Drama Games for Those Who Like to Say No (NHB Drama Games) E-Book

Chris Johnston

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the NHB Drama Games series, this title is for teachers and workshop leaders working with difficult or reluctant students, youth groups, young offenders, and all those who seem intent on saying 'no' to whatever is offered them. For these groups, drama games and activities need to be robust and engaging, and the dozens that appear in this book have been devised with this in mind - and then tested by their target players. Each page features clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Benefits of the Game, and advice on age range, number of players and timing. Following the ninety games and exercises aimed at developing core skills, the book offers scenarios for a series of improvisational challenges that test participants' abilities in mediation, communication, negotiation, assertiveness and managing emotions. Also included is a collection of games aimed at preparing teachers and workshop leaders for facilitating challenging sessions. The ultimate aim is to encourage reluctant participants to engage, collaborate and develop not just skills for drama but skills for life. 'This book offers invaluable ways for artists, teachers, workshop leaders and activists to better use the arts to empower young people' Ken Livingstone, from his Foreword. 'packed to the brim with bright and breezy ideas - a bargain!' - Total Theatre Magazine 'each section of the book is well laid out and the games are clearly explained... contains some very interesting exercises' - Youth Drama Ireland

Leseprobe

Chris Johnston

Foreword by Ken Livingstone

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword by Ken Livingstone

IntroductionShaking Hands with Difficulty

Acknowledgements

Part One – ENGAGEMENT

1.

Name Three Times

2.

Football Teams

3.

Identifying Objects

4.

Passing the Object

5.

Newspaper Race

6.

The Chairs Game

7.

Bomb and Shield

8.

Yes / No

9.

Numbers Game

10.

Numbers Game 2

11.

Hiss and Boo

12.

Bang!

13.

Drama Nein Danke

14.

Ailments

15.

Continuum

16.

Tin-Can Pulse

17.

Dog and Bone

18.

The Don

19.

Working with Images

20.

The Scarf Game

21.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

Part Two – PLAY

22.

No, You Didn’t

23.

Complete the Image

24.

Antiques

25.

Changeable Object

26.

Vampires

27.

Shoes Game

28.

The Bears are Coming

29.

Cat and Mouse

30.

Zoom – Screech

31.

Staring Competition

32.

Word Smuggling

33.

Wizards, Giants, Elves

34.

Russian Shoemakers

35.

The Egg Game

Part Three – COLLABORATION

36.

Tug of War

37.

On the Bus

38.

Map of the Town

39.

Clint Eastwood

40.

Body Map

41.

The Identity Zone

42.

The Truth About Drugs and Crime

43.

Hunting the Lion

44.

Newspaper Game

Part Four – SKILLS

Observation

45.

Kim’s Game

46.

The Behaviour of the Room

47.

Find Your Gang

48.

The Big Picture

49.

Bandleader

50.

Whose Story is True?

Reasoning

51.

Predicament0

52.

Press-Ups

53.

Shortest Time Possible

54.

Name That Object

55.

Obstacle Race

56.

Missing Character

57.

What Happened Here?

58.

Priorities

59.

The Balloon

60.

Gossip

Kinaesthetic

61.

Boxing

62.

Sticks

63.

Shapes in the Dark

64.

Journeys

65.

Fast-Food Martial Arts

66.

Lightest Point of Contact

Communication

67.

The Argument Game

68.

I’m a Celebrity Prisoner, Get Me Out of Here!

69.

Word Smuggling 2

70.

Animals / Drink / Sport

71.

Minefield

72.

Chinese Mime

73.

The Argument Room

74.

Community Centre

Negotiation

75.

Taxi Ride

76.

The Jobsworth Line

77.

Both Want the Car

78.

Blue Room, Green Room

79.

The Wedding Funeral

80.

Drunk on the Bus

81.

Three Nations

Performance

82.

Reactions

83.

Following

84.

Two People Meet

85.

First Lines of Scenes

86.

Blind Offers

87.

The Bridge

88.

Park Bench

89.

Two Rush In

90.

Selling

Part Five – CHALLENGES

Mediation Skills

91.

The Stolen Jacket

92.

The Chat-Up

93.

The Old People’s Home

94.

Forged Tickets

95.

The Couple Who Argue

Communication Skills

96.

The Chairs

97.

The Christmas Present

98.

The Youth Club

99.

The Untrustworthy Partner

100.

Cold Turkey

Negotiation Skills

101.

The Job Centre

102.

The Burger Bar

103.

The Post Office

104.

Drugs in Prison

105.

The Mobile Phone Shop

Assertiveness

106.

Carpets by Moonlight

107.

Bullying at Work

108.

Taking Care of Grandpa

109.

The Fire Station

110.

Talking to the School

Managing Emotions

111.

The Broken Radio

112.

The Adult Education Class

113.

The Bully Boyfriend

114.

Zone of Confrontation

115.

Mistaken Identity

Part Six – TRAINING

116.

Pushing

117.

Brilliant / Shit

118.

A New National Flag

119.

Ladder of Engagement

Index of Games

Keywords

Alphabetical List

About the Author

Other Titles in the Series

Copyright Information

For Luke

‘Our big tough leader, away he wailsHe thinks he is the kingpin but he’s outracedby that weedy little stranger with the grin on his face.’

Robin Williamson

FOREWORD

In the early 1980s, when the GLC (Greater London Council) was trying to save and create jobs to mitigate the impact of Thatcher’s recession, we discovered that the most labour-intensive form of public spending was the arts, and so during the five years from 1981 to 1986 we increased spending on arts and recreation from £16 million to £160 million. Virtually every actor, painter, poet, sculptor and, in particular, community artist was in work, and it made London a much more exciting city to live in. As well as taking orchestras from the Royal Festival Hall to play in the canteen at Ford’s Assembly Plant in Dagenham, we particularly tried to reach disaffected youth. It’s against that background that I was able to understand Chris Johnston’s book. (Oh, and by the way, if you want to know which is the least labour-intensive form of public spending, it is the military.)

Tragically, the casualties of Thatcher’s assault on the public sector in 1980 are still with us today, as are their children and now their grandchildren: three generations of the same family who have never known a secure job. Towns and communities, as well as whole industries, were devastated and many have never recovered. We see the consequences in the levels of illiteracy, crime, drug addiction and alcoholism. David Cameron talks about a ‘broken Britain’, and yes, it is, in parts, but he doesn’t have the courage to tell us who broke it or that the policies of his government are going to repeat those tragic errors and create another generation of casualties. There will be such a demand for people like Chris Johnston and his work; it could be the only growth industry we have under this present government.

If we are to heal the individuals and the communities who have been excluded and left behind, we need to recognise the vital role that the arts can play in regenerating communities and engaging young people, and Chris’s work should be the sourcebook for inspiration and strategies to achieve this.

It’s an electrifying experience to watch drama engaging people who have experienced nothing but powerlessness in their lives. Because it’s accessible it offers a language by which young people can bring their anger to the surface. Since this country followed America down the path of doubling our prison population, drama is one of the few things that can bring a humanising influence, dialogue and learning into our prisons, giving prisoners the chance to escape the deadening experience that our under-resourced prison service offers them.

Chris’s work empowers young people by relying on them rather than teachers to find a role that allows them to express their anger, escape their alienation and help see the creative capacity in themselves and those around them. This book offers invaluable ways for artists, teachers, workshop leaders and activists to better use the arts to empower young people and reduce social exclusion.

Ken LivingstoneLondon, August 2010

Ken Livingstone is a broadcaster and Labour Party politician. He was Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 to 1986, MP for Brent East from 1987 to 2001, and London’s first elected Mayor from 2000 to 2008.

INTRODUCTION

Shaking Hands with Difficulty

This is a book about using drama with so-called difficult groups.

That is, groups that might be characterised as awkward, resistant, rebellious, intransigent, problematic or simply out for a good time when that means a good time at others’ expense. Groups, in other words, of probably younger men or women who take great pleasure in saying ‘no’ to whatever is offered them. For these players, games need to be pretty robust in their structure; both fun to play and engaging. They need to hook in the participants using activity that’s exciting, challenging or subversive.

The book is structured in progressive chapters, each containing a series of games and exercises. First up is a selection of games that are about Engagement; these help to enlist the participants into activity. These are what you might use when you first walk in the room or after you’ve negotiated issues of behaviour. Such exercises would be characterised by an easy set of rules, the avoidance of any harsh spotlight on participants, and possibly a competitive element.