islands, of the animals, the vegetables, etc. in them.
Other objects and materials
Stage 1: Initial phase
The group is divided in three big groups and assigned a space at school (empty classroom or better a part of the yard, well delimited). The group can not see each other during this first stage.
Each group finds some documents there that explain they are the only inhabitants of an island. They know nothing of the rest of the world. The documents (tablet with images) show the pictures of the island. They must decide how to live in this island with the natural means they find, how to eat, how to dress, what name they give to the island, how to rule life.
Group 1: they will find a pampa land, with few slow-growing fruit trees, beautiful sea but with dangerous animals in it.
Group 2: they will find a green woody island with dangerous cliffs all around.
Group 3: they will find a volcanic island with beautiful beaches and a see full of tasty fishes.
.
In this first stage of the process drama, the group must decide how to live in their island. The teacher in role leads the discussion, as one of them (she can play a wise old person).
What will we eat? How can we get food? How to dress? How to shelter from hot or cold? What if someone hurts another one? What is there’s a fight? How can we call our island?
They can build shelters, etc
Stage 2: Experiential phase
Island 1: The wise person announces to the community that there has been a plague and some trees are dead. There was one per person, now there are four less (for instance). How will they manage?
Island 2: The wise person announces a terrible seaquake in a few hours. The island will disappear. They have a few hours to leave the island. Each of them can carry one thing.
They have a map and so they know there’s another island far from the seaquake.
Island 3: The wise man announces a huge explosion of the volcano producing a seaquake. They have a few hours to leave the island. Each of them can carry one thing.
They have a map and so they know there’s another island far from the seaquake.
The inhabitants of islands 2 and 3 go to island 1.
There, in a little place, they will have to decide how to live and establish new rules, new divisions, ecc ecc.
The teachers in role leads the discussion, as one of them:
What will we eat now? How can we get food for all? Can the experiences of the new arrived be useful? And the things they took? What if they have different rules? Should the island change its name now?
Stage 3: Reflexive phase
Individually, in-role, write a diary (a few lines) about the arrival event. How did I feel about leaving the island I had built / seeing all this new people arrive? What did I expect? Did something irritated me? What would be the best thing to do? What is my dream now?