Verbatim Theatre for GCSE Drama Pupils
Verbatim theatre uses the words and testimonies of real people, allowing students to engage with authentic stories and perspectives. This genre promotes empathy, bringing marginalized voices and underrepresented narratives to the forefront. By studying verbatim theatre, students develop a deeper understanding of social issues, historical events, and the complexities of human experiences. They also enhance their research, interviewing, and script development skills, fostering critical thinking and creative expression. Ultimately, verbatim theatre cultivates empathy, encourages social awareness, and empowers students to be active participants in society.
Interview-Based Approach: One way to start a verbatim performance is by interviewing individuals who have experienced the events or situations you want to portray. These interviews serve as the foundation for gathering firsthand accounts and authentic dialogue. Students can transcribe and analyze the interviews, selecting key quotes and moments to include in their performance.
Source Material Exploration: Another approach is to explore existing verbatim sources such as news articles, court transcripts, speeches, or public hearings. Students can research and collect these materials to identify important voices and perspectives on the chosen topic. They can then adapt and arrange the verbatim material into a script that forms the basis of the performance.
Collaborative Workshops: In a workshop setting, students can engage in collaborative activities to generate verbatim material. This may involve group discussions, role-playing, or improvisations related to a specific theme or event. The participants' dialogue and interactions can be recorded, transcribed, and woven to create a verbatim performance script. This approach allows for collective creativity and a deeper exploration of various viewpoints within the group.
Verbatim theatre uses the words and testimonies of real people, allowing students to engage with authentic stories and perspectives. This genre promotes empathy, bringing marginalized voices and underrepresented narratives to the forefront. By studying verbatim theatre, students develop a deeper understanding of social issues, historical events, and the complexities of human experiences. They also enhance their skills in research, interviewing, and script development, fostering critical thinking and creative expression. Ultimately, verbatim theatre cultivates empathy, encourages social awareness, and empowers students to be active participants in society. This resource explores the world of verbatim and provides several techniques to help students create their work.
Contents Include:
What is Verbatim Theatre?, Verbatim Practitioners, Alecky Blythe, London Road, Robin Soans, Talking to Terrorists, Jessica Bland & Erik Jensen, The Exonerated, Richard Norton-Taylor, The Colour of Justice, Creating Your Work, Selecting a Subject, Subject Inspiration, Target Audience, Recorded Interviews, Interview Techniques, Transcribing, Structure & Edit, Relevant Feedback, Script Analysis, Character Development, Improvisation, Physical Movement, Vocal Techniques, Ensemble Work, Recontextualisation, Emotion Mapping, Documentary Workshops, Meta-theatrical Exploration & Key Quotes.
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