Linking Drama and Dance Strategies to Critical Literacy Concepts

Drama/Dance Strategies	Critical Literacy Concepts	Explanation
Role on the Wall	Deconstruction of Texts and Characters Inferencing	One aspect of examining texts critically is to consider the context in which they were written. Similarly, one way to come to know a character better is to consider the socio-cultural context that they live in. When completing a role on the wall for a character, spending time to consider the external stressors and influences on a person is a helpful way of getting to understand them on a deeper level.
Teacher or Stranger in Role	Missing Voices	Teacher/Stranger in role is an effective way to introduce a missing voice to a drama. If you are finding that the drama has been rooted in a singular point of view, coming into a scene as a character and bringing new information or a new way of perceiving the problem at hand can serve to challenge assumptions and deepen the complexity of the work.
Tableau Crossover	Point of View	Since this strategy pits two opposing points of view against each other, it’s an ideal way to quickly concretize difference and for students to start to have a sense of what the issue literally looks like from another person’s point of view.
Corridor of Voices	Point of View	When exploring a variety of points of view on a topic that a character in the drama is facing, have the students in the two lines call out their differing opinions as the character walks past. Or, if you’re trying to help a character more clearly articulate their point of view about something, have the students in the two lines be the inner mind of the target character, offering up reasons as to why the point of view in question is valid.
Voices in the Head and Thought-Tracking	Deconstruction of Texts; Inferencing	These strategies introduce the concept of sub-text and layers of meaning. Students learn to listen deeply, observe closely and analyse carefully for the feelings, beliefs and intentions layered within a dance, drama, or visual or written text.
Inner/Outer Circle	Power Point of View	By design, this structure allows two opposing/different points of view play out simultaneously. When experimenting with issues of power, it may be most provocatively used when the inner and outer circles reflect voices of people at opposing ends of the power spectrum. Similarly, if examining the missing voice, it would be effective to have the dominant voice and the missing voice paired so that the juxtaposition will reveal tension.
Hot Seating	Missing Voices Point of View	Hot seating allows students to ask the questions of characters so that we may come to know them better. Often, illuminating details that an author has failed to provide helps to more clearly pinpoint the author’s bias and flesh out a fuller story.
Writing in Role	Deconstruction and Construction of Texts Point of View	Part of critical literacy is learning how to break or deconstruct the codes used by authors / dramatists /choreographers so that we can determine meaning and detect bias. Writing in role provides students with an opportunity to use this knowledge to construct/ manipulate words, text forms, features and images to send a particular message to a particular audience from a particular point of view. It is an ideal medium in which to gage students’ emerging abilities to use the tools of the author/director’s trade and to assume another’s point of view.
Forum Theatre and Improvisation	Call to Action Point of View	These drama conventions allow students to safely explore a range of possible strategies for negotiating power, taking action, confronting oppression and addressing issues of social justice.
Dance Improvisation and Composition: Guided Improvisation Bodystorming Tableau with Movement Transitions Composition of Dance Phrases and/or Dance Works	Point of View Missing Voices Deconstruction and Construction of Texts Power	Various forms and approaches to dance allow students to investigate critical literacy concepts kinesthetically. Some examples include: communicating opposing or different points of view using gesture and/or movement dancing unspoken words, feelings, and ideas constructing movement phrases, layered with text and/or visual imagery exploring and negotiating power dynamics through movement critical analysis of dance works (own, peers, dance films, professional companies)