MUSIC AND MOVEMENT FOR THEATRE ARTS CLASSES
GRADES: 6-12
Music & Movement is an activity for drama students (or others!) to be able to use music to heighten a dramatic pantomime. They relate the changes in tempo, feeling and mood in music, and instruments used in the interlude to action and activity.MATERIALS:
tape recordings of classical music pieces from two to four minutes in length. tape recorders - one for each group for the follow-up activity -- just one needed for the initial activity pencil and paper for each group to record their storylines to hand in optional props and costume pieces.METHOD:
Students listen to a short piece of classical music (one of the easiest to start with is "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from "The Nutcracker Suite") and try to pick out musical instruments used.
Once they have heard the music once, they listen a second time to get an overall feeling and mood of the music, and try to think of a "plot" for a pantomime which will go with the music.After the second listening, students get into groups of 4-5 and share ideas of what "storyline" the music brought to their minds as they listened to it. Each group picks it's favorite "storyline" out of those presented by others in the group and begin to outline a pantomime and assign parts to each group member.
I continue to play the music, time after time, as they brainstorm then write down their sequence of actions for their pantomime. Once their actions are written down, each group practices their pantomime to the music for approximately 15-20 minutes (I play the music about 10 times). Their goal is to have their pantomime not only enhanced by the music being played, but to END the pantomime story when the music ends. Each group then presents it's pantomime, and other groups critique the performances.
This activity is good for either Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced Drama classes. The difference in each class would be the piece of music and the length of the pantomime.
I usually follow this initial activity up with each group receiving a DIFFERENT piece of music and a tape recorder so each group will be planning a pantomime scene to a different piece of music. While this creates quite a cacophony in the classroom for awhile, it does increase concentration on the part of each actor as they work on their own group presentation.
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