MAR
19

Five Ways to Practice Teambuilding in Your Youth Theatre Show

By Jennifer Lade 

Jennifer Lade is a drama teacher and community theatre enthusiast.  She teaches and directs plays at a program for homeschooled students in Massachusetts.  She loves acting and singing in community theatre productions.  Some of her favorite past roles are Morticia in The Addams Family and The Cat in the Hat in Seussical the Musical.  She earned a BA in English from Providence College. 

A theatre cast is a lot like a sports team.  Whether striving to win a game or put on a show, individual players are all striving toward a common goal.  And their success depends heavily on how well the individuals can work together.

A cast that knows each other well and has positive feelings for each other will accomplish more during rehearsals.  They can encourage each other in their strengths, enhancing the emotions and energy of the performance.  During the actual show, a tight-knit cast will have visible chemistry and can better cover for dropped lines or miscues.

In contrast, a disconnected cast can make the whole process feel disjointed.  Rehearsals might be more contentious and less productive.  Without teamwork, there will be cast members who aren’t invested in the outcome because they don’t feel ownership of the show.  A lack of cooperation could also lead to skipped lines, awkward pauses, and less cohesive onstage movement.

Luckily, team-building can be rehearsed, too, so that your cast can learn to work together and encourage one another, even if they were all strangers before production began.  Here are five ways to help your cast operate as team:

1. Make sure everyone knows one another.  It is hard to work with people when you don’t even know how to address them.  Spend the beginning of the first rehearsals learning and relearning each other’s names, including how you want students to address you as director.  Games can help student actors remember names.  My favorite game is throwing around a stuffed animal, calling out a person’s name before tossing it to them.  Or, having each person introduce themselves with their name and an action.  Each person can add an action until the final person must repeat all the names and actions.
   
   If a group has been together for some time and a new person comes in, don’t assume the new student will make their own introductions.  It can be daunting to break into a new group; this is where an adult can provide some scaffolding.  Take the person around to friendly cast members and introduce them in an informal way before rehearsal begins, and then introduce them formally to the whole group.  Have each cast member repeat their names to facilitate familiarity.


2. Set ground rules.  It’s best to state your intentions and rules directly.  First, set ground rules to make sure everyone is treated with respect.  Some helpful rules for cast members might include: 
• only one person speaks at a time
• use only positive language
• no criticizing or directing other actors
Any grievances or questions about another actor’s lines and blocking should go through the director.  This spirit of respect is a precursor to any teamwork.


3. Play team-building games.  Play is one of the best ways to get a group to bond.  If everyone is having fun and letting their guard down, true teamwork can happen.  One game that gets kids moving and using their voice is “Cross the Line.”  Students stand on one side of the room, facing a line on the other side.  One by one, students say, “Cross the line if...”  followed by something about them.  It can be superficial, such as “...if you’re wearing red shoes,” or hidden, such as “...if you play a musical instrument.”  Everyone who shares that characteristic crosses the line and then comes back to the group.  This game shows students that they might have more in common with castmates than they thought.
   
   “Yes, let’s!”  is a simple improv game that values any idea, no matter how ridiculous it might seem.  While moving about the space, students can shout out, “Let’s pretend we are horses!”  or “Let’s hop on one foot!”  or any other (safe) suggestion.  All other players say, “Yes, let’s!”  and immediately begin the suggested action, until another suggestion is called out, and the process repeats.  The game gets students used to giving and accepting suggestions, and to feel comfortable being silly with the other players.
   
   Finally, you can end a game session with “Family Portraits.”  Break the cast into “families,” or if it’s a smaller group, keep them as one family.  Call a family to the stage to take their photo.  Call out what type of family they will be and give them only five seconds to pose.  Some suggestions are the Robot Family, the Fish Family, or the Social Media-Obsessed Family.  The resulting photos can be playful, hilarious, and heartwarming.  Displaying these family portraits at a future rehearsal or at the show can add to the sense of being a real team with a shared history.


4. Give everyone a voice.  Build in opportunities for students to give suggestions, ask questions, and contribute creatively.  Students can choreograph dance numbers, bring in props and costumes, and brainstorm how their character would react in each scene.  Certain class structures can allow for “theme days” which students can choose, like crazy sock day, perhaps.  Many students also enjoy being part of the front-of-house action before the show begins, taking tickets, handing out programs, and showing patrons to their seats.  These opportunities help students feel ownership in every aspect of the show and can be especially helpful for those with smaller roles, as they can contribute with their offstage jobs, too.


5. Create a closing ritual for the class and for the show.  In my theatre class, we end each session by forming a circle, holding hands, and sending a hand squeeze around the circle.  Then we put our hands in the center like a sports team and cheer on the count of three.  The cheer could be the name of the theatre or the show, or it could be a special focus you’d like the students to internalize, such as “Teamwork!”  or “Memorize your lines!”  This predictable ritual brings everyone together one last time to voice our particular place of belonging and common goal.
   
   In addition to closing rituals for each rehearsal, a ritual for the end of each show can be helpful.  Whether it is the final class session or a cast party, it’s important for the cast to come back together after the show is done to celebrate their success.  This meeting is a chance for students to discuss what went well and what they can improve on for next time.
   
   A final class meeting is a perfect time to recognize each member of the cast as an individual.  One method I borrowed from another director is “paper plate awards,” in which each cast member is presented with a paper plate that celebrates a quality the person contributed to the show.  Some examples are “Learning your lines before off-book day,” “Always ready for your cues,” or even “Eager to help clean up after class.”  I have found it helpful to avoid superlatives which encourage comparison.  So instead of presenting a student an award for “Most energetic dancer,” award them for “Dancing with enormous energy.”  This subtle difference ensures that no cast member is left feeling slighted, only that a different gift of theirs has been highlighted.

Team-building is a valuable use of rehearsal time that will pay dividends throughout the entire production of the show.  These rules, games, and rituals will help students work together and feel valued for their contributions, increasing the likelihood that they will come back to share their talents and teamwork in another show.