Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Collaborative Play Building and Docudrama

B1.1 B1.3 B1.4 B2.1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can work with a group to build a play from our own ideas and sources (collaborative play building).
  • I can create devised scenes that explore multiple perspectives on an issue.
  • I can explain what a docudrama is and build a short one from real interviews, respectfully and accurately.
  • I can connect the issues and themes in our play to my own and others' experiences.

Words to know

collaborative play building
Creating a play as a group, from the group's own ideas, research and improvisation, instead of starting from someone else's script. Also called collective creation.
devised scene
A scene the performers create themselves, usually through improvisation, instead of reading it from a script.
docudrama
A drama based on real events and real people, often using facts, documents and people's own words.
verbatim
Word for word. In verbatim theatre, actors speak the exact words real people said in interviews.
interview
A conversation where you ask someone questions to learn about their experiences and ideas.
consent
Clear permission. In a docudrama, people agree to share their words and stories.
transition
How a play moves from one scene to the next, for example a freeze, a song or a change of light.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you shaped a drama with others in and out of role, using fiction and non-fiction sources to make an issue feel real. You also learned about community theatre.

In Grades 7 and 8 you broaden the forms you use to include improvisation, devised scenes, collaborative play building, scripts, readers' theatre and docudrama. In this lesson, you and your group become the playwrights.

Who wrote this play? We did.

Most plays you've seen were written by one playwright. But many plays are built by a whole group of performers working together. They gather ideas, improvise scenes, keep the best parts and shape them into a play. This is collaborative play building (also called collective creation).

A famous Canadian example is The Farm Show, created in 1972 by Theatre Passe Muraille, a Toronto theatre company, with director Paul Thompson. The actors spent the summer living with and working alongside farm families near Clinton, in rural Ontario. They listened to people's stories, then built scenes from what they heard and performed the show for the farm community. Theatre made from a community's real stories is still an important part of Canadian theatre.

1. Generatebrainstorm, gather2. Exploreimprovise ideas3. Selectchoose the best4. Shapeorder the scenes5. Rehearserefine, repeat6. Presentshare, reflect
The collaborative play-building process in six steps: 1. Generate (brainstorm and gather sources), 2. Explore (improvise ideas), 3. Select (choose the best), 4. Shape (put the scenes in order), 5. Rehearse (refine and repeat), 6. Present (share and reflect).

Building a play together

  1. Generate: choose an issue or theme and gather sources: interviews, news stories, photos, poems, your own experiences.
  2. Explore: improvise lots of short devised scenes. Try different perspectives, conventions (hot seating, conscience alley, tableau) and moments.
  3. Select: as a group, choose the scenes that are strongest and most truthful. Make sure several perspectives are included.
  4. Shape: put the scenes in an order that builds tension. Plan transitions (a freeze, a song, a soundscape, a change of light) and an opening and ending.
  5. Rehearse: repeat, refine, add aids (sound, light, props), and set the blocking.
  6. Present and reflect: share with an audience and talk about what worked.

What is a docudrama?

A docudrama is a drama based on real events and real people. It uses facts, documents (letters, photos, news reports) and often people's own words from interviews. When actors speak the exact words someone said, it's called verbatim theatre.

Because a docudrama is about real people, it comes with responsibilities:

  • Consent: ask permission before interviewing someone and before using their words. Tell them how you will use them.
  • Accuracy: don't change what people said to make it more dramatic. If you cut words, keep the meaning.
  • Respect: people can choose not to answer a question, and can say "please don't use that part."
  • Privacy: you can use a first name only, or a role ("a grandmother"), if the person prefers.
Worked example

Example: A family docudrama, "My First Phone"

A Grade 7 student builds a short docudrama on how technology has changed the way people stay in touch, connected to the themes of "Shared."

  1. Consent: "Grandpa, can I interview you for a drama about phones? I'll use your words in a short scene for my family. Is that okay?" He says yes.
  2. Interview questions: How did you call your friends when you were 12? What was it like when your family got its first cell phone? What do you think about kids having phones now?
  3. Real words (verbatim): Grandpa says, "We had one phone, on the kitchen wall, with a long curly cord. Everybody could hear your whole conversation!"
  4. More voices: the student also interviews Mom and a cousin, so there are three perspectives from three generations.
  5. Shape: three short monologues using their exact words, joined by a transition: the sound of an old phone ringing, then a modern notification.
  6. Check accuracy: the student reads the script to Grandpa: "Did I get your words right?"

The docudrama uses real words, several perspectives and a clear theme (change and connection), and it was made with consent and checked for accuracy.

Grandpamonologuehis exact wordsring!old phoneMommonologueher exact wordsping!notificationCousinmonologuetheir exact words"My First Phone": three generations, joined by sound transitionschecked with each person for consent and accuracy
The structure of the "My First Phone" docudrama: three verbatim monologues from three generations, joined by sound transitions that move from an old phone ring to a modern notification.
Worked example

Example: Devising scenes for a group play

A group building a play about the theme "belonging" generates and selects scenes.

  1. Generate: members share sources: a poem about a new student, a news story about a Syrian family settling in a small Ontario town, a memory of being the last one picked for a team.
  2. Explore: they improvise six short scenes, including a tableau of a lunchroom and a hot-seat interview with a coach.
  3. Select: they keep four scenes that show different perspectives: a newcomer, a student who feels left out at home, a coach, and a group of friends who notice someone sitting alone.
  4. Shape: they order the scenes so tension rises and end with the group making space at the lunch table. Transitions: a freeze and a short hummed tune.
  5. Personal interpretation: after performing, one member says, "I think our play shows that belonging is something people give each other. It reminds me of my first day at this school."

Collaborative play building turns many people's ideas and sources into one play with several perspectives and a shared theme.

Just for fun

The original group chat was a phone on the kitchen wall with a long curly cord. Everyone in the room could hear both sides of the conversation, and there was no way to unsend anything!

Interviewing respectfully

  • Ask permission first, and explain why you are asking.
  • Choose topics that are comfortable. Avoid asking about painful events unless the person offers.
  • Listen more than you talk. Follow-up questions like "What was that like?" get the best answers.
  • Write down or (with permission) record exact words.
  • Thank the person, and show them how you used their words.
Hands-on activity

Kitchen-table docudrama

You need: paper and a pencil (or a recording app, with permission), and two or three family members, neighbours or relatives you can call.

  1. Choose a theme connected to this unit: change, friendship, courage or being new somewhere.
  2. Write four interview questions. Include at least one "Tell me about a time when..." question.
  3. Ask for consent and interview at least two people, ideally of different ages.
  4. Highlight the most powerful exact words (2 to 4 sentences from each person).
  5. Shape a 2-minute docudrama: perform each person's words as a short monologue, with a transition between them (a sound, a freeze, a light change).
  6. Add one aid: a prop, a photo, or a sound that fits.
  7. Check accuracy: read your script to the people you interviewed.
  8. Perform it for your family, then share a personal interpretation: what does the docudrama say about your theme? What connections do you see between the people's experiences and your own?

Your turn

1

What is collaborative play building?

2

Put these play-building steps in order: shape, generate, present, rehearse, select, explore.

3

What is a devised scene?

4

What is a docudrama?

5

What does verbatim mean?

6

Name two responsibilities when making a docudrama.

7

What was The Farm Show and how was it made?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is another name for collaborative play building?

2

What is a transition?

3

Should you change someone's words in a docudrama to make them funnier?

4

What is consent?

5

Name one source you could use to generate ideas for a group play.

More practice: on your own

1

Write three interview questions for a docudrama about the theme "being new somewhere."

2

Why is it important to include several perspectives in a group play?

3

Your group has eight improvised scenes but time for only four. How should you select?

4

Suggest a transition between a scene in a noisy school hallway and a quiet scene at home.

5

Someone you interviewed says, "Please don't use the part about my divorce." What do you do, and why?

Challenge

1

How is a docudrama different from a fictional drama like "Shared"? Give two differences and one similarity.

2

Plan the shape of a four-scene group play on the theme "courage." Give each scene a perspective and explain your order.

3

Why might a theatre company like Theatre Passe Muraille choose to build The Farm Show from farmers' real stories instead of writing about farming from imagination?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A play created by a group from its own ideas and improvisation is an example of ___.

2.

A docudrama is based on ___.

3.

In verbatim theatre, actors speak ___.

4.

Before using someone's interview in a docudrama, you should ___.

5.

What is the first step of collaborative play building?

6.

The Farm Show (1972) was built from ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: In Grades 7 and 8, students broaden their knowledge of forms and conventions to include improvisation, devised scenes, collaborative play building, interpreting and performing scripts, readers' theatre and docudrama. This lesson supports engaging in drama exploration from a wide variety of sources (B1.1), planning and shaping the direction of the drama by working with others (B1.3), communicating thoughts and abstract ideas using aids (B1.4), and constructing personal interpretations (B2.1).

How to help:

  • Be an interview subject! Share a comfortable story from your childhood, and help your child with follow-up questions.
  • Connect your child with an older relative by phone or video call for an interview.
  • Talk about consent and accuracy: these are the same values journalists and documentary makers follow.

Common difficulties:

  • Yes/no interview questions. Help them reword: "Did you like school?" becomes "Tell me about a day at school you remember."
  • Changing people's words. Remind them that in a docudrama, the real words are the point.
  • Group work where one person decides everything. At home, practise taking turns proposing and choosing ideas.

Privacy note: keep interviews within the family or with people who agree, and don't post recordings online without everyone's permission.