UNIT I. Developing Your Instrument

 

Body Awareness/Vocal Projection

MAIN OBJECTIVES:
1) Help the students get to know each other and build trust
2) Learn about vocal projection and proper breath support.
3) Practice Body Awareness

1. WARM-UPS

 

See if the class can remember the name/motion for each student from the previous session. Welcome newcomers and encourage them to create their own motion to go with their name.  

Splash (Physical Warm-up, Team Building) Another game to help learn names. CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

Texas Shakedown (Physical Warm-up) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

Siren
(Vocal Warm-up) CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

2. SKILL BUILDING

 

Me May Ma Moe (Vocal Projection) Introduce vocal projection and demonstrate proper breath support.
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

Tongue Twisters Revisited (Vocal Projection and Diction) Have the students repeat some of the tongue twisters they learned in the previous session. Then divide in groups of 3 or 4. Each group makes up their own tongue twister for all the class to try. Give each group a different letter of the alphabet, and tell them every word of their tongue twister must begin with that letter. E.g. “My mother made me mash my M&M’s.”
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

Body Walk
(Body Awareness) Being aware of which part of your body “leads” when you walk can help you create and maintain a character.
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

Sleepy Cowboy (Body Awareness, Vocal Projection) Your role as an actor will determine how you speak and move. Students pick a character and a descriptive word from two different bowls, then enter and say a line as that character. Encourage students to project.
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

NOTE: This is also a good time to introduce “audience etiquette” and establish rules for how to behave while watching others on stage i.e. Listen, watch, and react supportively and appropriately. Encourage the students to actively applaud and cheer for each other after each performance. Once you’ve introduced these expectations, reinforce them throughout all the sessions and activities that follow. The students will learn, create, and perform at a much higher level in an affirming environment.

3. CLOSING ACTIVITY

 

Pass the Gift (Imagination, Body Awareness) Students mime opening an imaginary gift while the class guesses what the gift is.
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS AND VIDEO

 
 

© 2023, Friends of the Groom Theater Company

 

Curtains Up Curriculum by Friends of the Groom Theater Co. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Curtains Up is a training program designed for young actors, sponsored by Friends of the Groom Theater Company.
It is available to the general public for free under the terms of the Creative Commons License above.