Theatre Games and Beyond: A Creative Approach for Young Performers by Amiel Schotz

From the Publisher

A teacher's handbook of over 140 theatre games designed to stimulate creativity in students of all ages. More than just games, the book is bursting with lively ideas to make a class or workshop a memorable experience. The games progress from Orientation ("Face to Face", "You and Me") and Trust ("Catch me Falling", "Lead the Blind") to more advanced games that develop the senses, coordination, interaction, sensitivity, communication, and spontaneity. A section on characters and stories builds improvisational acting skills. All of the essential elements of acting and character development are explored. Sample workshops provide a guide for using the games. Anyone working with young (or old) performers in schools, colleges or community theatre will find this book a valuable resource.

VOYA

A teaching handbook with over 140 easy-to-visualize theatre games, this is an above-average and stimulating guide to creative acting games for performers of all ages and levels of aptitude. From many years of teaching and acting experience, Schotz is able to apply his concepts (drawn from Viola Spolin and Gestalt Therapy) to the real-world environment of the classroom. Happily, this is not some dry, recipe-laden instruction book. Schotz makes convenient use of anecdotal commentary regarding particularly memorable or successful moments encountered in his workshops, as well as many first-hand accounts by teachers based on their application of his exercises. These not only help reinforce his invitation to create one's own variations to the games, they also provide necessary variety to the instructional narrative. The book is conveniently arranged in twelve units, each section progressively more involving and requiring greater skill to accomplish-yet all with the same underlying purpose: to inspire creativity through discovery. Acting techniques such as improvisation and character development are explored through enjoyable exercises aimed at inspiring cooperation, sensitivity, communication, coordination, spontaneity, and trust. While children as young as five or six could benefit from the beginning units, the book is ideally suited for use with young adults, whether "at risk" or otherwise. It is a recommended purchase for both school and public libraries, where anyone working with teens can have access to its valuable information. Illus. Biblio. Appendix.

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