(Pre)conceptions of young people with fewer opportunities

Description of the tool

Step by step description:
1.Firstly, the facilitator explains that the exercise will deal with light theatre methods. People not feeling comfortable for being actors will contribute without acting. Firstly, national groups should be set-up (up to 4 participants per country), the groups will be allowed 1 hour to prepare short “sketches” on youth social exclusion according to their cultures and using their languages. Humour is of course welcomed. In the second part of the exercise, the “sketches” will be presented to the remaining groups (it is then better to arrange properly a place with some kind of stage).
2.The facilitator should clearly explain the following rules:
§ if there are people who feel not comfortable with theatre methods they may involve themselves in participating to the setting-up of the sketches scripts and further on, the group will translate in English the dialogues, and narrators-translators will be needed when the sketches will be presented by the actors.
§ Each national group will realise its sketch in its own language. It is very important that the actors write clearly on a paper their dialogues (one paper per actor stating what they have to say).
§ The sketches should be short (no more than 1 minute and have as much as possible simple dialogues). No material should be used.
§ Each group should enable one or two person(s) who will not be actors to narrate the dialogues using the training working language.
3.The groups prepare their sketches separately during one hour. During this time the facilitator can arrange the “stage” where the performances will take place.
4.Once all the groups are back, the facilitator explains the following rules: the sketches will be played one after the other. The first time it will be presented by the actors with a translation. When each actor has finished a phrase, the narrator-translator tells it immediately using the training working language in order to ensure that the participants understand the sketch. Short sentences should be rather used, for facilitating the “translation task”.
5.When the sketch is finished, the facilitator may allow a little moment for the actors to explain a bit more their performance if needed. It should not be too long.
6.The actors remain on the stage and the facilitator asks for volunteers in the public. There should be one volunteer standing behind each actor as a “shadow”.
7.The sketch is performed once more with the “shadows”. The actors should articulate very well when dialoguing and showing the written phrases to their “shadows” when telling their phrases. The sketch is translated one more time.
8.The sketch is performed a third time the “shadow” becoming the actor and vice-versa. The shadow should help the new actor with pronunciation when performing the sketch (without being too formal, just playing). The sketch is not translated any more.
9.The sketch may be performed a fourth time without any shadow.
10.This is to be realised for all the sketches.

Reflection and evaluation:

There is no need for formal evaluation. This is a relaxing game most at all with the specificity to give “a taste” for getting to know words in each other’s languages.