Status. Attitude. Motivation.
This 12-week course is designed to take a student from a place of “goosebumps” and doubt to a place of performance mastery. Using building blocks for drama (BBD), a dramatic process developed by Monde Mayephu and Drama for Change in mastering the physical language of drama.
It follows the natural progression of building a person: Body – Power – Mind – Story.
Duration: 12 Weeks (1 Session per week / 2–3 Hours per session)
Focus: Character Development, Physical Theatre, and Narrative Construction.
Part 1: The Physical Instrument (Weeks 1–3)
Goal: Breaking tension and discovering how the body communicates mood.
Week 1: The Neutral Actor & Space. * Introduction to “The Milling Game.” Mastering space awareness and moving from “Self” to “Neutral.”
Week 2: The Face and the Four Moods. * Deep dive into Happy, Sad, Angry, and Scared. Learning to isolate facial expressions from movement.
Week 3: The Weight of Emotion. * Exploring “Light” vs. “Heavy” movements. Understanding how “Closed” and “Open” body language signals mood to an audience.
Part 2: Power and Presence (Weeks 4–6)
Goal: Understanding the social “engine” of drama: Status.
Week 4: The Status Scale (1–10). * Introduction to high and low status. The “Secret Number” game. Learning how eye contact and posture command space.
Week 5: Status in Conflict (Patron & Waiter). * Practical improvisation. How characters of different power levels interact. Equal status vs. Opposing status.
Week 6: Status Shifts. * Exploring how status changes. Exercise: A character starts as a 10 and ends as a 1 (e.g., a King losing his crown).
Part 3: The Inner Life (Weeks 7–9)
Goal: Introducing Motivation and Subtext (The “Why”).
Week 7: Motivation & Intention. * Why does the character move? The difference between a walk driven by fear and a walk driven by joy.
Week 8: Subtext—The Hidden Language. * Performing simple lines with complex internal thoughts. Learning to say one thing while feeling another.
Week 9: Character Observation. * Analyzing people in the real world. Identifying their status, mood, and likely motivation. Bringing those “real” people into the studio.
Part 4: Building the Story (Weeks 10–12)
Goal: Combining all tools into a final performance.
Week 10: The Art of the Tableau. * Visual storytelling. Building the “Three-Frame Movie” (Beginning/Middle/End). Focusing on levels and focal points.
Week 11: Story Structure & Scripting. * Defining the Routine, the Disruption, and the Consequence. Assigning Narrators and Enactors within groups.
Week 12: The Showcase Performance. * Final presentations. Each group presents a character-driven story using Mood, Status, Motivation, and Space.
Final Outcome
By Week 12, each participant will have created an original character and performed a complete narrative arc without relying on complex dialogue, proving that the character exists because of the actor’s choices.
