Workshop plan
While there’s a creative approach and an overarching logic to how a TSDC workshop series is structured, the plan for each individual workshop is never pre-determined. It’s always created in response to the stories that have emerged in previous workshops, and with attention to the needs and concerns of the workshop participants. Information shared in the conversations between the theatre workshop facilitator and the community worker helps the facilitator to create a plan for the next workshop session which they share with the community worker a few days prior to the workshop for any additional feedback.
Keep in mind that the workshop plan isn’t meant to be a scripted set of directions to be read out during the workshop! It’s to be used more as a map to prepare facilitators for the workshop journey, and to keep track of roles, activities, and time, so that adjustments can be made when needed.
The workshop plan takes into account the following considerations:
- The overarching goals of the phase of the performance creation series the workshop session is taking place in (getting to know one another, gathering material, structuring material, rehearsing).
- Information from the facilitation team conversations about the previous workshop(s).
- Video, still images, and notes on what stood out from Image Theatre explorations and participant reflections from the previous workshop(s).
Elements of a TSDC workshop plan include:
- Name and a description of activities
- Notes about facilitation approach
- Focused prompts to initiate and activate images and group reflection activities
- Estimated time allotted to each activity
- Name of person(s) who will lead the activity
SAMPLE WORKSHOP PLAN: WEEK 3 WORKSHOP PLAN (2:30-5:30)
| Activity | Description | Notes | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check-in & food (M & S) |
Start informally with, What stuck with you from last week? What were you excited about?
1-10 scale check-in: How do we feel about getting started today? |
(M) touch base with (S) about facilitating the check-in and check-out | 2:45-3:15 |
| Slide show (C) | Here are the images you created; here are the images from a good place, bad place; What do you notice looking at these images again? | 3:15-3:25 | |
| Brainstorm (M) | Where do youth meet now?
Where are the kinds of places in the City where these types of thing might happen? |
Go back to negative image
Go back to positive image (P) write places onto flip-chart |
3:25-3:35 |
| Warm-up (P) | The Great Fanzinis! | video record with iphone (M) | 3:35-3:40 |
| 2 sets of sculpted images with newspaper headlines (C) | Tell youth we’re going to have them do two types of images:
Sculpting, each youth gets to sculpt the rest of the youth into an image. One at a time a youth steps out of the image (P steps in and takes youth’s place). From outside the image ask: If this were an image in a newspaper, what would the headline on the article be? Youth steps back in, next youth steps out, give newspaper headline. |
Begin with images of people needing to defend themselves
Record headlines on flipchart (M) |
3:40-4:00 |
| Break | 4:00-4:10 | ||
| Put the 2 images together (C & P) | Explore how you would move from one image to the next (5 claps).
|
Look at photos of images before starting sculptures.
Take still photos (M)
|
4:10-5:10 |
| Check-out (S) | 1-10 scale check-out | 5:10-5:30 |
