Synonymous with silly, puppets can be used to try a funny accent or tell a joke without a child feeling pressured to be the center of attention. Children feel free to be themselves while their puppet works its rambunctious magic on their audience. Hand puppets are inexpensive and easy to use, yet marionettes, shadow puppets or bunraku puppets work as well. Putting on a puppet show encourages children to work together to produce a play.
Masks allow children to combine elements of physical theatre and puppetry. Generally a performer cannot speak when wearing a full mask so he or she is free to become another person, animal, hero or heroine, or object within the safety of the mask. Making masks and then wearing them in various exercises is a brilliant activity for kids.
Improvisational comedy games and scripted scenes are all part of role playing. Children learn through improv games how to abandon fear for action, trust their instincts, and work as a team to tell a story. Scene work helps establish relationships and can aid in conflict resolution. Role play allows children to gradually gain confidence in their own abilities to create a character or story within themselves.
Elements of physical theatre include clowning, pantomime, and dance theatre. It is a highly inclusive art form crossing elements of music, dance, visual art, and acting. Puppetry and mask work are included in this technique, but differ in the fact that they are tools that still provide the performer to portray another character. Clowning and pantomime encourage the act of finding a story within yourself and then telling that story using non-verbal means.
Practicing a monologue can be a tool for preparation in English, speech and literature classes. Creative-writing teachers might find it useful to have their class write their own monologues based on a certain topic or subject and then perform them for the class. By mastering the art of monologue delivery, students will become more confident as public speakers and perhaps even poets or lyricists.
Drama therapy is currently in use around the globe in a number of hospital pediatric wings, behavioral health institutes, and classrooms for children with special needs. Children dealing with autism, Asperger's syndrome, emotional and sexual abuse, and trauma can see drastic improvement due to this innovative approach to positive self-exploration. Drama therapy utilizes the aforementioned techniques of theatre to provide healthy emotional and physical releases after periods of in-depth self-exploration and awareness practice.