Alter Ego

Dear Drama Diary,

I can’t believe it!  This is my very last week of drama class.  I am going to miss it for sure. 

The final strategy that I’m going to tell you about is called alter ego.  For me, this is the kind of activity I imagine when I think of a drama class.  Students work in groups of three—one person plays the role of the character, the second person plays the role of the “angel”, and the third person plays the role of the “devil”.  The angel and devil are responsible for conveying the positive and negative thoughts of the character.    

We used this strategy as an opportunity to explore the Heritage and Identity in Early Societies unit in Social Studies.  We had the chance to look at different aspects of slavery and critically examine the day-to-day activities of people from different backgrounds.  In this case, the character played the role of a slave who had been separated from his wife and child.  The angel was trying to persuade the character to escape from slavery in an attempt to be reunited with his family.  The devil was encouraging the character to stay and carry out his duties as a slave.  The slave was allowed to interject to either agree or disagree with the angel and devil.  What a tough decision! 

 This strategy is so versatile that I think it could be used to connect with every subject.  Don’t you?  It would make a very interesting twist on a debate, either in small groups or as an entire class.  Half the group could represent the “angels” and the other half could represent the “devils”.

Diary, I want to thank you so much for supporting me throughout my drama education journey.  I can’t wait to test out some of these strategies in my own classroom someday!  I promise to let you know how it goes.

Goodnight Drama Diary,

See you soon,

V