T.T. 35 - Presenting puppet skits and plays.
T.T. 35 - Presenting puppet skits and plays.This depends on why you want a group to present a play or skit. If your intention is to present it to a larger grouping, the best way is obviously to get your chosen performers to learn their lines. However, to do this well, usually requires lots of time and rehearsal. If, however, you simply wish to have a play or skit as an alternative way of telling a story, or to complement it - remembering that children are likely to remember more if they participate rather than just hear or see something - then there are a number of alternative ways you could consider.
Puppet skits. I usually record the skit beforehand, and then simply play it back as the children operate the puppets. I use 'different' voices for the different puppet characters. However, if you are not too confident in doing this by yourself, you could use someone else to provide a few of the voices.
I used to hide behind the puppeteers and read the script as they performed. However I soon discovered that with some classes it is not a good idea for "teacher" to remain out of sight for too long! However, I have used older children to read the script in this way, and even had the puppeteers read it themselves
Plays. There are two ways in which I do this. In both cases, I act as Narrator and intermingle with the children as they act out their play. 1. I hold the script in my hand, and simply hold it in front of the characters to read their part at the appropriate times. 2. I whisper the needed words to the actors at the appropriate times. This works especially well for younger children whose reading skills may not be too high.
At face value, both of the above methods seem rather 'clumsy', but you must bear in mind that the purpose of the exercise is not a perfect production, but to involve the children as much as possible. In fact I usually find that children are very keen to act out stories in this way - especially if there is plenty of action.
Check out http://christianstoriesandplays.blogspot.com for all my plays and puppet skits.
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 6:40 PM
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