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Explain that as actors we use our bodies to portray different characters and their situations. For example, an athlete who has just won a race walks differently than an old man looking for a lost dog.  

• Have students line up on one side of the room/stage.  One at a time, give them each a different character and scenario and ask them to walk across the stage, pretending to be that person.  For example:  “Walk as though you’re a celebrity on the red carpet, waving to your fans.”

• Afterwards, discuss how important it was for each person’s body and walk to show the unique qualities of that character, and how emotion played a part in their demeanor, i.e., if you’re scared, you move differently than if you’re a famous person enjoying the public’s attention.

• Suggested Characters and Situations:

Walk as though you’re…

an Olympic athlete just crossing the finish line in a race.
an old man trying to cross the street unsteadily.
a robber hiding from a policeman.
a little child lost in a forest.
a new student, trying to find somewhere to sit with your tray in the cafeteria.
a policeman strolling your route in the neighborhood.
a ballerina making a grand entrance.
a businessman late for work.
a teenager sneaking into the house late at night past your curfew.
a clown trying to make an audience laugh.
a tourist in a new city.
a toddler just learning to walk.
a nearsighted man looking for a lost contact lens.
a king in front of his admiring subjects.
a tired hotel maid after an exhausting day of work.
a superstitious person exploring a haunted house.
a drum major at the head of a marching band.
a cheerleader in front of a stadium of sports fans.
a soldier marching in a parade.
a hunter sneaking up on a deer.
a young woman day-dreaming about love.
a bully looking for a fight.

© 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.