5.6. Stages of Creative Drama:
Creative drama process and its stages are structured according to the answers to questions such
as; what, why, when, how, where, to whom (Adıgüzel, 2010). These questions create six
principles; 1. Theme /learning domain, 2. Content, 3. Roles, 4. Framework/ Plan, 5. Equipment,
6.Strategies (cited in Adıgüzel, 2010).
San (1991) argues that there are five stages in creative drama; warm-up, plays, improvisation,
formation, evaluation. Adıgüzel (2002, 2006) carried out a research with creative drama
students. The results of this study indicated that they found these five stages confusing. In the
light of this study and creative drama experiences, Adıgüzel (2010) suggested different creative
drama stages;
1. Warm-up, preparation:
2. Animation
3. Evaluation-discussion
1. Preparation-Warming up:
Creative drama can be used in any classroom. Nonetheless, it is difficult to start role playing
and improvisation with participants who have never experienced this kind of active
participation. Therefore, the actual creative drama activities should begin with preparation and
warming up (Bushman, 2001).
Preparation-warming up is a stage where all senses are used simultaneously; introverted
exercises and mostly physical activities are done. Its aim is to establish group dynamics, selfconfidence and adaptation. The ultimate goal of this stage is to prepare the participants for the
other two stages (Adıgüzel, 2006).
The rules of preparation-warming up stage are much more definite and the leader is more active
compared to other stages. The plays in this stage ensure the leader and the participants to warm
up each other while enjoying themselves.
In the groups who have just started creative drama, leader should actively participate in the
warm-up activities since the participants may feel anxious about being ridiculous. The leader’s
participation helps to lower the anxiety and motivates the participants.
2. Animation
Animation is a stage of constitutions where a subject is formed, emerged and determined during
the process. With a starting point about the animation subject, the participants use
improvisation, role playing and other techniques. The animations can be done either
individually or in groups. All kinds of experiences, sharing and evaluation in creative drama
are bound to the animations done during stage. The subject mostly includes a dramatic moment
(Adıgüzel, 2006, 2010). This dramatic moment is evaluated in the light of dramatic fiction
components; roles, dramatic tension, focus, location, time, language, motion, atmosphere,
symbols and dramatic meaning (Adıgüzel, 2010).
3. Evaluation-discussion
The gist, importance, quality and quantity of the process are determined in this stage.
Participants share their feelings and thoughts related to the process. Besides, they discuss
educational attainments, the subject matter and the knowledge. These can be done by
discussions. Alternatively, either writing in role (for instance talking about creative drama
process in improvisations by two participants) or writing outside role (writing letter, diary,
publishing newspaper) can be used in evaluation-discussion stage. In this way, the leader gets
feedback from the participants indirectly. On the condition that creative drama is used as a
method, other evaluation techniques such as exams, attitude scales can also be employed
(Adıgüzel, 2006, 2010).
5.7. Creative Drama Techniques
Creative drama makes use of several drama techniques particularly in the enactment stage. The
creative drama teacher should select the appropriate technique for the aims of the lesson. Some
of these techniques are explained below.
1. Improvisation: Having in mind a subject or an object given beforehand, students enact
extemporaneously and spontaneously. Variables such as “who, what, where, with
whom” shape the improvisation (Ataman, M., 2009). Creative drama cannot be thought
without improvisation. All other creative drama techniques are somehow different kinds
of improvisation (Adıgüzel, 2010).
2. Role Playing: It is the enactment of an idea, a case, a problem or a situation by a group
(Adıgüzel, 2006: 260). A role playing student reflects his/her opinions much more easily
since s/he is in the role of a fictitious character (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ and Öztürk, 2007).
Furthermore; the character research preparation will affect the overall language used
and the functional strategies employed during the performance, which in turn will
enable students to communicate on a broad range of topics in a way which is as near as
possible to authenticity in the classroom context (DiNapoli: 2003).
3. Role-Reversal: Roles can be reversed in two ways; either partners or groups can reverse
their roles. As a result, they can not only explore demands presented by a future situation
but also reflect on problems and ways of dealing with them (Neelands and Goode,
2010). Furthermore this technique can be helpful to develop empathy.
4. Small-group Improvisation-Role Playing: Small groups plan, prepare and present
improvisations as a means of representing a hypothesis, or to demonstrate alternative
views/courses of action (Neelands and Goode, 2010: 72).
5. Whole-group Improvisation-Role Playing: All students and their teacher participate
in the enactment at the same time. This reduces the possible anxiety to be watched by
others (Adıgüzel: 2010).
6. Dramatization: It is making a story into a play by conveying thoughts and feelings of
the text with movement, voice, mimics and words (Kavcar: 2006).
7. Teacher in Role: Teacher adopts a suitable role and manages the learning opportunities
provided by the dramatic context (Neelands and Goode 2010). Heathcote states that this
is an effective technique in groups who have just started drama (Adıgüzel, 2010).
8. Flashback: “Scenes are created which predate an important moment in the drama so
that images from the past help explicate or reinforce the relationship between the
dramatic present moment and its history” (Neelands and Goode 2010: 56).
9. Interview-conversation-interrogation-discussion: It is based on creating different
situations by asking questions for the sake of emerging knowledge, attitudes, behaviours
and talents in drama (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ and Öztürk, 2007).
10. Hot-seating: The protagonist or another important character is seated in front of other
group members and answers questions related to the background, values, behaviours ,
motives, relationships of the role s/he is playing. This can either be done with more than
one character. The aim is to improve the role of the character/s and sometimes to make
additions to the story. (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ and Öztürk, 2007; Adıgüzel, 2010).
11. Voices in the Head (Conscience Alley): Protagonist walks slowly in an alley formed
by other group members. The character/s expresses some possible discordant ideas of
the protagonist or act as the conflicting elements of a collective conscience (Adıgüzel,
2010; Neelands and Goode, 2010).
12. Still-Image: Groups use their own bodies to devise an image for making clear a
moment, idea or theme. Alternatively, an individual acts as a sculpture (Neelands and
Goode 2010).
13. Group Sculpture: A student gives a shape to a small group or to the whole group for
achieving a particular objective (Adıgüzel, 2010).
14. Gossip Circle: Participants criticize behaviours of the characters in creative drama
process in the form of gossip which is exaggerated more and more (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ
and Öztürk, 2007).
15. Writing in Role: Participants write diaries, letters, journals or messages in the role of
any character during enactment. It is especially helpful in preparing children for reading
literary texts (Adıgüzel, 2010).
16. Inner-Voice: Group members reflect their ideas and feelings about principal values in
order to overcome the complexity of the protagonist’s problem (Adıgüzel, 2010: 467).
17. Meetings: The students gather together within the drama to hear new information, plan
action, make collective decisions and suggest strategies to solve problems that have
arisen (Neelands and Goode 2010).
18. Pantomime: It is expression of feelings and thoughts without words, only by using
body language (Yılmaz: 2010). “Children enjoy pantomime, and for the young child it
is an excellent way to begin creative drama” (McCaslin, 1990:71).
19. Role cards: Role cards give information about the details of the character’s roles.
Different characters do not know his/her pair’s role (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ and Öztürk,
2007).
20. Rituals, Ceremonies: Groups devise special events to mark, commemorate or celebrate
something of cultural/historical significance (Neelands and Goode 2010: 52).
21. Telephone/radio conversations: A dramatic moment and either good or bad news
related to this is given by telephone conversations. This news may be the starting point
of drama or may develop, direct, formulate or end the dramatic situation (Adıgüzel,
2010: 485).
22. Moment of truth: It is a means of resolving a drama, with reflective discussion on the
events so that a final scene is predicted. Volunteers act out this key moment of tension until
the group is satisfied that the moment is truthful (Neelands and Goode, 2010).
23. Split Screen: Students prepare two or more stages which take place in different times
and places. Students move the events forward or backwards just like a movie (Somers 1994
cited in Adıgüzel, 2010).
24. Forum Theatre: A small group enacts a situation while the others observe. Observers
may also take over roles or add to them whenever they want (Neelands and Goode, 2010).
It is indeed a kind of theatre. Nevertheless, since it deals with social matters and suggests
solutions to the problems and involves the audience to the process, it is also a creative drama
technique (Adıgüzel, Üstündağ and Öztürk, 2007). For Augusto Boal “forum theatre
enables children to explore real life situations with a degree of distance through the creation
of fictional characters” (cited in Jindal-Snape et. al. 2011).
25. Space Between: “Students arrange volunteers from the group, representing characters
from the drama, so that the space between them symbolizes how close their relationships
currently are” (Neelands and Goode, 2010: 86).
26. Mantle of the Expert: the group members become characters with specialist knowledge
relevant to the situation such as doctors, historians, social workers (Neelands and Goode,
2010).
27. Role-on-the-Wall: the protagonist is drawn either on the wall or on the floor and
throughout the lesson the students add new points about the protagonist (Adıgüzel, 2010).
28. Walls Have Ears: “The group make the four walls of a room by standing in lines around
a previously crafted still-image of the protagonist. They then collectively reflect back
impressions of the key events that have befallen that character through snatches and
repetition of dialogue.” (Neelands and Goode, 2010: 93)
29. Thought-Tracking: Private thoughts of the characters are revealed publicly. Students
may be frozen in a position they want. As soon as the teacher comes and marks a student
s/he reflects her/his feelings and thoughts (Adıgüzel, 2010).
30. A Day in the Life: A large sheet of paper is divided into five with a circle in the centre.
The rest of the paper is divided into four. In the centre the name and age of the character
are written. In the four other sections “home, family, play, and day” of the character are
written. These are filled by the students. The group is subdivided into four, each of which
takes a different section and creates a short dialogue between the protagonist and one
another character (Neelands and Goode, 2010).