Full-Body Shadow Theater: Scale and Appearances

With a stretched sheet and a spotlight behind it, groups create full-body shadow scenes by playing with distance to the light: close to the lamp the shadow is gigantic, right against the sheet it is sharp and life-size. They tell a short story in which characters and objects appear, grow, merge and vanish.

How to play

1. Setup: stretch the sheet between two wall bars or columns with ropes and place the spotlight about 10 feet behind it; darken the room (4 min).
2. Exploration in turns of five: move toward and away from the light to grow and shrink, step in and out of the light, merge two shadows into one creature (8 min).
3. Groups of five prepare a one-minute story in a corner using three devices: change of scale, sudden appearance and merging bodies (8 min).
4. Each group performs with the rest of the class as the audience in front of the sheet (7 min).
5. Discussion: which shadow device told the story best and why (3 min).

Rules

• Nobody looks straight into the spotlight or touches it: it gets hot.
• The spotlight cable is taped to the floor and kept out of walkways.
• Only the performing group is behind the sheet; walk slowly in the dim light.
• Body merges use light, consented contact with no weight-bearing.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: their wheelchair silhouette becomes part of the story (a throne, a vehicle), or they operate the light.
• Visual impairment: performs behind the sheet with a description of the effect produced, and may take the narrator role.
• Autism or sensitivity to darkness: keep a dim light on in the room; may take the lighting technician role.

Learning goals

• Explore the body's expressive possibilities in shadow theater.
• Use scale and distance as storytelling tools.
• Create and perform a short wordless story as a group.

Equipment for a class of 25

• white sheet: 1
• spotlight: 1
• ropes: 2

Teacher tip

An LED spotlight is safer than a halogen one because it barely heats up. If there is no sheet, a roll of white paper attached to wall bars works.

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