Kicked off Drama 101 with fellow drama practitioners Marta (China ๐จ๐ณ) and Teresa (Canada ๐จ๐ฆ), working with 20 English teachers from across China today!
Our entry point? Games! Specifically, icebreakers.
Icebreakers that:
ย โข Show them their voices and ideas matter
ย โข Help kids feel comfortable and relaxed
โข Foster curiosity and engagement
For many, it was their first taste of drama. Most pictured stage, lights, audience. They admitted feeling scared… letting go of control is unfamiliar territory. It can be for many of us. However, when we let go of that control (within the framework of a game, of course!), what it actually is is freedom. How? Drama!
Drama is all about the in-between spaces:
Between people.
Between self and classroom.
Between what we know and what we can share.
The feedback? “๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ.” And despite the nerves, “๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.”
Not magic. Just the power of the arts, building empathy, critical thinking, connection through play.
Being able to facilitate that first ‘eye opening’ moment never gets old. ๐ญโจ
#DramaEducation #Drama101 #CreativeFacilitation #Icebreakers #ChinaEducation #SEL #TeachingInnovation
Elana Shyong 