CurriculumGrades 3-5Visual & Performing Arts

Theatre: improvisation & building character

Aligned to NCAS:Cr — National Core Arts Standards.

What this lesson teaches

Improvisation means making up a scene right in the moment, without a script. To do it well you listen to your partner and say yes to their ideas. Building a character means deciding how that person walks, talks, and what they want.

Worked example

Play freeze: act out walking a dog, freeze, then your partner takes your exact pose and turns it into walking a tightrope. The scene keeps changing.

Practice questions

  1. Invent a character. How do they walk and talk?
  2. Play a freeze improv game with a partner.
  3. Make up a one-minute scene starting from a random object.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Teatro: improvisación y construcción de personajes

La improvisación consiste en inventar una escena en el momento, sin un guion. Para hacerlo bien, escuchas a tu compañero y aceptas sus ideas. Construir un personaje significa decidir cómo camina, cómo habla y qué quiere esa persona.

Ejemplo: Juega a congelar: actúa como si pasearas a un perro, congélate, luego tu compañero toma exactamente tu misma pose y la convierte en caminar sobre una cuerda floja. La escena sigue cambiando.

More Theatre lessons

Theatre: rehearsing & performing a playNCAS:PrTheatre: watching & responding to performancesNCAS:Re

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