Lesson video

Hello and welcome to drama.

This unit is exploring character and today lesson four of four is mastering character.

My name is Mr. Wood.

And today we're going to be building on all of the skills that we've looked at so far over the last three lessons.

We're going to combine them in our use of characterization today.

So for today's lesson, you're going to need plenty of space.

Can you make sure that you're taking part in this lesson inside, your shoes and socks are off, the floor you're using isn't slippery and you're wearing comfy clothing ready to move.

You can pause the video now if you need to make those things happen.

If not, let's continue.

Today, we'll start the lesson with a recap of what we did last lesson.

We'll then warm up our bodies so they're ready for today.

We'll then start exploring character in new settings, before we move on to Conscience Alley.

Your keywords for today's lesson are, trait and that is a distinguishing quality of a person.

Energy, that is the strength required for physical activity.

Facial expressions are what you do with your face to show emotion or thought.

And Conscience Alley, that is a drama strategy for gaining more opinions, when about to make a decision.

So, last lesson, what do you remember? We explored the traits of these characters.

Can you remember any of their names? Point to the one that you think is called Nim Nosey? That was an easy one.

Point to the one that you think is called Harper Happy.

That was easy too.

Point to the one you think is called Shyna Shy.

Now, point to the one that is Frankie Forgetful.

Now points to the one that was Nat Naughty.

Okay, now point to the one that was Bailey Bump.

So therefore the last one must be Gru Greedy.

Well done if you got any of those right.

We also added depth to our understanding of these characters.

And we did that through role on the wall, improvisation and eyewitness.

So now let's do our warm up so that our bodies are ready for the work ahead.

Can you make sure that you've cleared the space.

And you're ready to go.

We'll start the warm up with some light walking on the spot.

So, and your hands are just going to become a little bit more exaggerated.

Think about as you're walking down an aisle of a supermarket and you see things on the shelf that you would like.

Okay, so we're going to take that one.

We're going to take that one.

We're going to take that one and that one.

And now we're going to do it for the entire aisle.

Are you ready? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

Oh, we've got lots of things, being very greedy.

Now we're going to take everything in.

So imagine that we've got a small basket now with all of our things in, our shoulders have come in.

Our knees have come in slightly and although we're moving at the same pace, we're protecting our items. We're not looking elsewhere.

We're looking down, we're looking up, we're looking down, we're looking up, we're looking down.

Okay, keep walking but put your hands by your side because now you're going to around to face the back.

And you're going to keep on walking.

And you're going to turn around this way then you're going to face the front again and keep walking because you think you've forgotten something.

Oh, there it goes again, stop and then come back.

Now, you've forgotten something but you can't remember what it is.

Ooh, is it that? No, got to keep walking then.

Now this time, you're seeing someone walk past you and you're interested to know what's going on.

There's another one coming up, look again.

Hmm, but we need to exaggerate it.

So we're going to step out as we do it.

Okay, so step out and look, watch them go past and come back in.

Walking.

And there's another person on the left.

We're going to be really nosy and look see what's in their basket.

Ooh.

Hmm, interesting.

Okay, I'm walking, hands by our side, nice and freely.

This time someone's taken the last item off the shelf in the supermarket that you really want.

So we're going to stop and we're going to look to them as if we're really hungry and we're going to take it.

it's gone and we're back to walking.

And then the same thing's going to happen over there.

Are you ready? And it's gone.

Last time, over to the left.

And it's gone.

Okay, I'm walking.

This time we're going to play a practical joke.

We're in the shopping market, supermarket and we're shopping and we see someone's trolley over there.

It's got all the things in that we really want but we don't have in our own.

So we're going to go up, we're going to take it and we're going to go this way.

Okay.

We'll try that again.

Going to go there, going to take it and we're going to go, Last time, are you ready? Going to go over, going to take it and we're going to go.

Okay, well done.

Now, if you feel like you are warm enough, ready to continue, then we will start the lesson.

If you would like to go over those activities again, just click pause and rewind and then we'll continue with the rest of the lesson now.

Now we're going to be exploring character in new settings.

On a bus.

All the characters are on the bus, select one of these characters to role play.

And it can be any character you like.

I would like you to visualise where they are going.

So think as your character, where are they going? Is it important? Are they off to the shops? Are they going to see a friend? Someone on the bus keeps pressing the stop button.

And you know who it is.

See if you can figure out which character I am going to be for this activity.

Oh, hi, hi ,yeah What? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah sure, sure, sure.

I'll answer some questions, yeah, sure, yeah.

What questions? In fact, it doesn't matter, ask away.

I'm happy to answer some questions Yeah, so, so what've you got? Oh yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I was on that bus.

Oh, oh yeah, sorry.

Yeah, that's what you're asking.

Yeah, I was on that bus.

Yeah, most of the journey actually.

Yeah, I was, I was going from here to here and yeah, I was just our for a, for a joyride really.

It was, it was, it was nice just to just get out in the open and see some people and make some new friends.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So what was your question? Yeah, yeah, so, so, I, I, I saw that actually.

Yeah, when the police came, yeah, I was more than happy to give some, some information for that.

Yeah, so it was fun actually.

I really enjoyed it.

So what was your question? Oh yeah, yeah, that's right.

Yeah, so what I was saying was, yeah, I saw it all.

So this person who seemed really nice actually basically kept on on pressing the button on the, on the bus to get off.

The stop button, the red one in a square, yeah so, I don't know why I think it was 'cause they wanted to get off but I wasn't quite sure.

That's normally why you press the button.

I think I quite like the sound of the button when you press it.

So I think in a way it's quite nice to hear isn't it? It's a nice part of your day.

Anyway, he kept on pressing the button and the button was red and it was a nice colour of red.

It was, it was like a really happy red.

Anyway, the person keeps on pressing the button and, the, the bus driver got really, really annoyed.

And I was trying to calm the bus driver down by asking him what his favourite food was.

And he, he was busy, so he didn't answer me.

He just walked on down the stairs, but that's cool.

And yeah, basically the person kept on pressing the button and when the man that was driving the bus said, "Who's pressing the button?" I just looked around and smiled and he thought it was me so he kicked me off.

But anyway, that's okay too.

So I walked the rest of the way home.

Yeah, that's all I know really.

Great day out, right? As an eyewitness, you must say in role what you saw on the bus.

Think about how your chosen character would tell the story.

Bailey Bump will tell the story in a very different way to that of Nat Naughty, for example.

Okay, so think very carefully about the background of the character, of what that means for this scene.

Staying in character is the most important part.

So work really hard to make sure that you continue that role and you don't dip out of it.

You need to pause the video to complete this task, give it your best effort, consider your energy, make sure it's up there and then click resume when you're ready to continue.

So let's recap Harper Happy.

They had large hand gestures, which were warm and welcoming.

They lead with the smile and their positive energy came from within.

So it was almost as if it oozes from them or it radiates outwards to other people.

Okay, their positive energy becomes other people's positive energy.

Frankie Forgetful is making a speech on something.

The issue is they cannot remember what they are talking about.

What could they start talking about to save the speech? What's ideas could you suggest? Think of one, two, as many as you can.

Think of what Frankie Forgetful could start talking about to save the speech.

Now you're going to have a go at saving Frankie Forgetful's speech.

Imagine you are in the role of Harper Happy.

Frankie Forgetful needs you to help them in order to save their speech.

Harper Happy might say something different to what you might say.

So use your imagination, stay in role and be as creative as you possibly can.

You need to pause the video to complete the task and then you can click resume when you're ready to move on.

Nim Nosey spots Frankie Forgetful looking lost in the park.

They sit down on a bench and Nim Nosey starts asking Frankie Forgetful questions about their life.

If you were Nim Nosey at this moment in time, what would you say? Think about what you would ask.

Nim Nosey is quite an inquisitive character.

They like to know every detail of a person's life.

So what questions might Nim start by asking? What details are important to know first of all? And then what questions come from that? Have a think.

Now you're going to have a go at imagining these characters together.

But you are going to be Nim Nosey.

You're going to be sat on a bench with Frankie Forgetful and you are curious to know who they are and why they're so forgetful.

You don't forget a thing.

You remember every detail of every person's life that you've ever met.

Ask detailed questions to find out as much as possible.

Think about how they might sit, okay? That stems from the activity that we did last lesson.

You can build on that now.

Just make sure you stay in role.

To do this you need to pause the video.

Have a go, don't forget your energy.

And then click resume once you're ready to move on.

Imagine you are Nat Naughty.

You wake up, you brush your teeth and you get dressed like every other day.

You decide you're going to be especially naughty today.

What sorts of things do you think you might do? What sorts of ideas pop into your head? Any that are funny? Any that are practical jokes? We're going to visualise what you can see.

We know that you can see someone playing a computer game but I wonder what else can you see? For this you're going to need to close your eyes.

Can you see the wires attached to the computer? Do you see that off button? It's calling you.

What about that glass of water right next to the keyboard and the mouse.

They look like they could potentially cause a distraction.

What can you hear? Do you hear the happiness in the person's voice that's playing.

Can you hear, is that the parents or carers next door? They seem happy.

I can hear them closing the oven door.

Can you smell that? That smells like cookies.

Yes it is.

It's cookies, they're cooling down on the side next door.

Might go into the kitchen and take one of those instead.

Although, there's another smell.

Can you smell that? Smells like some kind of air freshener.

Can you taste that? That sensation on the tongue, it's like adrenaline.

It's like electric.

The need to be naughty.

Can you feel that? As you step closer to the computer, do you feel the heat? The warmth.

Can you feel the adrenaline pumping through your fingertips and your feet as you get closer to the computer? What are you going to do? Okay, now you can open your eyes.

You're going to put a character into a scene.

Specifically, you are Nat Naughty.

You see someone playing a computer game.

What are you going to do to be naughty? We visualised a few things that might be in this scene, in the room around us and might be happening next door in the kitchen, for example.

Improvise, Nat Naughty's actions.

Think about what they might do to cause havoc.

To be mischievous.

Believe in your character.

Okay, think about what Nat Naughty would do.

But most importantly stay in role, okay? So pause the video to be able to complete this task and then click resume once you're ready to move on.

Now we're going to explore Conscience Alley, which is the drama strategy we talked about last lesson and we're going to use it to explore some characters in depth.

So let's recap, Bailey Bump.

They are always walking into things.

They're always looking one way and then walking in another direction.

So a little bit contrasting, they're looking the opposite way and not looking where they're going.

And they lead with the shoulders.

You see Nat Naughty drop their cereal bar wrapper on the floor.

Do you think they should do this? Or do you think they should not.

Now, why do you think that? What's the reasoning or your justification? Is there another, is there another reason? Have you got many reasons as to why they should or shouldn't do that? You are now going to explore Conscience Alley in the role of Bailey Bump.

Nat Naughty has finished with their cereal bar wrapper.

In character, offer advice and advice only about what they should do with it.

Bailey Bump might say something entirely different to what you might say.

Use your imagination and role on the wall information from last lesson to stay in role.

Okay, it's really important that you think this is not you speaking, this is Bailey Bump speaking.

And if Bailey Bump could offer advice, what would they say? Okay? Now to do this, you need to pause the video and then once you've had a go click resume and we'll carry on.

Conscience Alley is helpful when we're faced with a choice.

Do you think that's true or false? The answer is true.

Well done if you got that right.

It can give balance to a decision.

It's very helpful to us.

So this marks the end of the lesson.

You've worked really hard today to recap the characters from last lesson.

You've performed them in a range of situations using improvisation, eyewitness and Conscience Alley.

So well done.

I hope you've enjoyed the activities today.

And I hope you've enjoyed this unit.

This doesn't have to be the end of the work.

Although you have come to the end of the lessons, your imagination can still continue.

Could you make your own character? Could you give it some traits that you think are important and exaggerated enough to be seen and understood straight away? Could you then put your character into new settings, new locations, new scenarios? Could you then test their knowledge? Okay, this is what I give you to leave this unit and to let it become your own, okay.

So you can now take these skills and deploy them wherever you would like to.

If you've created something today that you're especially proud of that you'd like to share with Oak National, then please do.

Just make sure that you ask your parents or carer for permission first and they can tag us on Twitter using @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Until next time, take care, I look forward to seeing you on a future unit.

Bye bye.