Drama Game: Status Exercise

Type:  Character Development, Improv

Procedure:

1.  Explain and explore the idea of “status”:

2.  We all have different status in different situations.

3.  From now on we will describe it on a 1-10 scale, 10 being practically a God and 1 being the lowliest creature you can imagine.

4.  What status are you?  If a ten walked in the room, would you talk to him/her?  What about a 1?

5.  When was a time in which you were a 10 – in other words, when you had complete power and authority in a situation?

6.  Have scraps of paper each with a number from 1-10 written on it.  Mix them up in a bowl/hat.

7.  One at a time, students will draw a number from a hat.

8.  Without telling us their number, the actor enters the stage, stands, and exits as that number.

9.  The other students try and guess what number they were.

10.  Have the student try it a few times until it becomes clear to the audience.

11.  For more advanced students: Ask two students to take the stage and improvise a scene (you can give them a setting and conflict if needed).  Assign one student “high” status and the other “low” status.

12.  Half-way through, tell them to “switch” statuses.  Make sure they don’t switch characters, but only who is in control of the situation, keeping their original characters.

Reflection:

–  Explain that status is one more layer they can add to their characters.

–  If you are rehearsing a play, ask them to think about each scene their character is in and what “status number” their character would be.  What factors are influencing their level of status?

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