Where the actors do the acting, so you don't have to
All the benefits of using role-play, without anyone other than our actors having to role-play. Used in a group training setting, we use scenarios as a springboard for tackling the issues you wish to deal with, but with our actors doing the acting.
Let's explain what this is like:
James works for a bank. He’s at the theatre one night and is watching a play about a character who has a similar job to his. The character is having a meeting with a member of his staff. It’s not going well. James starts to recognise himself in the character. He thinks, ‘I know this scenario. This has happened to me. I wonder how the character is going to cope with this. The director appears on stage and encourages the audience to question the characters to find out why they are behaving the way they are. After discovering the issues behind their behaviour, the director helps the audience to provide suggestions for the characters as to what they could do to improve the situation. The characters take on the suggestions and replay the scene. This time the situation improves and works out much more effectively. James thinks, ‘I could do what that character did, next time I come across this situation’.
Imagine that we could use this technique as part of training. We can and we do. We start from the point of view of the scene showing ‘how not to do it’. With the aid of facilitation, questioning of the characters (known as hot-seating) and the encouragement of suggestions from the audience, the scenes can be used as a forum for discussion on how to improve any given situation.
Through discovering the underlying issues inherent within the scenarios, people have the opportunity to learn how to improve their own communication skills. And all achieved without the need for any one to get up and role-play themselves.