Definition
This allows children to enact conversations that add extra information to the story which might not have been part of the main drama.
Purpose
- To practice collaborative creation – ‘including’ rather than ‘blocking’ one another’s ideas
- To practise generating ideas for story creation
- To explore a character’s back story which could lead to the way the character acts in the present
- To empathise with the character’s situation
- To explore motives and opinions of characters
- To introduce new interpretations of a character’s actions and words
Example
Children could go into role as minor characters. These characters could be known or instead, merely created for the purpose of the drama. For example the focus of the drama could be Mary Cassat’s painting – the Boating Party. The children could become two characters who rent out rowing boats at the seaside. They can have a conversation about:
- How the adults acted when paying for the boat.
- The private conversation they eavesdropped on.
- How the characters looked and behaved as they finally rowed away.
The Improvised Eavesdropping should be enacted as if the discussion is secret and not one to be overheard.
