Lesson video

Hello, my name is Adam Milford and I am an actor and drama teacher with Oak Academy.

In this unit, we're going to be exploring storytelling through puppets, masks and storyboards.

But in this first lesson, I'm going to introduce you to what I hope is a new story.

The story of the Drums of Noto Hanto.

This is an ancient Japanese story based on true events.

So I hope you enjoy it.

And we are going to be using it throughout the whole unit.

As we go through the lesson you are going to be an active participant which means that you're going to be playing some of the characters in our story, as we go through it.

You are going to need a few things, though.

You're going to need some pots, pans empty boxes or plastic tubs to use as drums. And you're going to need something to hit your drums with such as a wooden spoon or a kitchen roll tube.

You're also going to need a piece of paper or notebook and a pencil or pen, something that you can write with.

Go and get those things, pause the video and then press play when you're ready to carry on.

Welcome back.

Here are some key words for today's lesson, storytelling.

This is what nearly all art is all about including the books that you might read TV programmes and films that you watch.

And of course plays in theatres, which is all part of drama.

Role-play is something that I'm going to ask you to do today.

This is what we do when we tell a story in drama, as if we are the characters in that story, we're playing a role.

And finally legends.

These are ancient stories passed down through generations and generations.

That is what the legend of the Drums of Noto Hanto is.

We're going to do a quick warm-up, just to get your body working and your mind working properly.

And then we can start looking at our story.

First of all, we're going to prepare our body.

This is going to focus on our shoulders and our necks and our breathing.

So, lift your shoulders up to your ears, as high as they will go, a little bit higher, little bit higher, and let them go.

Lift your shoulders up, higher, higher, and let them go.

And then circle them backwards.

Nice big circles.

You're going to do this eight times.

Thrust three, four, five, big circles, six, seven, eight.

And go forward one, two, three, four, five.

Pinch your shoulders back together.

Six, seven, eight.

Very good.

Reach up to the ceiling, as high as he can, and lean over to the side and a big stretch down your side here.

Ready, good.

And then reach over to the other side and feel the stretch down this side here and up to the side and over to the side.

Very good.

Turn your head all the way over your shoulder without turning.

And over to the other side.

Back to the left and to the right, to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right left, right, left, right.

Very good.

Next, can you make a nice big face.

Stretch everything out.

And make it really small and screwed up.

I'm big, and small.

Very good.

Now imagine you've got a great big piece of toffee and you're got to put it in your mouth and chew it.

Other side.

And the other.

Keep moving it around.

Now the piece of toffee is getting bigger, and really sticky you have to really work your jaw so that it doesn't all stick together.

Getting bigger.

And swallow.

Very good.

And shake your hands, and shake your whole arms. And go Very good.

Can you touch your toes? And can you reach the ceiling? Can you touch your toes and reach to the ceiling and with your arms up here, you're going to let one hand go forwards and one hand is going to go back.

So the going in two different directions.

It's really good to get your coordination working get your body moving in different ways.

Do that one more time.

And then we're going to swap change direction.

So the left arm is not going forward.

My right arm is going back.

Very good, and shake out your hands.

Can you make a humming sound? You should feel your lips and maybe your nose vibrating a little bit.

It feels a little bit funny.

Very good.

And can you open your mouth and make a nice big, "ah" sound.

Smile, it's supposed to be fun.

Very good.

So we're starting to get our voices working a little bit as well.

As we go through today's workshop we're going to be looking at the story of Noto Hanto and I want you to be an active participant.

So you're going to play some of the different characters and use your imagination to think of what the different characters may be saying and doing at different times.

Mostly, I want you to have fun and to play with it as much as you can.

Are you ready to carry on? Then let's begin.

Our story is based on true events, which took place in 1576 in the sea of Japan on the Noto Hanto Peninsula a long section of land, that reaches out into the sea of Japan.

There are wild rocks, which have been carved over generations by the waves with beautiful beaches and rice fields cuts into the steep hills beyond.

It might've looked a little bit like this.

Our story centres on a prosperous village.

Rumoured to be one of the wealthiest villages in the land due to all of the natural resources around it.

The people there lived as they had done for centuries, such as farming the rice fields, just like the people here.

The rice fields look like shelves built into the sides of the Hills and mountains.

They would plant the seeds, tend to the plants and harvest the crops, which they would then sell to markets and fill their stores for the whole year ahead.

They would have farmed animals and they would have fished in the sea.

Like the people in these boats using nets to catch the fish in the plentiful waters, by the village.

They lived very simple but happy lives.

And they celebrated the changing of the season with drums. Now I want you to think about what the villages everyday lives would have been like.

Can you think of some of the jobs that they would have had in the village, farming, fishing, cooking, building teaching.

How many jobs can you think of? Write some of them down, but what I want you to do is to create a still image of a villager, maybe carrying out one of those tasks you can see here, or perhaps something that you've chosen yourself from all the jobs that you've listed.

Remember this is a long time before computers and all the things we use today.

So have a good think about what you're going to do.

I'm going to be a cook, preparing fish to make sushi which is a very popular food in Japan.

And we're going to do this as I'm cutting fish.

I want you to start with a still image, like a statue and then bring it to life for about a minute before freezing the action, which is called a freeze frame.

So you might start with an image like this, then pretend to do the job that you're thinking of, before finishing the job with another image.

Whatever job you think of, give it a go, pause the video try it out, and then press play, when you're ready to carry on.

Welcome back, in our village drums are used in celebrations.

They had drums of all shapes and sizes and every celebration would have its own rhythm sound, energy, and a dance.

There were celebrations for the changing of the seasons from spring to summer for the start of autumn.

And for the harvest and so on and so on.

They might have celebrated special days in their culture or religious holidays.

Just like you might do.

Can you think of a couple of different events which they might've celebrated? This is where you need your drums. First, let's think of a celebration for spring.

When the cherry blossoms bloom on the trees the weather is starting to get warm and the air might just smell the flowers.

Can you create a light, bright playful drumbeat using your containers? It might sound something like this, or perhaps something better.

Pause the video and play with your containers.

Find a light rhythm and then press play when you're ready to carry on.

That's sounding really good.

Now let's think of another one.

Let's think of a harvest festival when they get their crops from the fields and they fill their stores for winter.

The days are getting shorter.

The weather's getting colder, but it is still a happy time.

Can you create another drum beat this time still happy, but perhaps a little bit darker, deeper.

Preparing the people for the winter months ahead.

Perhaps it might sound like this.

Again maybe you could do something better.

This time, if you want to, you might want to create a dance to go with it.

Think of harvesting the crops, and sharing the food among the village, Perhaps for the cold and nights ahead.

Pause the video while you give that a go, and then press play when you're ready to carry on.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's carry on with our story.

So Kenshin the most powerful warlord, is rumoured to be interested in taking over their village.

He has the most powerful army of samurai warriors.

The villagers move around spreading and gathering rumours about the reputation of this fearsome warlord and his ruthless actions.

Kenshin is demanding that they give him half of their rice crops, and half of their young strong men to join his army.

If they don't, he's going to come and take all of it by force.

How do you think the villages feel about this rumoured attack? They have no weapons, they're farmers.

So how are they going to defend themselves? Can you write down some of the emotions that you think they may be feeling and think of what plans they might have made? How are they going to get out of this? Pause the video now to do that, and then press play to carry on.

So they have decided whether to fight or flee how are they going to frighten away the samurai? Well, the village elders came up with a plan.

To trick them using their drums. They gathered them all together and they took them down to the beaches.

They even brought out a Taiko drum, a drum so big that eight people could play it all at the same time.

It was so loud, it sounded like a mountain was exploding.

We're going to use our drums again now, to create some scary drums sounds.

Big booming bangs, boom, boom, boom.

Give that a go, play with your drums. And make a big sound.

Brilliant.

The villagers started building log piles on the beaches, so that they could light great fires.

But then suddenly, there were screams. As dozens of monsters came running out of the woods with grotesque faces and green straggly hair and welts on their arms and skin.

The people cried out with terror, which was met with laughter, because it was the children who had gone and made masks out of tree bark and seaweed.

If they could scare their own families perhaps, perhaps they could scare the warriors.

So they decided to go further making fearsome sculptures using sticks and fabric and grass and puppets that looked like giants.

These, combined with the masks and the fires and the drums might just scare off the samurai.

What I want you to do now is to imagine that you are a giant puppet.

Stomping through the trees with a booming drum beat.

Every time you stomp your feet.

Give that a go for me.

Boom, boom.

Keep going, and pause if you want to, amazing.

Now, can you pretend to have a big scary mask on by putting big, ugly, scary faces like to scare off the samurai.

Perhaps you can make some scary noises as well.

Yes, excellent.

Very scary indeed.

So the samurai have arrived, but they don't attack.

Imagine being out at sea and seeing the fires watching the wicked monsters dancing on the beaches and seeing huge giant monsters emerging from the trees and into the water.

With a Taiko drum pounding so loudly, that the waters and the wood of the boats seems to shake.

Now, these are trained warriors who have seen many battles.

What do you think they were thinking when they saw the fires, giants, monsters on the beaches and among the trees.

And they heard the drums pounding.

What I want you to do now is to have a conversation with someone who is near you.

Such as a grownup or a sibling.

Talk with them about what you think the samurai were thinking.

Pause the video while you do that now.

Welcome back.

Now, if you could hear the samurai talking, what do you think they would say? Again, pause the video, and have a conversation with your partner.

Welcome back.

Now what I want you to do is create another still image.

This time, of one of the warriors, on their boats.

Just like you did for the villagers earlier, but this time just one still image.

As you do that, I want you to think, is there a difference between what they might think and what they might say? Could they pretend to be really brave but actually be really scared.

Pause the video, give it a go and then press play to carry on.

Excellent work guys.

Well done for good job today.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some photos and videos of all of your hard work.

Before we finish, I do have a quick quiz, just to make sure you were listening carefully throughout the whole lesson, although I'm sure you were.

What did the villagers not use to scare away the samurai? Was it option number one? Did they not use booming drums and music, or did they not use option two masks made from bark and seaweed, or option number three? Did they not use laser beams and special effects.

Or did they not use option four, puppets made from sticks and fabric? Which one was it? It was of course, option number three.

They did not use laser beams and special effects.

This all happened over 500 years ago.

So they didn't have that sort of thing then.

Well done if you got that right.

As I said, it would be great to see some photos and videos of all of your hard work.

So if you'd like to share your work ask a grownup to help you to share it on Twitter.

Where you can tag @OakNational or use the #LearnwithOak well done again, guys.

And I hope to see you soon for another lesson.

Bye for now.