Creative Dramas: Picture the Possibilities

Step 6: Include different phases of imagery *

One of the ways to include variety in dramas is to incorporate three phases or types of imagery identified by Joyce (1994). Images that lead to movement (p.21) start with a picture in the mind: "Make your body flat like a pancake." The learner first envisions the shape of a pancake, and then finds a way to depict that shape. A second kind of imagery includes images that arise from movement (Joyce, 1994, p.21): "You are laying flat. What else do you know that is flat?" This phase may be considered a reversal of the previous phase. The learner first depicts a shape, and then conjures up other images consistent with that shape. The third type of imagery utilizes images as a basis for movement (Joyce, 1994, p.21): "What kind of movement might a pancake produce?" In this, the most sophisticated phase, the movement is not described. Instead, the learner must determine the movement that would result from a description of the object or situation. Another example of each of the types of imagery is indicated in parentheses in the context of a completed creative drama. Select "creative drama examples" below, and then select the "Not so amusing" example.

* SOURCE: Joyce, M. (1994). First steps in teaching creative dance to children, 3rd ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.