Acting is about metacognitive thinking, i.e. thinking about what we're thinking. It's like looking at ourselves from a bird's eye view, how we act, react and respond to different people and environment. I remembered that wise men once said, "Life is like a drama". Many times, it's so true. What we learn in drama, we can apply it to real-life contexts. We learn to look at the perspectives of someone else, e.g. the character in dramas helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of others- thinking about how will this person react, walk, talk, etc. And of cos, it is an exhibition of creativity, e.g. improvisations, which helps us to think out of the box. This is especially important for children as well- to learn to think.
One new activity that we did today was called flocking. It's a sequencial linking of movements in a big group with 4 leaders (Left, right front and back). The rest will flow as the leaders pass movements to one another continuously. I was being appointed as the leader on the right. At first I was preparing myself on what kind of movements I could do. But when the movement was passed to me, my body just moved! Like naturally. I was pretty amazed at my body didn't follow my brain. It helps to increase our movement vocabulary as different people have different muscle memories. Also, it is very applicable to children with strong kinestatic intelligences as it allows them to move! And teach others at the same time.
Another great lesson that I have learnt through the activity of standing at different parts of the stage as well as in a group or an individual makes a great difference. As teachers, we should "never leave things ignored", e.g. an anxious or crying child and just pretend nothing is happening. Or even force the child to perform (assuming that he could do it during rehearsals, doesn't mean he can do it infront of an audience!) It is not just about putting up a good show, it's about the children and what they have learnt. Short reflective sessions in between activities can help children understand why they are performing and not just to purely showcase and satisfy the audience.
Acting is about metacognitive thinking, i.e. thinking about what we're thinking. It's like looking at ourselves from a bird's eye view, how we act, react and respond to different people and environment. I remembered that wise men once said, "Life is like a drama". Many times, it's so true. What we learn in drama, we can apply it to real-life contexts. We learn to look at the perspectives of someone else, e.g. the character in dramas helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of others- thinking about how will this person react, walk, talk, etc. And of cos, it is an exhibition of creativity, e.g. improvisations, which helps us to think out of the box. This is especially important for children as well- to learn to think.