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We particularly welcome submissions which address inter-disciplinary exchange, practice-based research and pioneering collaborations involving both practitioners and researchers. The overarching theme of the Conference is: Where are the Pioneers? In order to enable the planning and balance of sessions the organisers would appreciate knowing how you would classify the knowledge focus of your submission.
For example, does your presentation fall into the categories of:. In order to plan and facilitate any necessary translation of your work at AAG16 the organisers need to know the language of the submission and the need, or not, for the services of a translator. Please state the language of your submission. Schoolyard Stories is an interdisciplinary project which includes playwriting, direction, staging, exhibition and work with young people about high school yards, dealing with adolescent topics from previous researches in secondary schools.
Directors interested in participating will meet in a workshop where they will work on the selected plays coordinated by an expertise. Directors participating in the workshop will stage the chosen play with their company. They will receive tutorial support during the process. The plays staged will participate in the Schoolyard Stories Festival, a space for exchange and evaluation. The importance of diversity — both ethnic and cultural — is also emphasised, and how approaching the problem from different viewpoints will enhance the whole process and lead to a quicker solution.
The basic concept is not the objective of the game; its purpose is to trigger concentration, which generates both the energy needed to complete the game and the attention required to inspire and guide the playing process. The effort involved in following an idea and uncertainty about the outcome both act as a brake on prejudices, fostering reciprocal support and producing organic involvement in the game. It allows the instructor to intervene directly in the game. A number of assistance models are proposed in the games described below. This is neither a judgement nor a criticism, but is derived from the basic concept of the game, and is often a reassertion of this concept.
Some examples are given in italics, next to the word assistance. Their purpose is to prompt the direct participation of the audience i. Conjecture or interpretations must be avoided at all costs: The purpose of games that use imaginary objects is to develop the learners' capacity for orientation, by giving hidden feelings and thoughts the chance to come to light. The objects used in these games are parts of space, the thing that surrounds us.
Imaginary objects should be seen as manifestations of our innermost being, the part of us hidden from the visible world. Learners creating imaginary objects will discover that surpassing limits in their outward behaviour is equivalent to overcoming them within themselves. An imaginary ball is not a non-existent ball. When you throw an imaginary ball you become conscious of the real ball that is missing at that moment in time: An imaginary ball is is an imaginary object perceived as real.
In practice, this distinction is not abstract. Any audience can see the difference. The use of intuition cannot be taught. You have to let yourself be surprised. The use of imaginary objects in a theatrical space is often thought of as pantomime, but in actual fact they are used in a different way to real pantomime — a venerable art form closely related to dance and conjuring. When the players create an imaginary object they are not trying to bring an artistically created illusion to life, for public use. Rather, they are experiencing the re-awakening of an intuitive area of the brain that is able to perceive the imaginary object as it appears.
They is making the invisible visible; that is the magic of theatre! The way learners actually communicate amongst themselves is often invisible. In practice, an invisible ball thrown to a another player in the BALL GAME helps the player to share and to form a relationship with the player who accepts and catches the invisible ball. To help them establish this relationship, suggest Keep the ball in space and not in your imagination! Then Give the ball time to cross the space! After a short time, everybody in the room will be able to perceive the spatial material intuitively, as if it were real, without actually seeing it!
The space — the invisible — becomes visible with the cooperation of the learners as they throw and catch the the imaginary object. Glossary of Concepts, Terms and Expressions. When we ask somebody to imagine something we're asking them to access a personal reference structure, which has limits. When we ask somebody to see, we put them in an objective state that enables them to come into contact with the surrounding environment and acquire a new awareness.
Playing carefully stops learners from committing themselves fully and using up new energy. Not in the mind! Even the youngest of learners will react subjectively and perceive this new piece of invisible material — space — clearly, as if it was real! The perceptive capacity of the whole body is strengthened and the energy exchange intensifies. Definitions of basic concepts used when explaining the games. Guarantees the involvement of all at any time in the game.
Advice and support offered while the game is taking place. Not all learners will be able to play effectively at first. Accept this situation without making it a talking point. If somebody in the audience insists on the fact that some of the learners didn't manage to solve the problem, simply point out that not everything can be solved first time round. The important thing is: Audience, have you started recognising the thing that was in space or the player's imagination yet? Learners, do you agree with this? Exercises for Warming Up and Creating an Atmosphere. Divide the group up into pairs.
One pair at a time, each player tries to pull the other one over a central line, just like in a real tug of war. Here, though, the rope isn't visible; it's made of space. Ask the learners to Choose a partner of equal strength!
This request will be met with a laugh. A situation calling for mutual cooperation — not competition — will be created. While one team plays, the others observe. Hold the rope together! Watch your back, your feet! Pull with your whole body! Keep to the same rope! Keep on playing the rope and imaginary ball games until the phenomenon of the object taking shape in space rather than in the mind has been explored and understood by everybody in the group.
As soon as the group gets good at playing the game in pairs start adding more learners at both ends of the rope. Implicit communication and understanding could provide an explanation for many exceptional events. Most scientists agree that sightings of flying saucers, abominable snowmen, etc. Audience, were the learners pulling the same rope? Did the rope unite the two learners?
Was it in space or in their minds? Learners, was the rope in space or in your minds? Do the learners agree with the audience? Does the audience agree with the learners?
Divide up the class into groups of four or more, either with the counting method or randomly. Each group does skipping, with some members turning the rope and others skipping. Play until everybody has had the chance to turn the rope. Turning the rope calls for more concentration than skipping. Play with your whole body! Were the learners holding the rope in space or in their minds?
When the player doing the skipping makes a mistake he or she has to change places with the one turning the rope, just like in real skipping. All the different varieties of real skipping can be used. The learners divide up into two big teams with the counting method. The teams take turns at being the audience. Each player in the team, by himself, starts bouncing the ball against a wall, etc. The balls are all made of spatial substance.
When all the learners are moving, give the order to change the speed of the bouncing balls. Throw the ball using your whole body! Keep your eye on the ball: Throw and catch the ball as fast as you can! Go back to normal speed! Allow the right time for the ball to cross the space!
The ball is moving very slowly! Catch the ball with very slow movements! Now the ball is moving at normal speed! The ball's getting lighter! It's a hundred times lighter! Now it's getting heavy! Keep your eye on the ball! The instructor has to choose his or her words carefully when describing the game. The learners are not being asked to pretend. The instructor simply has to suggest that they hold the ball in space and not in their minds.
A player knows whether the ball is in space or in his mind. The assessment questions are important because they recognise the fact that the audience is responsible for observing the appearance of the object, should this occur. The audience is just as responsible for keeping focused on the basic concept as the team playing the game is. After assessing the first team, get the second team to play. Does the second team benefit from the assessment of the team before it?
Emphasise the need to use the whole body to keep the ball moving. After playing, learners should feel as if they've been in a fast-moving team race, in terms of physical effects. Learners, did you imagine the ball or really perceive it? Audience, do you agree with learners?
Was the ball really made of space or were the learners pretending it was? Learners, did you allow the right time for the ball to cross the space? Audience, do you agree with this? Play the game with an imaginary ball that changes weight. When the ball gets heavier or lighter the learners' bouncing actions have to give the impression of being heavier or lighter or in slow motion. Don't divert the learners' attention on to this subject during the playing of the game. Play other games - volleyball, baseball — with balls made of spatial substance.
Point out that different planets have different forces of gravity. Playing football on the moon would be much lighter than on the earth. Ask the learners what it would be like playing football on the moon. The group divides up into teams picked by different numbers and each team chooses a game requiring equipment or special accessories not just ball games like football, basketball or volleyball but also games played with things such as bowls or marbles. Whichever game is chosen, all its rules must be followed. The learners have to succeed in holding the ball or other accessories in space and not in their heads.
The teams spread out around the classroom playing the different games simultaneously, like in a playground. The objects played with must be imaginary. Don't lose sight of your object! Use your whole body when you throw the ball!! Go from group to group and join in the game if your presence helps. If the learners start to get the idea of imaginary objects, the whole play area will be full of excitement, energy and fun. Games like this benefit from audience assessment.
The suggestion made by teams acting as the audience can be Keep your eye on the ball! Audience, was the object being played with just an idea? Was it in space or pretend? Hold the ball in space! No hits above the belt! Throw and catch with your whole body! If the player in the middle is hit: Change places with the player that threw the ball!
Teams of two learners agree on an object and start an activity based on the object itself, such as folding sheets or unwrapping a sweet. Hold the object between you! Hold the object in space! Make the object real! Use your whole body! Learners will naturally want to plan the action beforehand, but this will result in them being awkward and lacking in spontaneity. To stop learners trying to invent a story rather than acting spontaneously — i. The learners mustn't make up a story about the object, so there is no real need to talk.
Suggest choosing an object that is widely used. This is a conflict-free dramatic situation. Even though most dramaturgists argue that conflict is essential in a scene, good actors generally try to help each other during a performance. What was the object? Did the learners show it or tell it? Did the learners work together? Did this team benefit from the assessment of the previous one? Teams of three or more players. Agree on an object that can't be used without involving every member of the team. The players participate in a joint action in which everybody moves the same thing.
You need each other to solve the problem! Were the learners working together? Or was one of them not needed for the task? Learners, did you need each other for moving the object? Did this team benefit from previous assessments? This game, however, can tend to confuse learners at times; for example, there is a risk that the players will let themselves be led by a single participant, rather than everybody participating in the same way. Three or more learners agree on simple forms of relationships and conversations capable of involving all the members of the team, such as a parent-teacher meeting or a family reunion.
The conversation can take place around a table made of space. In the meeting, each participant has to find and use as many objects as possible. The learners mustn't plan in advance what these objects will be. Take all the time you need! Let the objects appear! Join in and make your voice heard! The objects have to emerge from space! Help the teammate who isn't playing!
This game presents a dual problem. The main occupation in the scene, the meeting, must have continuity, but the occupation the game is based on, the basic concept, must always be kept in mind. Some learners will put their efforts into making the meeting a success but neglect the basic concept. Organise your assistance accordingly!
When this problem has been solved all the learners will start enjoying themselves tremendously and endless things will start appearing: All learners will have the chance to make new discoveries for themselves. Did the objects really appear or were they invented? Did the learners see their teammates' objects and use them? Did the learners allude to the objects or relate to them? Learners, did you let the objects appear?
The learners, working individually, grapple with small imaginary objects or items of clothing that present some kind of problem, for example: Get the audience to join in! When the learners seem ready, two or more of them can play the game together. A refusal to keep to the basic concept shows that the player in question is tending to intellectualise the problem by inventing a story rather than facing up to the material difficulty presented by the object. The learners, sorted by different numbers, agree on an object, such as a sailing dinghy, a roller-coaster, an elephant, etc.
Let the object move you! You're on it all together! Don't make it disappear! Show the life in the object using your whole body! Feel the object moving you! Let yourselves be moved by the object! Get each player to choose an object which is either living or has different possible ways of moving: The nature and identity of the object are communicated to the audience by the way the learners use it. If everybody focuses totally on the moving object, the learners will really start to perceive the object amongst them and the audience will be able to recognise it.
Learners who are unable to concentrate at first might be tempted to look at the others to know when they have to move. Keep on suggesting Let the object move you to help them break this habit. Deepening the Bonds Between Learners. Becoming or being part of a whole means creating a single entity in which everybody the learners on stage, the audience and the teachers is directly involved in the game and committed to its outcome, supporting each other reciprocally in a mutually satisfying process.
Each participant, working with body, mind and intuition to bring out his or her subjective energy, must attempt to surpass all past limits in the process of cooperating with the other players. The learner, supported by those around him, feels free to play; the group acts as if it were a single person.
The effort spent and the resulting success if achieved are equally shared by all, as parts of a whole.
A player starts to understand that you can't play tag unless there's somebody to chase you; a football team starts to see the other side not as adversaries but as a set of fellow players — it is at this point that both teams will become part of a harmonious whole and everybody will start giving and taking and getting the same satisfaction out of it. This is what we call play! Competitions that involve breaking existing records — in sport, music and other fields — were probably invented because of the pure pleasure, euphoria and exaltation of surpassing limits plants getting taller to reach the sun, man landing on the moon.
A significant success for one becomes a success for all. Willingness, interaction, attention, observation, physical and verbal vocal expression, narrative ability, sensory agility, emotional self-awareness and many other qualities develop more easily when students become part of a whole.
Important concepts, terms and expressions in this section. The objective is to achieve subjective communication. Use your whole body to play your chosen part! Transform to another part! There are no right ways and wrong ways! A player enters the game area and becomes part of a bigger object or organism animal, vegetable or mineral. The game continues until everybody becomes part of it, working together to form the complete object.
Each learner works individually at their own desk with pencil and paper. As soon as you discover who you are, show it by playing the role! Becoming or being part of a whole means creating a single entity in which everybody the learners on stage, the audience and the teachers is directly involved in the game and committed to its outcome, supporting each other reciprocally in a mutually satisfying process. The learners in the subgroups learn to give and take as if they were all one, thus developing communication and comprehension skills at a non-verbal level. Educators are encouraged to experiment and try out their own combinations, drawing inspiration from the situations created.
Learners are free to choose any movement or position and imitate any sound in their contribution to completing the object. What was the complete object? What did you think it was before you joined the game? This game can be useful as a warm-up, or as an exercise to close the workshop session, in that it releases spontaneity and stimulates group energy. Learners often move away from the first participant's original idea and lose themselves in fanciful abstractions. The instructor must help any learners in difficulty, such as those hesitating to join the group because of a fear of getting the object wrong, or those wanting to add their part too quickly before having a clear idea of what the whole object is.
Big teams are needed, ten to fifteen learners each. A player is selected. This player has to decide secretly on a task for the group and perform an activity inherent in this task. When the nature of the whole activity becomes clear, other learners start joining in, one at a time, playing a part in the task. An example could be doing a garden: Waiting learners, allow yourselves time to see what's happening! Join in the activity! Become part of the whole! The interaction within the group should generate a flow of energy. Keep repeating the game until this happens; stop, though, if it doesn't seem to be getting anywhere.
The learners mustn't know in advance what the first participant is doing. Any learners who didn't join in because they were worried about not having understood the game can be reassured during the assessment, when they can be made to realise that not all the learners had the same idea about the common activity. Even though the play area might seem chaotic with all the learners moving about and talking at the same time, resist the temptation to make it more orderly.
The initial fun and euphoria are essential to the group's social growth. The teams, with five or six members, choose the first player. This player thinks of a job, without telling anybody what it is, and starts doing an activity inherent in the job. The other learners join in one at a time as clearly defined characters the who , starting or joining in with an activity related to the job in question.
For example, the first player washes her hands and then waits, holding her hands up; the second player, playing the role of the nurse, enters the play area and helps the doctor put her gloves on. The other learners can be anaesthetists, patients, internists, etc.
Join in the activity as clearly defined characters! Show your feelings and intentions throughout the activity! If a dialogue starts join in with your voice! What was the group's activity? Learners, were you part of the whole? Was it possible to carry out other activities in the plan? Were the objects in space?
The learners mustn't know in advance what the first player is doing or portraying. If the learners talk too much instead of acting, or get agitated purposelessly, then the basic concept of the game isn't clear enough. Take a break, or switch to another game. If learners find it difficult to relate to a certain job, point out to them that people in different jobs have different attitudes and interests. Doctors, writers, plumbers, postmen, security guards and estate agents going into the same room would notice different things and show different interests.
Audience, what was the job? What did you think the job was before joining the game? Divide the group up into teams of five or more. One participant starts a simple activity without choosing a character. The other learners choose a relationship with the player on stage and, one at a time, join in the activity. The first player has to accept and relate to the learners joining the action as if he knows what relationship they are portraying. A man is hanging a picture up.
A woman comes in and says the picture would be better higher up. The man accepts the woman as his wife and carries on with the job. Other learners take the roles of sons, daughters, neighbours, etc. They all show what kind of relationship it is with the activity. Keep doing the activity! Don't try and guess; there's no rush! Act so that your character emerges through the activity! As soon as you discover who you are, show it by playing the role! Act so that the character is revealed with the activity! This game outlines an on-stage event based on the basic concept i.
Try to resist the temptation of making the scene more orderly. What were the relationships? Did the learners reveal who they were through the activity? What is your best friend's most typical action or mannerism? What are the noticeable habits of your favourite TV personalities? Have you ever imitated members of your family or other people you admire? Do you know any families whose members all do things in the same way? Most drama games involve dialogue, but the fear of verbal exchange can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Learners might also ask: If they want to talk, encourage them cautiously.
The games in imaginary language described so far are actually based on a level of communication that is non-verbal; in the games, verbalisation can be limited or even prohibited, in order to restrain the tendency to communicate exclusively with words. The basic concept of the games to follow, on the other hand, is to have the word as the main object. When you stay focused on the game you don't have time to worry about what other people think.
To stop inexpert learners expressing themselves in an overly stilted way, the dialogue part should be tied to at least one other solid basic concept. Multiple stimuli can create the right kind of tension to get over this problem. The learners will be so absorbed in the effort of keeping focused on the basic concept that the dialogue will flow naturally, avoiding the stiltedness of forcing yourself to appear happy, fascinating, sad or whatever. Over time, the learners, concentrating on the basic concept, will acquire the certainty that the right words will come by themselves, without having to think about it.
In the games, just as in everyday life, words can be used to say what somebody wants to hear and hide what they need to know. Warm-up and preparatory exercises. The exercises done with the learners aren't just drama exercises involving body and voice expression; they are also, and above all, oral expression exercises regarding vocabulary and oral expression.
In these exercises, attention is focused on good articulation, tone, intensity, quantity, accentuation and pauses. The aim of all these exercises is to improve vocabulary, increase verbal expression, improve articulatory agility and the relating of words to emotions. Form a circle, point to another person and say the name of a woman or a man. The person pointed to then points to somebody else and says the name of another woman or man. The person pointed to has to name a ground, sea or air animal, depending on which was said. Point to another person and say names of trees.
Point to another person and say names of flowers. Point to another person and say an adjective that seems to suit them. Point to another person and name an animal that seems to correspond to them. Tell the story of a western film, but with each person saying one word only and following a sequence. Ask in a high voice and answer in a low voice. Say some names of jobs to another person. Say some words to do with love. Say some insults using augmentatives and diminutives.