Theatre Week 1: Introductory Workshops

Theatre is finally back in session! These first two weeks we've been going through some theatre exercises to warm up; we have 2-3 newcoming juniors in our class so Ms. Ashley walked us through a couple exercises to get them out of their shell. Although theatre arts is so broad and fascinating with all its different facets, I think my favorite part of it would have to be the workshops. Devising a performance, writing/adapting scripts, designing costumes, and preparing for a role is immensely satisfying but there's nothing like having good old plain fun acting out of my usual boundaries and exercising theatre techniques at the same time. We get to bond with each other and see different sides come out. Here are some of the exercises we did in class:

• "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" - One person plays the "wolf" who lets the "sheep" out of their pen (a corner of the room). While they roam around, the sheep repeatedly ask Mr. Wolf "what time is it Mr. Wolf?" to which the wolf gives random, bogus times. At one point, the wolf answers "noon" or "lunchtime", giving the cue for the chase to start. The sheep must run back into the safety of the pen while the wolf chases after them, and whoever he/she tags has been "eaten" and step out. Rounds continue until their is a lone sheep or the wolf triumphs. It's a lot more fun when the wolf really gets into his/her role and prowls, hunched down, like a real predator. The acting stirred real fear and worry for me, that I might get "eaten".
• "Grandmother's footsteps" - One person stands at one side of the room, facing the wall away from the others. The rest stand at the opposite end of the room. The objective is for the group to reach the grandma and tap her/him without being caught. Grandma turns around at random times and the group must freeze, whatever pose they are in, and whoever moves and is caught by Grandma is caught. While playing, I realized the amount of focus the game called for, as you had to try and be silent as to not give away any hints. We soon realized that slower, more deliberate movements were less likely to get caught in unbalanced. Though the way to win is to get to the other side of the room, Grandma's surprise glances forced me to really think about every step and how I can keep my balance at all times. I had to be sure of my movements and ensure that I could control every part.