Scenes that Weren't in the Play

This activity invites students to depict events that might have happened during the time of the play but were not included as scenes in the performance. The depictions should first be developed through improvisation, and then written in script form. The goal of this activity is to use role play improvisation and to explore, develop and represent themes, ideas and characters using Outside as inspiration.

Instructional Procedures:

Explain to students that such scenes could be improvised so that artists can explore and develop their understandings of themes, ideas and emotions, motivation and personalities of the characters. 


Ask students to suggest ideas for events that might have occurred during the time of the play, but that were not acted out in the production. Some possible examples include: 


• A meeting between Daniel’s parents and the principal of either his old or new school
o The soccer team practice where Jeremy's teammates got Daniel's phone number from his phone

• A cafeteria or hallway encounter between one of the three characters and another student or teacher

• Any other suggestions offered by the students

In small groups, have students improvise one of these events as a scene from Outside. At the beginning of the scene, introduce a conflict. In the middle of the scene, escalate or develop the conflict. At the end of the scene, resolve or show the effect of the conflict. 


Students perform the scenes for the class. 


Discuss the effectiveness of each scene in introducing, developing, and ending the conflict. Offer suggestions for improving the scene. Students will discuss what they learned about the themes, ideas and characters while doing the activity. 


Based on the feedback received, students will revise the scenes and write them in script format.