Perform relaxation, breathing and resonance exercises  (Page 21/6)

Arts and culture

Grade 5

Creating, interpreting and performing

Module 13

Drama

With this module you will be playing games and at the same time discovering drama abilities that will be useful to you, not only in your future drama classes but in your everyday life as well.

ACTIVITY 1

TO PERFORM RELAXATION, BREATHING AND RESONANCE EXERCISES: THE WARM UP

[LO 1.5]

Before we start with our drama classes, you will have to be relaxed and warmed up. Ready? Let’s start. Your educator will guide you through the exercises and explain to you why you are doing them.

Relaxation exercises:

Our goal is to create a sense and state of relaxation in order for you to do your drama activities more comfortably, to be freer with your movements, to overcome inhibitions and to feel more comfortable among your classmates.

Relaxation 1:

Stand with your feet apart.

Reach upwards with your fingertips, palms facing and fingers splayed.

Try to touch the ceiling.

Imagine there is a wire attached to each fingertip and to the crown of your head.

Now you are being drawn up by the wire onto your toes towards the ceiling.

Feel the body elongate.

Hold this position for ten counts.

Imagine that the wires are suddenly cut.

Your hands, wrists, arms, head and shoulders will drop.

Let your arms hang loosely at your sides.

Let your head hang down.

Notice how easy and comfortable the muscles feel after the release of

the tension.

Allow the head and arms to hang for a moment.

Stand up straight.

Relaxation 2:

Reach up with the fingertips and the crown of the head.

Strain upwards as hard as you can.

Hold the upward stretch for a moment.

Now relax hands, arms, head, neck and upper body.

Slump down limply.

Let the arms be quite loose with the arms limp and dangling in front

of the legs.

Hang downwards in this position for a few moments.

Roll the upper body to the left.

Drop to the right.

Drop forward again.

Roll the upper body in a complete circle several times.

Reverse the direction.

Breathing exercise:

If you want to use your voice properly and have the confidence to do it well, breathing exercises is just the thing to do!

Breathing exercise:

Adopt an easy and erect posture.

Rest the back of your hands on the lower side ribs.

Prop your arms out loosely and relax your shoulders.

To a mental count of 1 – 2 – 3 gently inhale though the nose and

feel the lower ribs swell out.

Do not inhale too much air.

Let the lower jaw drop open (tongue flat, tip behind the lower

teeth).

Exhale from the mouth to a mental count of 1 – 2 – 3.

Feel the air flowing out of the open mouth.

Increase the inhalation and exhalation by one mental count each

time until a capacity of ten has been reached.

Repeat six times.

Resonance exercise:

Resonance is the sound produced by a body. This is your voice. Voice is the general vocal tone created by the note from the vibrating vocal cords being resonated in the cavities of your head, throat and chest.

With this exercise you must aim to enlarge your chest cavity to improve its function as a resonator for the voice.

Resonance exercise:

Rest the back of your hands on the lower ribs.