Workshops focused on the Playscript,
National Literacy Strategy

The Common Air Theatre Company has created six key workshops focused on the six key areas outlined within the The Playscript, National Literacy Strategy.

They can stand alone or be offered as a full-day progressive workshop leading children (focused on Year 3 Term 1 and repeated in years 4, 5 & 6, covering ages 7 -11) through the key areas as listed below.

The key components of these workshops are to move children away from an over-reliance on the first person narrator in story-telling and towards an understanding that a narrative can be driven by a multitude of voices/ characters. The focus is on moving from an ego-centric to a social view of a problem or story.

Our strategy details a developmental approach to guide children through the process of scripting plays from short stories.

Workshop #1

Preparing & planning the script.  

This includes the learning of the following 'set' conventions of a script.

  - Naming Characters and placing those names at the start of each line of dialogue.

  - Placing stage directions in brackets.

  - No speech marks and an elimination of the word 'said.'

Workshop #2

Transference of first person prose into script.

  - Using fragments of first person narration from novels or short stories that the children are familiar with and converting them into scripted dialogue.

Workshop #3

Creation of independent work. 

  - Short scenes with a restricted number of characters. (The focus being on distinctive voice rather than creating a 'gang' of similarly spoken characters.

The following workshops can be used to explore the quest to create individualized voices (Again, using the children's own experience of friends, family and TV) using colloquialism, repeated phrases, choice of vocabulary, adverbs & sentence construction:

Workshop #4

Reading and performing of the script out loud.

  - Ask other members of the class to feedback.

  - What did they understand?

  -What could they tell about the characters?

Workshop #5

Introducing the role of the narrator.

  - Exploration of how it can be used (detached voice, mover of action,

  describer of character's actions, opinion, link between actors and

  audience).

Workshop #6

Developing plot.

  - Using improvisation techniques such as hot-seating, character-building, or 'back-stories of the characters' (Character #1 is? They meet Character #2, who is? They find? What is the resolution?)

  - Use familiar stories and plot theme out: Indicating key moments, turning points.

  - Use familiar characters from stories and create new stories with them.

  - Use familiar stories to prioritise details. Which moments in a story can be dwelt on, which 'fast forwarded' or cut.

   - Using dialogue to forward a plot.

  - Related and resolved endings. How do the end of scripts relate to the beginning?