What Is Creative Drama? Learning Through Play at School and at Home

What is creative drama and how does it differ from theatre and drama therapy? The stages of a drama lesson, what it can offer children and games to try at home.

Your daughter, who is in the third year of primary school, comes home from school excited: "Today in our lesson we all became trees, then the wind blew, and then a squirrel came and asked us for walnuts!" You are a little surprised; they were studying the seasons in science, so you wonder why they became trees. When you learn that the teacher was doing "creative drama", other questions come to mind: Is this a theatre class? Does the child have to go on stage? Won't it be hard for a shy child? The short answer to the question "what is creative drama" is this: creative drama is an educational method in which children and adults learn about a subject by experiencing it through play, enactment and improvisation. In this article we look at what creative drama is, how a drama lesson unfolds, how it differs from theatre and drama therapy, what it may offer children, and games you can try as a family at home.

What Is Creative Drama?

Creative drama is a process in which a group, guided by a leader or teacher, enacts a subject, a concept or a situation, drawing on their own experiences and imagination. Here the word "drama" refers not to a play put on stage, but to "learning by doing".

The basic features of creative drama are:

• It is process-focused: The aim is not to put on a show for an audience, but the experience lived during the enactment.
• It is done in a group: Children build scenes by cooperating with one another, share ideas and make decisions together.
• It is based on improvisation: There is no memorised script; children bring what they are thinking and feeling in the moment into the play.
• It includes everyone: No acting talent is needed; every child can take part at their own level.
• It serves a purpose: Many subjects, from mathematics to history and from traffic rules to friendships, can be taught through drama.

In the example at the start of this article, a class studying the seasons acts out what a tree experiences over a year instead of reading from a book. The children become trees that shed their leaves in autumn, resist the wind in winter and bud in spring. This experience may make knowledge more memorable by combining it with the body and with feeling.

How Does a Creative Drama Lesson Unfold?

Although practice varies from teacher to teacher, a creative drama session usually proceeds in three stages.

Preparation and warm-up

The lesson begins with games that get the children's bodies and minds moving. Walking around the room at different speeds, freezing at a signal, name games and mirror games in pairs are often used at this stage. The warm-up reduces children's tension, helps them settle into the group and reminds them of the rules of the game.

Enactment

At this stage a situation related to the topic of the lesson is enacted. Some common techniques are:

• Role play: Children take on a particular character; for example, a market trader, a ship's captain, a fairy-tale hero or a historical figure.
• Still image: The group freezes a moment with their bodies, like a photograph. For example, a scene of "an argument at break time" or "harvest time in a village".
• Teacher in role: The teacher also joins the play by taking on a character and answers the children's questions as that character.
• Hot seating: The others ask questions of a child playing a character; the child answers in the character's voice.
• Improvisation: Small groups build and perform a short scene based on a given situation.

Reflection

At the end of the lesson the group talks about what they have experienced. With questions such as "What was it like being a tree?", "What did you feel while standing against the wind?" or "What else could have been done in this scene?", the experience is turned into thought. This stage is an important step that distinguishes creative drama from a merely enjoyable game.

What Is Creative Drama, and What Is It Not? How It Differs From Theatre and Drama Therapy

Creative drama is often confused with two fields that resemble it: theatre and drama therapy.

How it differs from theatre: In theatre, the aim is to present a play prepared through rehearsals to an audience; success is measured by the quality of the resulting performance. In creative drama, there is no audience, or the audience does not matter; what is valuable is what the children experience throughout the process. In a theatre course a child is expected to say their line correctly; in creative drama there is no "wrong" line.

How it differs from drama therapy: Drama therapy is an approach carried out for psychological support within a therapeutic framework; it aims to address emotional difficulties. Creative drama, on the other hand, is an educational method; its aim is to support learning, expression and cooperation skills. A drama lesson may do a child good, but that does not make it therapy. If you are curious about what drama therapy is, you can read our article on what drama therapy is.

This distinction is important for setting expectations in the right place. A drama lesson at school does not replace the support needed by a child who is anxious or going through a difficult period; but it can be a valuable experience that enriches a child's school life.

What Can Creative Drama Offer a Child?

Educators often observe that the following skills can be supported in children through creative drama work:

• Self-expression: The opportunity to convey thoughts through words, body and voice.
• Empathy: Thinking about what someone else might feel by putting oneself in their place. For example, taking on the roles of both the child being bullied and the child who stands by in a bullying scene can open the door to important conversations in the classroom.
• Cooperation: Building a scene together, listening to others' ideas, speaking in turn.
• Problem solving: Coming up with different answers to the question "What could the character do in this situation?"
• Attention and listening: Following the rules of the game, following signals, responding to what a friend has said.
• Imagination: Being able to turn a chair into a ship or a pencil into a magic wand.

Let us say that in a fourth-year class, it is noticed that the same children are constantly left out when playing football at break time. The teacher addresses this not with a lecture but with a drama activity: villagers in an imaginary village waiting their turn to draw water at a well are acted out, and a scene is created in which some villagers never get a turn. Then the teacher talks with the children: "How did the villager who never got a turn feel?", "How could this be solved in the village?" Without being forced to talk about their own break times, the children begin to think about something in their own class.

These benefits do not appear in the same way in every child, and the effect of a lesson should not be exaggerated. But considering the place of play in child development, it can be said that creative drama is a method close to children's natural way of learning. We look at the role of play in development in detail in our article on play in child development.

When a child steps into a role, they do not move away from themselves; on the contrary, they get the chance to know themselves from a slightly wider place.

For shy and very active children

One of the questions parents ask most often is whether a shy child will struggle in a drama lesson. In a well-run creative drama lesson, a child is not forced onto the stage. In the first lessons, taking part within the group, as part of a still image or with a small role, is enough. Many shy children can speak more comfortably from behind a mask or a character. We also cover this topic in our article on drama for shy children.

For very active children, drama can offer an opportunity to channel their energy in a rule-based and creative direction. However, activities that require long waiting, where it takes a very long time for their turn to come, can be hard for these children. Short, active and frequently changing activities are more suitable for them.

Creative Drama at School: How Is It Used in Lessons?

Creative drama can be used not only as a separate lesson but also as a teaching method within different subjects. A few examples:

• In Turkish (language and literature) lessons: The hero of a story the class has read is put in the hot seat and asked questions. "Why did you run away from home?", "What would you like to say to your sibling?" These questions make it easier to understand the text and think about the character's feelings.
• In social studies: Different sides of a historical event are acted out; for example, a day in an Ottoman bazaar from the point of view of the trader, the buyer and the traveller.
• In mathematics: Shopping at a market set up in the classroom turns calculating change into a concrete experience.
• In school counselling activities: Topics such as friendship, sharing and being able to say no can be addressed through short scenes.

In an education system with a busy exam calendar, where preparation for the LGS (Turkey's national high-school entrance exam) starts at an early age, time devoted to playful methods such as drama may look to some families like a "wasted lesson". Yet children learning a subject by experiencing it can open a door to understanding that goes beyond memorisation. Of course, striking the balance is the responsibility of the teacher and the school.

A safe environment is essential in a well-run drama lesson. It is important that children do not laugh at each other, that no one is forced to talk about a personal or family experience, and that enactments do not slide in a humiliating direction. As a parent, asking the teacher which topics are covered in lessons, how your child takes part and whether there has been a moment when they struggled helps you to understand the process better.

Creative Drama Games You Can Try at Home

You can keep the spirit of creative drama alive at home too. Here are some games you can try after dinner, at weekend breakfast or on a long car journey:

1. The mirror game: Two people stand facing each other; one makes slow movements and the other copies them like a reflection in a mirror. Then the roles switch. It is an enjoyable game that requires attention and coordination.
2. Transforming an object: A wooden spoon is passed from hand to hand; each person uses it as if it were something else: a microphone, a toothbrush, an oar. It gets the imagination going.
3. Story chain: One person starts a story with a sentence and the next person adds a sentence. When the story is finished, you can act out the favourite scene together.
4. Emotion statue: One person names an emotion, and the others show that emotion with their bodies like a statue. Questions such as "What does disappointment look like when it stands?" or "What does pride look like?" are a playful way of talking about feelings.
5. "What if...?" scenes: Build short scenes from questions such as "What if our cat could talk one day?" or "What if Grandad, as a child, came to today's school?" These games, which grandparents can also join during bayram (religious holiday) visits, can build a lovely bridge between generations.
6. Playing a fairy tale backwards: Tell a well-known fairy tale from the villain's point of view. What was the giant facing Keloğlan (the bald-headed hero of Turkish folk tales) really thinking? This game is an enjoyable exercise in empathy and perspective-taking.

It is helpful to keep a few principles in mind while playing these games:

• Do not correct the child or say "That's not how it goes"; there is no wrong in improvisation.
• If the child does not want to join in, let them stay as an audience member; often they join of their own accord after watching for a while.
• Join in the game properly yourself; a parent who is not embarrassed to play a role gives a child courage.
• Keep the game short and end it while it is still fun.
• Talk for a few sentences after the game: "Which part did you like most?" This small chat is the home equivalent of the reflection stage in lessons.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

Drama lessons and games at home are enjoyable experiences that support a child's development. However, it is wise to see a child and adolescent mental health professional in the following situations:

• If your child constantly and markedly avoids group activities or does not want to go to school,
• If their shyness is seriously hampering their ability to make friends, take part in lessons or manage daily tasks,
• If you see worrying themes in their play or enactments that are not appropriate for their age and keep recurring,
• If outbursts of anger, sleep problems or sudden changes in behaviour have lasted for several weeks,
• If your child talks frequently about harming themselves or about death. In that situation, do not wait; in an emergency, call 112 (emergency services).

In psychological work with children, play is used as one of the most natural ways for a child to express themselves. You can find general information about this process on the child and play therapy page.

Frequently Asked Questions

From what age can creative drama be done?

Creative drama can be adapted to every age, from the preschool years to adulthood. Shorter, active and concrete games are preferred with young children, while more complex scenes and discussions can be done with older children and young people.

What is the difference between creative drama and a theatre course?

The aim of a theatre course is generally to prepare a play and present it to an audience. In creative drama, no performance is intended; the focus is on what the children experience and learn during the enactment and the communication they build with one another.

If my child does not want to take a role in a drama lesson, should I force them?

No. Forcing can put the child off this experience. In the first lessons, taking part by watching or with a small role is enough. If the avoidance is very marked and long-lasting, you can talk to their teacher and, if necessary, a professional to understand the reason behind it.

• #creative drama
• #education
• #child development
• #play

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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