Back to Basics - Lesson Back to Basics - Lesson 66

Choral Speaking and Choral Speaking and MovementMovement

Learning objectives• By the end of the lesson pupils will be able to:• Explain what choral speaking and choral

movement are• Use choral speaking and movement to realise

(bring to life) a text• Perform and evaluate their work and that of

their peers • Q: What grades do you think we should be

aiming to work between today?• A: E to C – maybe some of you will do even

better!

Betty BotterBetty Botter bought some butterBut she said my butter’s bitter

If I put it in my batterIt will make my batter bitterIf I buy some better butterBetter than the bitter butter

And I put it in my batterIt will make my batter better

So she bought some better butterBetter than the bitter butterAnd she put it in her batterAnd it made her batter betterSo ‘twas better Betty BotterBought some better butter.

Let’s recap!• In groups of 3 you have 2 minutes to

discuss the following questions:1. What key drama skills do we need to use in

order to create clear characters?2. What is vocal expression?3. Why is it important to an actor?4. What basic performance skills should you

be thinking about and using in every lesson?

Everybody after 3….

So Sir, what’s choral speaking?

Very simply…

• Choral speaking is when a group of people speak lines of a text at the same time

• Choral movement is when a group of people perform movements at the same time

Choral speaking techniquesChorus

words/lines spoken altogetherEcho

one word repeatedCannon

words/lines repeated several timesDescending cannon

word repeated several times getting quieterAscending cannon

words repeated several times getting louder

Choral Movement

• Choral movement is when a group of people choreograph the moves that they are going to perform

• It is not dance but it is well planned and creative and often contains elements of physical theatre

• You can apply the same techniques for choral movement as choral speaking e.g. chorus, echo and cannon

Let’s take a look at the…

Task• In groups of 4-5 you need to use choral

speaking and choral movement to perform the text

• You might like to think about:• How you can create the comedy of the scene• Using different people to say different lines as

well as all performing the speech using the techniques we have looked at

• Performance energy • FINALLY, THIS IS AN ENSEMBLE TASK WHICH

MEANS THAT EVERYBODY MUST BE EQUALLY INVOLVED!

Performance Time!!!• Q: What should we be looking for in a top

scoring presentation?• A: Good use of choral speaking techniques;

clear atmosphere; clear mime skills; good use of basic performance skills

• Q: What effect does choral speech and movement have on the text?

• A: It can help you to emphasise important words/phrases; more interesting than just having one voice tell the story; visually interesting fro the audience to watch

Traffic lights!• Move to the green area if you can answer

all 3 questions• Move to the amber area if you can answer

2 of these questions• Move to the red area if you can answer 1

or less of these questions1. Can you explain choral speaking and

choral movement?2. Can you explain the affect of using choral

speaking and movement?3. Can you give an example of a choral

technique?