Theatre Game of the Week #30
Copycatting can be a viable learning tool when working with beginning actors. It's also a way to get youngsters to play and become other people when they have strong language restrictions or when working with kids who have developmental disabilities. I call this game Copy Cat. You need to prep a whole bunch of pictures before hand. They can be magazines, art, fashion pictures or ads. You can laminate them and reuse them between classes to save time and money.
Game Name: Copy Cat
Materials Needed: Pictures (1 for each student) and open space
Time Needed: 10+
Students Needed: 3 or more
Step 1) Hand out of the pictures to the kids, don't let them share their pictures with one another or with you. Have them go in separate areas of the room and try to copy that picture; become the person in the picture. Give them 3 minutes to study it.
Step 2) Take the picture away and place all the pictures on the board or in front of the class where everyone can see them.
Step 3) Have the students copy cat their pictures and then you as the teacher try to match them up with their pictures with the character. You have one minute to match everyone up.
Step 5) If all the students/pictures are matched correctly, you win! But if not the ones that are correct go stand on the wall and the you have another minute to rematch the incorrect pictures.
Step 6) Afterward have a talk back session with the kids on their copycatting. What could they have done to make it more clear?
In the end: Students have worked on a physical game and associated pictures with movement.
For advanced students I give them abstract art to copycat. Then the matching becomes more difficult and the acting challenge isn't as easy.
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