Ideas for Creating Skits or Plays

• Your literacy group may want to use drama to show the ideas you learned through your research. Or drama may be the main focus of your project, so the group could listen to existing recordings to find a story to base a play on.
• To build confidence and to get the literacy group used to working together, the facilitator can include warm up exercises, movement and vocal exercises and improvisational exercises in the literacy program from the start. (See the list of resources at the end of this section.) These exercises can serve as energizers during the research phase of your project and make your group comfortable with the idea of creating a dramatic production.

Steps in Creating a Skit or Play

The Story

As a group, decide on the topic you want to base your play on. It could be a legend told by Elders or found in a book, a true-life story, or an issue that you want to bring to the attention of your community. Brainstorm all your ideas as a group; then try to agree on one topic. Or instead, small groups could work on one skit or story each; then all the skits can be linked together to make one performance. A skit is a short, often funny, play.

Creative Choices

Look at films and videos of plays produced by other groups to introduce your group to different approaches to theatre. This will give you ideas for ways to show your story or issue visually. (See the list of films at the end of this section.) Hold discussions after you watch a video; brainstorm different dramatic approaches you see in the videos. Make a list of brainstormed ideas on lip chart paper. You might show some of the ideas in the form of drawings instead of writing.

Visual Images and Style

There are many ways you could approach the drama. You may see examples of some of these different techniques in the videos you watch.

What kind of visual images do you want to use in your play to get the message across?

• Will your play include dialogue (characters speaking)? Or will it involve music, drumming and movement? Or mime? Mime shows characters, moods, ideas and events through arm gestures, facial expression and body movements, but no words are used.
• Will you have a narrator telling a story or voicing some details during the play?
• Will you use masks? – The actors could wear masks while they are onstage or hold the mask by a stick attached to it. Sometimes actors change masks throughout the play to show different characters and emotions. In some plays, the actors wear black clothing and masks that are white or brightly coloured on a white base. The lighting shows the masks, but only shows shadowy images of the body movement.