Body

Objective

Understand how characterisation is more than just the words your characters say. It is also how you communicate what the character is feeling through your body and face.

Activity: Pass the face (15 min)

Step 1:

Spend time before playing the game brainstorming a long list of ‘feeling words’ that can be reinforced during the game. Give examples, such as ‘happy’, ‘sad’, ‘angry’, ‘tearful’.

Step 2: 

Gather the group into a circle so that everyone can see each other.

  • One person (the Starter) chooses a feeling. They don’t tell anyone what it is. Now everyone must shut their eyes. The Starter taps the person beside them on the shoulder to show them the feeling, using only their face. They do not speak.

  • Then the starter shuts their eyes. The person who just received the expression does the same as was done to them: they tap the person next to them on the shoulder, demonstrating the facial expression, and then shuts their eyes.

  • The face (facial expression) is passed around the circle until the last person has ‘received’ it. The last person then demonstrates the expression they received to the whole group. Now the group must guess what feeling was passed along. The starter then verifies if this was the emotion and expression they began with.

Step 3: 

Play as many rounds of the game as your learners want, giving different learners the chance to be the Starter.

Step 4: Class discussion

  • What happened during the game?

  • Were some emotions easier to demonstrate than others? If so, why do you think that was the case?

  • How could you have ‘passed the face’ more accurately? What could you have done differently?

Lesson 1: Our emotions

Back to course