Working in Role

1. Drawing / designing / writing / enquiring / researching in role

In these activities people carry out tasks ‘as if’ they were someone else. When working in this way they are required to imagine and respond authentically to situations and tasks, from within the role.

2. Mantle of the Expert

In this strategy (which some now consider to be a curriculum ‘approach’) participants in the drama are ‘given’ roles which carry assumed expertise and responsibilities. Although even young children will know that this expertise is imagined and not real, the tasks set from within the mantle (often commissioned by an external client) can empower, raise self-esteem and performance, improve motivation and elevate both focus and seriousness of purpose.

Mantle of the Expert (MoE) roles in these drama units could include for example, trusted advisors to the King, expert rat-catchers, officials from the Ministry of Food, advertising copywriters and top poster designers.