Category: Mime

Posted in Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Drama workshops for children, Freeze Frame, Hot seating, Mime, Mime for all ages

Space Adventure – A Drama Workshop for Children ages 5 to 8

Posted on by Drama Start Books

Objective: To help children explore their imagination and creativity, while learning about space and the different elements involved in space exploration.

Age Group: 5 to 8 years old

Materials Needed: Space-themed props (such as helmets, cardboard cutouts of spaceships, planets, etc.), costumes, a space-themed soundtrack (optional).

Warm-Up Activity: Space Walk

  • Have the children stand in a circle, and explain that they are going on a space walk to explore the galaxy.
  • Begin walking around the circle with a slow, steady pace, and have the children follow you.
  • After a few minutes, start introducing different movements, such as walking backwards, tiptoeing, jumping, or spinning.
  • Encourage the children to come up with their own movements, and have them lead the group.
  • Slowly increase the pace, until the children are “zooming” through space.

Mime and Movement: The Launch

  • Divide the children into groups, and explain that they are going to act out the launch of a spaceship.
  • Provide the children with cardboard cutouts of a spaceship and other space-themed props, and encourage them to use mime and movement to simulate the launch process.
  • Ask the children to work together to come up with different movements and sounds that represent the different stages of the launch, such as countdown, liftoff, and acceleration.
  • Once each group has had a chance to practice, have them perform their launch sequence for the rest of the group.

Improvisation: Alien Encounter

  • Explain to the children that they have landed on a strange planet and encountered an alien creature.
  • Assign each child a role, either as an astronaut or as the alien, and encourage them to use improvisation to interact with one another.
  • Encourage the children to use movement, gesture, and voice to create their characters and the scene.
  • As the scene progresses, encourage the children to add more details and dialogue to their improvisation, as they discover more about the alien and its world.

Role play: Mission Control

  • Explain to the children that they are going to act out a communication between the spaceship and Mission Control on Earth.
  • Provide the children with props such as walkie-talkies, headsets, or toy telephones to represent the communication devices.
  • Assign one child as the spaceship captain and another as the Mission Control operator.
  • Encourage the children to use talking objects to communicate with each other, such as speaking into the walkie-talkies or using hand gestures to indicate different commands.
  • Encourage the children to switch roles and try different communication devices, to explore the different ways that communication can be used in space exploration.

Still Images and Thought Tracking: Spacewalk

  • Explain to the children that they are going to act out a spacewalk, where they will explore the surface of a planet or asteroid.
  • Have the children work in pairs, and encourage them to use still images to create different poses and movements that represent the spacewalk.
  • After a few minutes, ask the children to freeze in their current pose, and have them silently think about what their character is feeling and thinking in that moment.
  • Encourage the children to share their thoughts and feelings with their partner, and to use thought tracking to add more detail and depth to their character.

Soundscape: The Return Home

  • Explain to the children that they are going to act out the return journey home, where they will encounter different sounds and obstacles along the way.
  • Provide the children with different sound-making props, such as rattles, drums, or bells.
  • Encourage the children to create a soundscape that represents the different stages of the return journey, such as the re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, turbulence during the descent, and the landing on the ground.
  • As the soundscape progresses, encourage the children to add more details and variations, such as different rhythms and volume levels.
  • After the soundscape is complete, have the children share their experiences and reflections on their space adventure.

Cool-Down Activity: Reflection and Sharing

  • Have the children sit in a circle, and encourage them to share their favorite moments from the space adventure workshop.
  • Ask the children to reflect on what they learned about space exploration and how they used their imagination and creativity during the workshop.
  • Finally, thank the children for their participation and encourage them to continue exploring the world of drama and creativity.

Note: Depending on the age and skill level of the children, you can modify or adjust the drama strategies used in the workshop. You can also add or remove certain activities to suit your needs and objectives.

 

Posted in Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Movement activities, Solo Mimes

Solo Mimes

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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The following are the outline of three solo mimes.

The Magician

A magician enters , bows and then takes off his cape and hat – he puts them to one side.

He slowly and carefully takes off his gloves, – throws the gloves up in the air – they change into a bunch of flowers – he smells them, shows them to the audience and then hands them to his assistant.

He pulls a long handkerchief from his breast pocket – he shows this handkerchief both sides, bunches it up and then produces a dove from it. He strokes the dove – lets it fly away and then it lands on his hand again. He gives the dove to his assistant.

At the back of the stage there is a large box. The magician walks back to it and then pushes it forwards. He swings it round, opens the front door and then gestures to his lady assistant who gets into the box, and closes the door.

The magician produces a sharp word-he brandishes the sword and then sticks it through the box. More and more swords are put through the box – perhaps he saws the box in half as well.

He pulls the sword out – opens the door. The lady walks out and the magician takes his bow. (Or the lady could collapse down to the floor – the magician shrugs and goes off).

 

The Driving Lesson

(There are two chairs to represent the two front seats in the car)

A lady gets into the car for her first driving lesson.

She gets into the passenger seat by mistake.

After some maneuvering she climbs in to the driving seat.

She tests all the controls – when she sees the rear view mirror she checks her appearance and starts to tidy her hair – then remembers the driving lesson.

She tries to get hold of the gear lever, but gets hold of the instructor’s knee by mistake.

She gets embarrassed. At last the car starts but it goes backwards.

Suddenly it stops. It starts again but this time it jerks forwards.

It begins to start speeding.

The lady takes her hand from the steering wheel to shield her yes.

The car crashes.

The lady opens her eyes. She is unhurt – so she gets out of the car, dusts herself down and walks off cheerfully as if nothing happened.

Stuck up

You carry a heavy parcel.

You take a large sheet of brown paper and wrap it around the parcel.

You try to keep the paper the parcel as you reach for a roll of sticky tape.

You get your sticky tape stuck to your fingers and your clothes,

As soon as pull it off one part gets stuck to another part – it gets stuck everywhere but on your parcel.

You get more and more stuck up until finally your knees are stuck, and your arms are stuck, every part of you is stuck and you hobble off.

For more solo mimes click here.

https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Start-Two-Activities-Children-ebook/dp/B007QXFGGM?ref_=ast_sto_dp
https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Start-activities-monologues-children-ebook/dp/B0052MUG7I?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Posted in Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Occupational mime

Occupational Mime

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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How do we represent occupational mime correctly?

To present a correct representation of the occupation. In order to do occupational mime correctly we need to convey

  • The size of the objects
  • The weight of the objects
  • The shape of the objects
  • The resistance of the objects
  • How we use the objects.

How do we achieve all of the above?

  • We must imagine the action, weight, shape ans feel of an object.
  • We must observe the people around us carefully. Watch how they move and recreate how they do it.
  • We must be aware of our bodies and how they move.

Occupational Mime Exercises:

  • Lift a real chair then recreate the size, weight, shape and resistance as you lift an imaginary chair.
  • Move the real chair, then move the imaginary chair.
  • Handle different materials (rough, smooth, silk). This will help with recreate textures in mime.
  • Lift a real box then lift an imaginary box. Lift the imaginary box and put it down and lift it from the same place. Let it have the same size, weigh and resistance.
  • Lift a real glass. Lift an imaginary glass and put it down and lift it from the same place. Let it have the same size, weigh and resistance.
  • Open the lid of a box. Open an imaginary box. What’s the angle of the lid. How does it open?

When you are  performing mime you must have clear and slow movements.

Things to try:

  • Open a door
  • Enter a room
  • Turn around and close the door.
  • Go pass a table
  • There is a box on a shelf. Take it off.
  • Put it on the table
  • Open it the box and take out a telescope
  • Extend the telescope
  • Put it to your eye
  • Put it down
  • Put it in the box (same place as before.)
  • Lift the box back on the shelf.

Mime workshops for all ages

Solo Mimes

Posted in Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Movement activities

Cu Chulainn – Mime Play

Posted on by Drama Start Books

 

 

 

Cu Chulainn

(This is a mime play with a storyteller, the mime actions are in italics).

The storyteller:

This is the story of Cu Chulainn and how he got his name and became one of Ireland’s most famous warriors. Cullen was a blacksmith to the high king of Ireland. His job was to make swords of flashing steel that could cut the thickest of trees and bronze shields that would protect the king from the wrath of the fieriest dragon in Ireland.

Mime action:

Cullen the blacksmith walks to the centre of the stage. He has got helpers. They make a still image of a blacksmith’s forge. Then, they mime making the swords. They hand them to each other. They brandish them. They cut down trees to see if the sword is sharp enough and they present if to the king who is sitting on his throne.

The storyteller:

The high king was pleased with Cullen and one day he held a royal feast in his honour and invited all the noble warriors in Ireland to the feast.

Mime action:

The King leads the procession of warriors. Servants bring in seats. They sit and the servants carry in great plates of food and bottles of wine.

The storyteller:

As night fell, Cullen left his mighty black hound to guard the king’s palace. The hound was very fierce with ugly red eyes and huge teeth.

Mime action:

One of the children takes the part of the hound. The High King,, Warriors and Cullen stretch out and go to sleep. The hound stands in front of them and guards them.

The storyteller:

The King had forgotten that a boy called Setanta was playing hurley on the field outside. No one had warned him about the dreadful hound.

Mime action:

Setanta approaches the palace. He is happy and swing his hurling stick. He sees the hound. The hound attacks Setanta. The battle continues in slow motion as the storyteller speaks. The king, warriors and lords wake up and watch the fight.

The storyteller:

There was a mighty fight between them. Setanta eventually kills the hound by ramming his hurley down the hound’s throat.

Mime action:

The hound dies.

The storyteller:

The king, Cullen and all the noble warriors rush out when they hear the combat. The king hugs Setanta as he is delighted that the boy is safe.

Mime action:

The king comes forward and praises Setanata. Cullen stands over the dead hound. The King and warriors go to him.

The storyteller:

Cullen however was sad and grieved at the loss of his great guard hound. He wondered who will guard his workshop. Who will guard all the bronze and gold in the workshop that’s needed to make the swords and shields.

Mime action:

Setanta lifts his hand and gestures that he will take the place of the hound. He could take the mask from the hound and change this into a helmet which he lifts high and then places on his head.

The storyteller:

“I will guard your forge from now on and I will take the place of your hound” said Setanta. So he did – and guarded the forge of Cullen, the blacksmith. He was known by his new name Cu Chulainn – the hound of Cullen. He became the highest and greatest of Irelands’s ancient warriors.There are many more exciting stories about Cu Chulainn and the heroes of Ireland. Make up your own mime plays from these stories.

For more mime activities click here

Visit my Amazon page for more drama activities, plays and monologues.

 

 

Posted in Drama for children, Drama workshops for children, Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Movement activities

Solo Mimes For Children

Posted on by Drama Start Books

Solo mimes 

A solo mime is a complete mime scene where you create the setting, the plot, the other participants. There is always a story or a theme to a solo mine scene.

Here are some examples of solo mimes for you to practice.

Washing the dog – Solo Mime 1

Carry a heavy bath in, put it down.

Lift up a bucket of water- pour it into the bath.

Check the temperature – too hot, pour some cold water in.

Look around for your dog. There it is.

Try to coaxit into the bath.

It doesn’t want to come,so lift him up. He is very heavy.

You wash the dog all over.

You try to get hold of it but it jumps out of the bath.

It shakes itself and you shield yourself.

It runs away and you run after it.

The Flyaway Balloon – Solo Mime 2

You enter with a tray of gallons.

You select one and blow it up.

Throw it up and catch it.

You tie a string to it.

It start to fly away so you chase it..

You pull the string and it comes back.

You sit on it to prevent it flying away again.

The balloon burst.

You pick it up, looking very sad.

You walk off.

The Lion Tamer – Solo mine 3

The lion tamer walks on and bows to the audience.

He points to the lion.

He lets the lion out of his cage.

The lion jumps up on him and the lion tamer jumps back.

He picks up a round hoop.

He indicates to the audience the lion will jump through the hoop.

He commands the lion to jump through it.

The lion refuses.

He pleads with the lion.

The lion jumps over the hoop and not through it.

The lion tamer commands the lion to jump through it again.

The lion walks under the hoop.

The lion tamer is annoyed and puts his fists up to the lion.

The lion chases the lion tamer around the stage and the lion tamer runs off.

For more mime ideas click here.

Mime activities for all ages.

Posted in Action Poems, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama games for 3 year olds, Drama games for 4 year olds, Mime, Movement activities, Movement stories for children

The Magical Music Shop -A Movement Story

Posted on by Drama Start Books


The Magical Music Shop -A Movement Story

Resources needed: Clear space, triangle and pictures of different types of instruments (optional).

Introduction: Tell the children they are going to participate in a movement story about a magical music shop. Show them pictures of different type of instruments. Discuss different kind of musical instrument families.

Brass instruments are made of brass or another metal and they make sound when air is blown into them. The instruments in the brass family include trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, cornet, and bugle.

Percussion instruments usually make sound when they are hit or shaken. The instruments in the percussion family include drums, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, chimes, bells, and xylophone.

String instruments are made with strings. The strings may be struck, plucked or bowed. The instruments in this family include violin, viola, cello, bass.

Woodwind instruments make sound when air is blown inside or across them and vibrates. Woodwind instruments include flute, clarinet, recorder, bassoon, and oboe.

Ask the children what their favourite instrument is? If they could be an instrument what would it be? Why did they choose it? What sound does their chosen instrument make? If their instrument could move how would it move? What kind of musical family does their chosen instrument belong to? Make sure everyone has a chance to explain their choice. Before the story starts get one of the children to volunteer to be the music shop owner. The teacher is the narrator. The rest of the children are their chosen instruments.

Narrator: Once upon a time there was a very special music shop. The music shop was special because all the instruments that lived in the shop were magic. (The children all freeze in the shape of their instrument.) The music shop owner loved his instruments very much. He treated them with tender loving care. (The owner goes around the shop. He polishes and dusts all the instruments.) Every night the owner would close the shop and go upstairs to bed. (The shop owner goes off to bed and lies on the floor and falls asleep. He snores loudly.) What the owner didn’t know was when the clock struck midnight the instruments would come alive. (Narrator tinkles the triangle.) The magic instruments would come down from their shelves and out from the window display. (The instruments start to move slowly out of their positions.) They would all play together. (The instruments start playing their music and moving around interacting with one another.) The instruments were so happy when they were with their friends. They had so much fun and nobody knew about their magic powers. Every morning when the instruments heard the music shop owner’s footsteps (the owner makes loud stomping noises with his feet) they would quickly run back to their places on the shelves or in the window display. (The instruments go back to their original positions and freeze.) Every morning the music shop owner would walk around the shop inspecting his instruments and every morning he would rub his head and say, “That’s funny. I thought I had put the violin on that shelf, or didn’t I leave the drum on the window.” But the music shop owner never suspected a thing and every night when he went to bed and the clock struck midnight the instruments would play to their hearts content. (The instruments come out and play.) Every morning the music shop owner would come and they would quickly move back to their places. (The instruments move quickly back to their positions.) (The narrator can say this section as many times as he wants.)

After a while the music shop owner knew something was not quite right. So one morning he tiptoed into the shop and he found the instruments all playing together. (The owner tiptoes very quietly into the shop.) He heard the most beautiful

Other movement stories:

The hare and the tortoise 

Adventures in Space

Posted in Action Poems, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl Drama, expressive arts, Mime, Mime for kids, Movement activities

Emotions -a drama workshop for children based on emotions

Posted on by Drama Start Books

Drama is a great way of expressing emotions. Explain to the children everything we do and every thought we have comes with a feeling. Sometimes the feelings feel good and sometimes not so good. Some feelings are strong, some are weak. When we feel something we can choos want to do about that feeling. Sometimes we try to ignore it and it goes away and sometime it takes over and we cannot think of anything else. When you get a feeling, first work out what it is and come up with an idea about what to do about it.

When you are feeling…….
Happy
Angry
Bored
Worried
Sad
Excited
Grumpy
Scared
Quiet
Jealous
Embarrassed
Shy

Everyone makes mask with different emotions. Walk around the trying portray their emotions.
The rest of the class has to get what emotion you are portraying.

ACTIVITY: EMOTION ACTION SONG.

The song is a variation on the classic “If You Are Happy, And You Know It.”

When I sing this, I over exaggerate my faces. And I encourage the children to make the faces along with the body language. So often we focus emotion lessons only on faces, but children’s bodies tell us how they are feeling too.

If you are happy, and you know it clap your hands
If you are happy, and you know it clap your hands
If you are happy, and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you are happy, and you know it, clap your hands.

Now replace happy with different emotions:

Mad – cross your arms.
Frustrated – stomp your feet.
Excited – jump up and down.
Sad – make a frown
Scared – hide your face.

Mirror, Mirror

Pair the children up. One child makes an emotion face and their partner identifies the emotion and duplicates it.

For more drama activities for children visit my amazon page.

For more free drama activities click below.

Drama workshop for children based on the Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

A Play  script for children – The Frog Prince

Posted in Action Poems, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, English teaching games, Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Movement activities, Movement stories for children

More Fun Movement Games for Children

Posted on by Drama Start Books

image

Game: Call and Response
Age: 4 years +
Minimum number of participants: 2
Resources: Clear space
Other Benefits: Creativity, focus, listening.
Instructions: Everyone sits in a circle. The teacher starts the activity by making a simple clapping rhythm. The rest of the circle repeats the rhythm. The child who is sitting next to the teacher takes a turn at making a simple clapping rhythm and the rest of the group copies it. When the group has got comfortable with the call and response technique the game can become a little more complicated. Each child must add on to the clapping rhythm that has gone before them. The child who is last in the round must remember everybody else clapping rhythm before they do their own.
Extension: Older children can stand in a circle and use different parts of their bodies to make the rhythms. For example they could use body percussion, stomping or tap dancing.

Game: Action Charades
Age: 4 years+
Minimum number of participants: 4
Resources: Clear space and a list of verbs.
Other Benefits: Critical thinking, creativity.
Instructions: If there is a large number of children divide them into groups of 4 or 5. Give each group a verb such as cleaning, cooking and swimming. One child will mime the verb to their group. The group members have a minute or two to guess the verb. . To reduce noise, have one group participate at a time, while the other group members watch.
Suggestions of Verbs:
Taste
Smell
Dance
Jog
Skate
Scream
Fight
Cry
Read
Write
Cook
Clean
Paint
Joke
Sleep
Sneeze

Game: Balloon Keepy Ups
Age: 4 years +
Minimum number of participants: 2
Resources: Clear space, balloons.
Other Benefits: Coordination, imagination, spatial awareness.
Instructions: Divide the group into smaller groups of six to eight, hand each group a balloon, and ask them to form a circle holding hands. The teacher tells them that, on her/his cue, they are to put the balloon in the air between them and to keep it up using the body part the teacher calls (e.g., knees) without letting go of hands. They are to continue until the teacher calls out a different body part.
Suggestion of different body parts that can be used:
Arms
Legs
Chests
Elbow
Fingers
Knees
Fists
Noses
Heads
Thighs
Shoulders
Face 

For more movement games and activities, click here.

 

Posted in Aesop's fabes, creative arts, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Elements of Drama, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, fables, Fairy Tales, Freeze Frame, Hot seating, Mime, Panchatantra plays, Role playing stories, Still image, Storytelling, teacher in role, Voice Production

Drama Lesson based on “The Lion and The Clever Rabbit”

Posted on by Drama Start Books

The following is a Drama workshop to do with children in primary or elementary school. It is a useful workshop if you want to focus on the issue of Bully and isolation. It is based on the fable from the Panchatantra called “The Lion and the Clever Rabbit”. Here is a link to a version on you tube.

Once the teacher has told the story or watched the video ask the children to get into groups of four.

Physical warm up: In each group there is a monkey, an elephant, a snake and a rabbit. Get the children to move around the room and sound like their different animals. Get them to find the animal that is like them from the other groups and interact and play with them. The teacher gives a loud roar and the animals are frightened.

Teacher in role: The teacher in role as the Lion roars at them. She says “I’m very hungry and I’m going to eat all the animals in the jungle one by one.”

Still Image: In their animal groups the children make a still image of how they feel when they think the Lion is coming to get catch them and eat them.

Thought tracking: Once all groups are in the still image then the teacher out of role goes and touches them on the shoulder. Each animal has to say how they feel at that moment.

Conscience alley: Once the children are out of their still image they make two lines facing each other. The teacher in role as the the Lion walks in between the line as the children speak out as his conscience. The children in the line on the left hand should speak out that it is wrong to scare and eat the other animals and the children on the right hand side should speak out saying that he is right to scare and the eat the animals.
Examples: The left side could say “the animals are scared”, “what about their families?”,
“they want to stay in the jungle and play with their friends”.
The right side could say: “none of the other animals like you”, “you are hungry and you need to eat”, “you have no friends so you don’t care what they think of you”.

Hot seating: The teacher in role as the Lion sits in the hot seat. The children who are being themselves ask the Lion why he is behaving this way. Why does he want to eat all the animals in the jungle? Why is he horrible and mean to the other animals?

Group discussion: Get the children to get into role as their original animals. Tell them that they are going to change the ending of the story because the way the Clever Rabbit treated the Lion was as bad as how the Lion treated the other animals. They must come up with a more positive ending.

Group improvisation: The groups all improvise their endings in front of the other groups. The teacher takes on the role as the Lion in each group.

Role on the wall: Put two outlines of a Lion on the wall. Let the children choose words that describes the Lion before he got stuck in the well and one for after he was rescued from the well.

Closure|relaxation activity: Sleeping Lions – get the children to lie still on the floor and pretend to be a sleep. If they move then they are out and have to wake up with aloud roar.

Posted in creative arts, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Elements of Drama, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Movement activities, Movement stories for children, Role playing stories, Still image, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques

Mime Workshop for all ages

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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Mime theme image 2

Main objective of workshop: Mime encourages confidence and awareness of self and of others. It encourages physical control, simplicity of thought and movement and more importantly it stimulates the imagination.

Sub aims:

  • To introduce relaxation exercises and understand their role in a drama class.
  • To promote group work and co-operation.

Relaxation exercises

Be a star: Lie sown on your back and spread your arms, palms up to the side and open your legs. Stretch the limbs all together. Feel you are making a four pointed star. Suddenly the star collapses. Feel the tension disappear.

Be Hercules: In the same position, imagine that the body is being pushed down by a heavy weight so that all parts of the body are being pressed into the ground suddenly the weight is removed. Feel yourself float on the ground.

Shake off the ants:  In the same position, imagine you are tied to the ground but you can wiggle. A colony of ants finds and begins to crawl over you. Commence to wiggle the body until the last ant leaves you. Then collapse.

Be a rubber puppet: Imagine you are made of rubber and there are strings attached to your shoulders which someone can pull from above. You are being pulled up and you find your limbs fly out in all directions. Even the feet can be pulled off the ground at times, finally the strings are cut and the body relaxes.

Mime Activities:

What’s in the Box: All the students sit in a large circle. The teacher asks them to imagine there is a magic box in the centre of the circle. The teacher can ask what size is it? What colour is it? Ask can everyone see it. This is a fun mime game. Everyone sits in a circle. Ask the children if they can see the box in the centre of the circle. Ask them what colour it is? What shape it is? Tell them it can be a different shape and colour, depending on where you are sitting in the circle. This is because it is a magic box.  The teacher goes into the centre of the circle first and mimes opening the box and taking out an object. She then mimes holding the object and the class must guess what it is. When the children guess correctly the teacher mimes putting it back in the box and closing it. The child who guessed correctly takes a turn at taking an object out of the box.

Pass the object: This is a follow on from the Magic Box game. The teacher mimes taking an object out of the box, for example a mouse, a rotten egg, a cream cake, chewing gum, lipstick or a puppy, and the children guess what it is. When they have guessed she passes the object around the circle. The children should react as if they were holding the actual object in their hands. Eventually the last child in the circle gets rid of the object and the teacher goes to the box and takes out a new.

Locomotion: Get the students consider the ways that people walk. The teacher gets the children to walk around the room. Then call out different ways of walking

Walk like  a …..

•           Toddler

•           child in high heels

•           child wearing heavy wellington boots

•           child splashing in a puddles

•           child stuck in mud

•           child walking on stony beach

•           child walking on hot sand

•           someone walking on fire

•           someone walking wearily

•           an old frail person.

Chain Mime: Divide the class into 2 or 3 groups. Have at least 6 in each group. Number the students from one to six. Get each member of the group to leave the room except for number one. The other groups stay in the room. You then give number one an action to mime. You then call number 2 into the room and number one mimes to number 2. They do not talk. Number 2 can not say anything and she has to do mime exactly what she saw to number 3, then number 3 comes into the room and watches number 2 very carefully. Number 3 does the mime for number four and so on. When number 6 comes into the room she has to guess what the original mime was. This is like broken telephone but it is done through mime. Here are some suggestions for mimes:

•           Riding a horse

•           Skiing

•           Washing dishes

•           Eating hot food

•           Counting money

•           Telling someone you love them

•           Eating spaghetti

•           Singing

•           Playing tug of war

•           Washing your dog

•           Ballet dancing

•           Moon walk

•           Playing basketball

•           Singing opera

•           Walking in the desert

•           Playing tennis

•           Making pancakes

•           Opening a present that you do not like

The other groups watch how the mime changes with each person. This is a fun game and helps with observation skills.

Basic Situation: Divide the class into small groups and they must use body language and facial expression to 5 ways of showing that their are

•           Cold

•           Hot

•           Surprised,

•           Frightened

Meetings

The class gets into pairs. Each pair stands back to back. When the teacher calls out go they must turn around and pass their partner if

•           They were strangers

•           They were a casual acquaintance

•           Meeting some one they haven’t seen for 10 years

•           Meeting someone that owes them money.

Group Mime: Divide the class into groups and give each group one of the following outlines for a group mime. Allow the class 10 to15 minutes to prepare

The Concert   

  • Audience arrive for outdoor concert
  • Band enters with different instruments
  • Audience is very enthusiastic, claps, jumps up and down and waves hands in the air.
  • One person faints
  • Security arrives and removes him and her
  • No one takes any notice
  • Band plays on
  • Girl gets up on the stage and tries to touch members of the group
  • Security removes them
  • It starts to rain and after awhile everyone goes away disappointed

Hijack

  • Passengers board the plane
  • Welcomed by the air hostess
  • The plane takes off
  • One hijacker takes over the plane and an other one holds up the passengers
  • One passenger faints
  • This distracts the hijacker for a second
  • Pilot overcomes him
  • Airhostess holds him and the handcuff are put on him
  • Pilot overcomes the second hijacker and handcuffs him to hijacker 1
  • All the passengers have a strong drink and cheer the pilot as he brings the plane to land.

The Bank Robbery

  • Cashiers arrive bored and yawning they open up their desks and talk to each other
  • People come in and walk up to the cashiers and put in and withdraw money
  • Suddenly two robbers come in wearing masks
  • They make everyone lie on the floor and they hold up the bank clerks and make them hand over the money
  • Little old lady trips up robber and he falls and spills the money
  • Security guard then holds up robbers and takes off their masks.

Other ideas/themes for group mimes: Camping, The Circus, Christmas morning, The big mistake.

Starting  to use mime in a Drama session;

Start beginner groups on occupational mimes and later move to emotional mimes. Mime starts within and is then portrayed by the body. Never forget that through mime is that art of movement it is also the art of stillness.

Occupational Mimes: lift a bucket, box, brush. Place the same objects on a shelf or table, place them, carefully on top of each other. Use scissors, shears, pickaxes, fishing rod. Use activities such as sewing buttons, cooking, putting on clothes, painting, cleaning windows.

Character Mimes: Portray different types of character, the young girl, the old woman, the rich lady, beggar, clown. Watch people around you.

Emotional Mimes: These are the hardest to portray. Feel, understand, convey happiness at receiving a gift. Sadness at hearing bad news, shock, horror, love etc..,

More mime games

What’s the Chair?

Place a chair in the centre of the circle and particiapnts take turns to mime what they imagine it to be:, for example:  a post box, a kitchen sink, a dog, a naughty schoolboy, a new car.

The person who guesses correctly takes their place in the middle.

Take over

•           in a circle, walking on the spot

•           leader makes a gesture, in time, that the everyone else imitates

•           continue for 8 beats or so, then shout the name of a particiapnt and they must change or add to the action

•           this can continue until the group have warmed up

What’s my job?

All sit in a circle.  Give everyone an occupation (e.g. policeman, astronaut, postman, teacher).  Use each occupation twice, and make sure the occupations are kept secret.

Students use the space to mime their own occupation.  Their task is to spot the person with the same occupation as them.  When they have done this they should approach their partner, and without speaking, check that they are both miming the same job.

They should sit down in their pair when they think they have found them.

The game continues until everybody is sitting down.  The teacher should check they are all correct at the end of the game!