Trust Me: Creative Collaboration in Action

The second term in Performing Arts is dedicated to Drama, and we have already had so much fun and accomplished much.

We started off by establishing ground rules and discussing expectations involving the students in decision-making and improvisation. We have established an environment of trust, support and encouragement at each level, and the students are working on their confidence and comfort levels when standing up in front of their peers and performing.

We have collaborated in pairs and in teams on a variety of warm-up games such as Mirror Mirror, Sculptures, Glue To, Walking It, Silent Jumps, Follow the Leader, Heads Up Heads Down, and also greeting someone in different ways. We have also explored imaginative movement games such as Walking Through and Move Like a…   All of these exercises create opportunities for the children to connect and learn to trust one another as partners and collaborators, all the while stimulating their creative and expressive skills.

Pantomime has also been a great experience for us, and we have explored this through a variety of exercises: acting out occupations, situations and emotions. We have particularly had fun acting out Slide Shows, Family Portraits and Tableaus that re-create familiar stories in pictures. Becoming an object was particularly fun and challenging in Upper Elementary, as was Character Bus, where the students must create a situation or behaviour, and then improvise and really exaggerate their performance! Even on this small, intimate scale, the children significantly strengthen their confidence as they perform and improvise in front of others, and conversely learn to be supportive, considerate and appreciative audience members for their friends.

These opportunities for collaborative, creative expression are very powerful for the Elementary children. In Drama, we are not just expanding our imaginations and acting out our thoughts and feelings: on a social level, we are learning to actively respect and trust one another and bravely try something new in front of an audience – no small feat, even for adults!