Remote Learning Resources

Remote-Learning Resources

Warm-Ups & Improvisation Games (for all ages)

StageWrite Teaching Artists: Name & Movement (Click to view video)
The StageWrite teaching artist team says hello with a demonstration of an introductory ice-breaker activity.

Answers in Motion Warm-Up (inspired by Name & Movement) (Click to view video)
In this activity led by Ms. B, students show the first movement that comes to mind when it is their turn to practice being silly and getting acclimated to their bodies.

Tools of an Artist (Click to view video)
Ms. Mackenzie leads students in a review of the drama tools we learned during our residency.

Cross the Zoom (Click to view video)
In this warm-up game led by Ms. Claire and Ms. Mackenzie, teachers and students utilize the Tools of an Artist as they move their bodies in response to specific prompts.

Actor Warm-Ups for Voices & Bodies (Click to view video)
Ms. Kimiya leads students in activities to warm up their voices and bodies.

Princess Pat Call & Response (Click to view video)
Ms. Mackenzie leads students in a call and response song to warm up vocally and physically.

Lion Face / Lemon Face (Click to view video)
Ms. Folami leads this activity to warm up the muscles in the face and eventually the whole body using the imagery of eating a lemon and being a lion.

Going on a Bear Hunt (Click to view video)
Ms. Folami leads an interactive story sung in the form of a call and response. Each line of the song is paired with a gesture that students can echo back vocally and physically.

Alliterative Announcements (Click to view video)
Ms. Kimiya introduces the literacy device of alliteration and demonstrates an activity creating fun alliterative phrases to act out.

Tongue Twisters in English & Spanish (Click to view video)
Ms. Kimiya demonstrates tongue twisters to practice enunciating words, focusing on the letter sounds to warm up mouths and brains.

I Get Loose (Click to view video)
Ms. Elena demonstrates a call and response activity to activate bodies, voices, and imaginations..

Storytelling Activities (for all ages)

Ms. Jenny offers a mini-curriculum for improvisational storytelling, presented via Google Slides with demo videos and detailed instructions for 5 improvisation games for building collaborative narratives. All activities have a version for families to play together and a modification for teachers to facilitate the game via Zoom. To view the entire curriculum, CLICK HERE. Or, follow the links below for individual games:

It’s Tuesday (Click to view video)
Ms. Jenny demonstrates two versions of this “Yes, and…” improv game where participants build on each other’s ideas to tell a story together.

Ball with Images (Click to view video)
Ms. Jenny demonstrates two versions of the Ball with Images improv game where participants become closely attuned to the verbal and gestural cues from their fellow players and respond accordingly.

Shared History (Click to view video)
Ms. Jenny demonstrates two versions of the Shared History improv game where participants use tone and gesture to convey meaning in a shared storytelling experience.

Story Spine (Click to view video)
Ms. Jenny demonstrates how to tell a collaborative story using a story spine format.

Word-at-a-Time Story (Click to view video)
Ms. Jenny demonstrates two versions of the Word-at-a-Time improv storytelling game where participants each take turns offering a single word at a time to tell a collaborative story.

Story Adventure (Click to view video)
Ms. Mackenzie models how to use story cubes to create and act out a story.

Frog and Toad / Sapo y Sepo (Click to view video)
Ms. Kimiya reads a story from the Frog and Toad series in English and in Spanish, with words on the screen for the students to read along as they listen.

Little Red Riding Hood (Click to view video)
Ms. Elena tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, using photos of herself in costumed tableaux to dramatically depict plot points from the story.

Stories on Stage

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock (Click to view video)
The StageWrite Teaching Artist team performs the Reader’s Theatre version of Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. Directed by Ms. B.

Zoo-Woe-Shaw Ladder Warm Up (Click to view video)http://www.stagewrite.org/anansi_character_want/
Ms.Folami leads a warm-up activity for bodies and imaginations that starts in the feet and legs and works our way up to the crown of the head, playing with pairing different sounds to different parts of the body and using plot points from Anansi & the Moss-Covered Rock. Download a PDF of the text version of the ladder here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11413-ntmcTKdvOisNZZ1R1fKs_29QTfy

Character & Want (Click to view video)
In this activity led by Ms. B, students make a cognitive connection between the character in the story and the character’s objective (what they want).

Beatbox Sound Effects for Anansi (Click to view video)
In this series of 5 short videos, Mr. C will guide students in interpreting the Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock text through 13 sentence narration accompanied by vocal sound effects.

Story Dance (Click to view video)
Ms. Lagerquist retells the plot of Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock using a 13 sentence version of the story with gestures that summarize moments from the story chronologically from beginning to end, leaving opportunities for students following along to mirror or create their own gestures to represent each plot point of the story.

Character Walk (Click to view video)
Ms. Mackenzie demonstrates an improvisational game that explores the characters from Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock in which students use their imaginations and bodies to embody the physical and emotional traits of the characters in tableaux (still pictures) then into movement.

Act Every Letter (Click to view video)
Ms. Mackenzie demonstrates a game where students pantomime action words for each letter to spell a word using vocabulary from Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock.

Anansi Songs & Lyrics (Click for audio files & lyrics)
Sing along with “It’s So Hot” and “We See the Trees”

Sculpting (Click to view video)
In a game inspired by Augusto Boal’s “Sculptor & Clay,” Ms.Claire demonstrates how students can work with a partner to build human sculptures based on vocabulary words from Anansi the Spider.

Coming soon! Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, en Español!

Monologues in Motion

Spiral the Alien – Group Monologue by Ms. Garcia’s Students (Click to view video)
A collaboratively-written group monologue by Ms. Garcia’s students in the Spring 2020 Monologues in Motion drama residency. Performed by StageWrite Teaching Artists Ms. Folami, Ms. Mackenzie, Ms. Lagerquist, and sound effects by Mr. C. Directed by Ms. Folami.

Prince the Royal Lion Cub – Group Monologue by Ms. Artale’s Students (Click to view video)
A collaboratively-written group monologue by Ms. Artale’s students in the Spring 2020 Monologues in Motion drama residency. Performed by StageWrite Teaching Artists Ms. B, Ms. Claire, Ms. Elena, Ms.Jenny, and Ms. Kimiya. Directed by Ms. Kimiya.

Madre the Earth – Group Monologue by Ms. Xiomara’s Students (Click to view video)
A collaboratively-written group monologue by Ms. Xiomara’s students in the Spring 2020 Monologues in Motion drama residency. Performed by StageWrite Teaching Artists Ms. Jenny, Ms. Elena, Ms. Mackenzie, and Ms. Folami. Directed by Ms. Elena.

Jack James the Tiger – Group Monologue by Mr. Joseph’s Students (Click to view video)
A collaboratively-written group monologue by Mr. Joseph’s students in the Spring 2020 Monologues in Motion drama residency. Performed by StageWrite Teaching Artists Ms. Reyna, Mr. C, Ms. Kimiya, Ms. Claire, and Ms. Lagerquist. Directed by Ms. Reyna.

Fortunately / Unfortunately (Click to view video)
Ms. Folami and Ms. Elena model an improvisational activity that explores the narrative elements of conflict and resolution.

Writing your own Monologue (Click to view video)
Ms. B and Mr. C demonstrate the process to write your own monologue using common household objects as inspiration.

ADAPTS

Group Mirror Activity (Click to view video)
Ms. Lauren and Ms. Claire lead a mirroring activity that will be familiar to the students and can be done with family members at home.

Harold and the Purple Crayon – Full Story Reading (Click to view video)
Ms. Lauren and Ms. Claire read the story Harold and the Purple Crayon while leading drama activities along the way with visual and auditory supports.

Imagination Shape Drawing (Click to view video)
Ms. Lauren and Ms. Claire demonstrate a collaborative drawing activity inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon.