Identity - Who Am I?

“ It is not a scientifically certifiable fact that each child born into the world comes with the potential to create. It is rather a statement of faith. But I can’t imagine any declaration more important to make.”

- Bill Moyers

Think about who you are. Think about who you are in relation to other people, organizations, interests, hobbies and anything else that might be important to you. What shapes your identity? What words and phrases do you attach to yourself? What words and phrases does society give you? Do you accept those that society gives you?

List five words that best describe you.

Think about these words. Look them up in the dictionary to make sure they describe you perfectly. Look up their synonyms and antonyms in a thesaurus.

Why did you choose these words?

Find five images/pictures that best describe you.

They don’t have to be literal (I’m tall so here’s a picture of a tall guy). If you feel that you’re disorganized, you could choose a picture of a mess of color (like Jackson Pollock) or a messy room, or a broken plate, or a wall of graffiti.

Why did you choose these pictures?

List five symbols that best describe you.

Again you don’t have to be literal. Are you a stop sign? Are you a yield? Are you a no smoking sign? Are you a no shirt, no shoes, no service sign? A radiation sign? A cross? No parking? No pets? Information? Here is a website with a ton of different symbols.

Why did you choose these symbols?

List five sounds that best describe you.

Are you a howl? A flute note? A guitar riff? A bang? A thunder clap? The ting of a bell?

Why did you choose these sounds?

This is not an ooky-spooky “be one with yourself man” activity. To define yourself in these specific ways creates a visual imagistic picture of yourself. This is a vital skill when it comes to dramatizing characters. You want to write in a visual imagistic way so that an actor can clearly picture the character and so can an audience.

What do I do with all this?

Take all the images, sounds, words, and symbols and create a 30 second non verbal piece. What impression does the piece create?
OR
Write a monologue that takes place inside one of the pictures. What is happening? Are you in the picture or is it someone else? Throw one of your sounds into the middle of the monologue – what’s the effect?
OR
Write a scene between a Symbol and a Sound. What type of character would each represent?
(These are purposely ambiguous. Feel free to make something outside the box. Just approve it with me first.)
AND
Create a Wordle. Reflect on what it’s like to see a picture out of the different words. Use wordle.net (or any word cloud generator) and put words in the text box. For example, you can use your five words, five sounds and described the five symbols - or any combination. You should have at least 20 words - 5 from each of the lists you've created. You can add as many more as you'd like. Take a screen shot of this word cloud and add it to the presentation.
OR
Create one google slide that you add images to that capture you.

Exercise adapted from www.theatrefolk.com