Activities

IMPORTANT OBJECTS

Number of participants

Up to 20 participants

Objectives

● To develop expressive and creative skills through a devising process.
● To de-mechanise our vision and perception through the use of objects and symbols

Where does the activity take place within the process (beginning, middle, end)

Middle

Duration

60 minutes

Material needed

A bag of objects containing ordinary everyday objects related to household, sport, work, or hobbies. For example: jug, vase, tennis ball, golf ball, medal, recipe book, photograph, crocheted flower, painting, pottery, art work

Preparation

Prepare the room/space so that it is as spacious as it can be, without obstacles.

Step by step description

1. Invite participants to think of a personal belonging that is important to them because of some special meaning attached to it.

2. Organise participants into pairs and ask them to tell each other about their chosen object and why it’s important to them.

3. Each partner asks the other questions about the object.

4. Following this exchange, invite each pair to select a random object from a ‘lucky dip’ bag.

5. Ask participants to work with their partner to create a story (in the first person) about the object and its significance to them.

6. When each pair has agreed on a story, ask them to join up with another pair and share the story of their objects with each other.

7. Conclude by asking each group of four if they would like to share one or other of the stories with the rest of the group.

Closing up

Ask participants questions:

● What did you learn from this activity?
● Were you surprised by anything during the exercise?
● How did the prop inspire your story?

Resources

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Comments / hints for facilitators

Encourage participants to describe their personal objects in as much detail as possible. When telling the story of the ‘lucky dip’ object, ask participants to hold the object and describe its features to the audience.