Activity 1: Introduction to Greek Drama and Myth

Warm-up: Typewriter

  •  One person narrates an improvised story while 4-5 players act it out simultaneously on stage. This could be a story that the student invents, or one that incorporates natural phenomena, such as thunderstorms, waterfalls, rivers, the invention of the stars, etc.

Opening Discussion:

  • This activity could be done as a whole class discussion, or as a small-group brainstorm with chart paper and markers.
    • What is a myth? What elements do myths often have?
    • Where do myths come from?
    • With which myths are you familiar?
    • Can you think of any books/movies/video games, that closely resemble myths, or contain mythic elements? (such as the quest, the hero, etc.)
    • What do myths try to explain about ourselves and the world we live in?
  • Distribute handout and/or show film clips about Greek theatre. Go over functions of the chorus, tragedy/comedy, etc.
  • Ask volunteers to narrate the Typewriter game with myths that they know well.

 

Activity 2: Tableaux and the Three Worlds

Warm-up: Graveyard

  •  is a concentration game in which students must remain frozen sitting or laying on the ground while a volunteer tries to break their concentration (without touching).
  • When a frozen figure moves, she must join the volunteer and continue until one person remains frozen and wins the game.

Tableaux Creation

  • Lead class through the basic elements of Tableaux: concentration, facial expression, focal point, depth of stage, levels, etc.
  • Introduce concepts of the Three Worlds in Greek myths: the World of the Gods, the Physical World, and the Underworld. Split students into three large groups and assign one of these worlds to each group. Groups must create a large-scale Tableau of their worlds, using the elements discussed. They will also be asked to make their worlds “come alive” with sound, movement, etc.
  • Presentation: Present tableaux one by one to the class, with soft music playing as accompaniment. Begin with frozen tableau and snap fingers to make the tableau come alive.

 

Activity 3: The Myth of Persephone – Storytelling through Tableaux

  • Find a relatively short synopsis of the myth of Persephone, such as the one provided (or look for websites, books, etc.)  Split the story up until Persephone arriving in the Underworld into small, manageable chunks and assign each chunk to a group. Each group creates a Tableau that depicts its part of the story.

Suggested Breakdown of Tableaux:

  1. Persephone is picking flowers with friends in the physical world, while her mother Demeter, Goddess and Grain and Growth, watches and her father Zeus, God of Thunder, watches down from the world of the gods.
  2. Persephone picks a flower, the narcissus, and the ground begins to shake.
  3. Hades, God of the Underworld and Zeus’ brother, comes out of the ground on a horse-drawn chariot and grabs Persephone while her parents look on.
  4. Hades puts Persephone into the chariot and departs for the Underworld.
  5. In the Underworld, Hades makes Persephone his wife and tells her that her father Zeus helped planned her kidnapping; an unknowing Demeter mourns her daughter’s disappearance in the Physical World.
  • Set up groups in a circle formation in the space, and have them present their tableaux in continuous order without stopping in between in order to get a sense of the whole story.

Follow-up Discussion: (write answers on the blackboard in two columns)

  • What do we know from the story told just told?
  • What do we want to know?

Possible Responses:

  • Why does Hades want to marry Persephone?
  • Why would Zeus help plan the kidnapping of his own daughter?
  • How does Persephone feel about Hades?

 

Activity 4: Myth of Persephone Family Portraits

Warm-up: Inverted Lens Tableaux

  •  Introduce students to the concept of the Inverted Lens tableau, in which one tableau “morphs” as it transitions into a second tableau to show us hidden sub-text beneath the surface. Example: a) a tableau of a happy wedding photo b) a tableau that shows us that the father disapproves of the daughter’s new husband.
  • Have students invent their own Inverted Lens tableau scenarios and present

Persephone Family Portraits

  • Students, in small groups, create a “family portrait” tableau of Persephone’s family featuring the major players: Persephone, Zeus, Demeter and Hades. The family portrait should tell us more subtext about the nature of these relationships (i.e. is Persephone a spoiled brat? Do Demeter and Zeus love/trust one another? What is Hades’ relationship with his brother?)
  • Present family portraits to the class. Have student spectators comment upon the subtext they see in each portrait. Key Questions:
    • What are the relationships depicted in these tableaux?
    • What does the facial expression and/or body language suggest about how these characters feel about each other?

Extension Activities

  • Moulding Images: Student volunteers “mould” characters like clay to suggest more subtext, such as putting distance between characters that might not like each other.
  • Hot-Seating Characters: Student spectators Hot-Seat each character by asking them questions to reveal their true motivations.
  • Flashback Scenes: Create short scenes/tableaux of past events (i.e. Demeter and Zeus’s wedding, Persephone as a young child, Zeus and Hades’ relationship as brothers, etc.)

 

Activity 5: Collective Character Interviews of Zeus and Demeter

Warm-up: Guess Who?

  •  An improv exercise such as Guess Who? in which a volunteer, pretending to be a well-known celebrity or fictional character, is Hot-Seated by the class. The volunteer can only answer questions with “Yes” or “No.”  Students ask questions until they have guessed the identity of the volunteer.

Teacher in Role Whole Group Drama: Demeter 

  • Explain to students the events that have transpired since Persephone’s kidnapping: Demeter has become so sad and grief-stricken that she is no longer performing her duties as Goddess of Grain and Growth, and consequently, all the crops are dying and the people of the Physical World do not have enough to eat. 
  • Students will be playing the roles of people of the Physical World. They are so worried and sick that they have called Demeter to meet with them to try to convince her to care about their wellbeing and restore the crops.
  • Preparing the Space: Discuss how the people of the Physical World would prepare for Demeter’s arrival. Do they prepare the space? How do they greet her? Do they have special offerings to get on her good side? What techniques will they use to convince her to restore the crops?
    •  Teacher in role as Demeter informs students as people of the Physical World of her feelings and why she has perhaps neglected her crops. She asks students to help her in this tragic moment. Students improvise in role to persuade her of their needs. Let students guide the conversation, though you may want to drop hints that Demeter believes Zeus knows more about Persephone’s disappearance then he is letting on. Remind students that he is Hades’ brother and that he does not seem as upset about her disappearance as Demeter.
    • As Demeter, ask students for help and strategies. Ask students if they think Demeter should go to Zeus to ask for help, or if there are other characters she should speak to. The teacher can then step into one of these roles or invite a student volunteer to play any of these roles.

Teacher in Role Whole Group Drama: Zeus

  • Explain the concept of Collective Character to the class. They will be playing one character, Demeter, and so all of their questions/responses should be consistent with one another. They are coming to Zeus to ask for help and want to try to get him to contact Hades about bringing Persephone back.
  • Teacher in role as Zeus listens to the concerns of Demeter, voiced by the students playing the collective character. This exercise works well when Zeus is played quite arrogantly, as if he has something to hide. Allow the students to try to convince you to contact Hades and end the conversation with a promise that you will send your messenger Hermes to the Underworld to speak to Hades.

Writing in Role Activity:

  • This is an excellent point in the process drama to introduce Writing in Role as either an in-class or take home assignment. Let students choose from any of the major players in the story and write a diary entry or letter in role as that character, expressing their innermost thoughts and feelings about this situation (see sample BLM#2 Persephone’s Diary).
  • If the writing is done in class, ask students to choose a line from their writing in role pieces that clearly sums up how that character is feeling. Teacher goes around the room and Thought-Tracks each person by tapping him or her on the shoulder; as each student is tapped, he or she can begin reading the writing piece, or can read one line.
  • After the Thought-Tracking, ask students about what they heard in the writing pieces. How do the characters points of view differ from one another? Towards whom do they feel sympathy? Anger?

 

Activity 6: Choral Speaking and Poems of Winter

Warm-up: Choral Speaking

  • Introduce a sample choral piece (see BLM#3 Chant for Rain). Review basic choral techniques, such as call and response, unison, round, echo, crescendo, etc. Split students into a “Call” and a “Response” group and try reading the sample piece chorally as practice.

Creating Poetry:

  • Form students into groups of 5-6 people. They should sit in a circle with pens and one piece of paper.
  • Students write from the perspective of the people of the Physical World who are suffering. They are stuck in perpetual winter because of Demeter’s neglect. They should pay attention to the senses in their writing: What do they see, hear, smell, touch, taste in this world of perpetual winter?
  • Person A begins by writing one line of poetry describing winter. They then pass to the next Person B, who reads the first line and adds a second. Person B then folds the paper down to cover the first line only and passes to Person C, who adds a line and folds the paper down, so that only one preceding line is visible at a time. Continue around the circle for about 6-10 lines in total.
  • Ask students to unfold their papers and read their poems of winter aloud.

Presenting Poetry:

  • Students create Choral Speaking presentations of their poems, using some of the techniques outlined during the warm-up exercise.
  • Introduce some facts about the function of the chorus in Greek Drama, either through a handout or on the blackboard. The chorus often acted as a narrator, voicing the inner thoughts of the characters in the play. Tell students that their choral speaking should voice the thoughts of the people of the Physical World telling Demeter how their lives have been affected by this perpetual winter.
  • Groups form their own Greek choruses and stage their poems for Zeus and Demeter. Use masks, robes, or other props, if they are available. The groups present their poems of winter and appoint a Zeus and Demeter to watch the presentations.

 

Activity 7: Ritual and the Changing of the Seasons

Warm-up: Yes, Let’s! 

  • Students walk around the space and teacher calls out “Let’s + a ritualistic activity” such as “Let’s mow the lawn!”  Students call out “Yes, Let’s” and begin doing the activity until a new activity is introduced.

Discussion:

  •  Introduce the concept of the ritual linking it to ancient rituals such as May Day, religious rituals, etc. Introduce some facts about ritual and its relation to Greek drama, such as stage rituals. Show a film clip or give examples of rituals, such as dramatic and dance rituals such as rain dances. 
  • Key Questions:
    • What is a ritual? (a ceremony, something that happens at regular intervals, a special occasion)
    • What types of rituals exist? (religious, cultural, age-specific, daily)
    • Why do we celebrate rituals in our society? Why are they important?
    • Do you have your our rituals? Family rituals? Cultural rituals?
    • What kinds of stories do rituals often tell?
    • What do rituals tell us about our society?

Physicalizing Rituals:

  •  Students form small groups and are given a ritual category, such as religion, culture, rites of passage, daily rituals, etc. Ask them to create an example of this ritual for the class, such as brushing one’s teeth, sitting down to a Jewish Seder, celebrating a “Sweet 16” birthday, etc.

Extension Activity: 

  • Discuss how these specific examples could be shown in a less realistic and more symbolic way, through movement, chants, etc. If time allows, students can alter their scenes to make them less realistic.
  • Suggested Resource: An excellent video example of ritual can be found in the Canadian Improv Games Training Video, in which students perform the ritual of “Flying a Kite” as a ritualistic dance with chanting and a bongo drum.

Season Rituals Using Voice and Movement:

  • Split students into four groups and assign each one of the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall). Each group brainstorms rituals that take place at this time of year (Example: spring might include rain, budding flowers, birds returning from migration, etc.)  Students create a presentation that shows these rituals through movement and vocal techniques. Present students with accompanying music to play during their rituals.
  • Present season ritual performances to the class.

 

Activity 8: Persephone and the Pomegranate Seeds

Warm-up: Persephone’s Diary: Relaxation/Visualization Exercise

  •  Students relax on the floor, with the lights dimmed slightly. Students close their eyes and relax different parts of their bodies, from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads. When they are sufficiently relaxed, begin reading the BLM#2 Persephone’s Diary.
  • Discuss what details they have learned from Persephone’s diary. What has changed? How does Persephone feel about Hades? Her mother? What questions remained unanswered? What is Hades’ plan?
  • Give students the conclusion of the myth: