Definition
The children form a circle as the scene is established, with an explanation of the situation, time, and context. The children are encouraged to imagine they are a specific character. It is helpful to encourage them to consider their character’s ‘back story’.
- ‘Who are you”
- ‘What is your name?
- ‘What do you do for a job?’
- ‘How do you speak/feel/think?’
- ‘What might you say?’
Explain that one child will step into the center of the circle and another child will join them. This is the promenade – the walk.They will then greet each other and, staying in character, improvise a conversation based on the topic and context, playing the scene as if they are interacting within that established setting.
There are various ways for the activity to continue:
- After the conversation, both characters return to the circle. Two new children enter for their improvised conversation.
- The first child leaves and a third child enters the circle to begin a new conversation. Once this comes to a close, the second child leaves and a fourth child enters and so it continues.
For a class of thirty, it’s sometimes effective to create three smaller circles of ten children, providing a less intimidating environment for the children to perform in.
Purpose
- To focus on a scene from a story, piece of art or historical drawing
- To encourage fluent improvisation
- To develop understanding (for example, of historical topics)
Example
Example 1:
The class might be shown a painting of a Victorian street scene. They might be studying Victorians in history lessons and Victorian literature in English. The street scene depicts a market in London. There are some urchins that are clearly malnourished and a few well-dressed ladies and gentlemen who are stepping down from a carriage. The children take the part of an urchin or a lady or a gentleman. If both children choose to be urchins, they might be pointing at the rich lady, remarking on her clothes and wondering what she is doing in this part of town. If both characters chosen are rich then they might remark on the poor urchins and the terrible smell and if they choose to be an urchin meeting the rich gentleman then they may be asking for money or food. The different characters might have the attitudes of the time and mention historical details.
Example 2:
The children may have read a story, such as Matilda by Roald Dahl, and in the promenade circle take on the role of the children in Miss Honey’s class. In pairs they step into the circle to discuss their feelings towards one of the main characters, such as Miss Trunchbull, or a specific event in the story, such as Bruce Bogtrotter being made to eat all of the chocolate cake.
