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Class T Devising Task Student Guide

Students are tasked with creating a 3-4 minute soap opera-style theatrical piece that includes an opening tableau, a moment of power and control, a live monologue, and an ending tableau. The performance should focus on emotional depth and naturalistic acting, avoiding exaggeration and shouting. Prompts and monologue starters are provided to inspire the content and themes of the piece.

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Benjamin David
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4 views2 pages

Class T Devising Task Student Guide

Students are tasked with creating a 3-4 minute soap opera-style theatrical piece that includes an opening tableau, a moment of power and control, a live monologue, and an ending tableau. The performance should focus on emotional depth and naturalistic acting, avoiding exaggeration and shouting. Prompts and monologue starters are provided to inspire the content and themes of the piece.

Uploaded by

Benjamin David
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CLASS T DEVISING TASK – STUDENT GUIDE

Today you will work in your group to create a short theatrical piece in a soap-opera style.

Soap opera storytelling uses big emotional situations, secrets, and tension — but the acting should remain
naturalistic and believable. Strong drama comes from honesty, not exaggeration.

YOUR TASK
Create a devised performance lasting 3–4 minutes.

Your piece should feel like a moment from a serious soap opera: emotionally charged, tense, and unresolved.

YOUR PIECE MUST INCLUDE


1. An OPENING TABLEAU
- A frozen image at the very start
- Can include one or more people

2. POWER & CONTROL


- At least one moment where someone wants something
- Someone else has the power to stop it

3. A LIVE MONOLOGUE
- One character steps out of the action
- Everyone else freezes
- The monologue is spoken directly to the audience
- It should reveal thoughts or feelings, not explain the plot

4. AN ENDING TABLEAU
- A frozen image at a moment of high tension
- Nothing happens after this image

STYLE RULES
- Keep performances grounded and truthful
- No shouting to create drama
- Use stillness, eye contact, and silence
- Show the story — don’t explain it

SOAP-OPERA STORY PROMPTS (USE IF STUCK)


- A secret that can’t stay hidden any longer
- A betrayal between close family or friends
- A power struggle within a family or group
- Someone overhears something they weren’t meant to
- Someone must choose between two people
- Someone returns after being absent or presumed gone
- A confrontation that has been avoided until now
- A relationship pushed to breaking point
- A decision that will change everything
- Someone loses control or power
MONOLOGUE STARTERS
- “I can’t say this out loud, but…”
- “This isn’t how it was meant to happen…”
- “If they knew the truth…”
- “I don’t have a choice anymore…”
- “Everything changes after this…”

TABLEAU CHECK
- Who is the audience meant to look at?
- Who has power in the image?
- What question does this image leave hanging?

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