AI is a highly-discussed topic these days, and lately, I’ve been contemplating its potential in the world of theatre creation and drama education. This post concentrates on AI’s possibilities as a tool for drama teachers and serves as the first of many upcoming AI-related posts that I’ll write.
I’ve come up with my top ten uses for AI in the drama classroom. I’m confident that the list will expand over time. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please share them in the comments section. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
It’s worth emphasising the importance of crafting precise and focused “input prompts” when requesting content from the AI. The accuracy and conciseness of your prompt, as well as the use of appropriate keywords, can significantly impact the quality of the generated material. Taking the time to create a thoughtful and well-crafted prompt can help ensure that the output meets your expectations and needs.
1. Improvisation
AI platforms such as ChatGPT excel at generating creative ideas, which makes them an invaluable resource for coming up with improvisation prompts. By simply searching for relevant keywords, such as “improvisation prompts for two friends at school”, a plethora of scene ideas can be generated. This presents a highly efficient method for educators to create more engaging prompts for their students and can help to spark students’ creativity and imagination further.
2. Monologue and Duologue Writing
Remarkably, AI platforms are becoming increasingly proficient at crafting dramatic work. The quality of the input prompt is crucial in achieving satisfying results. For instance, to generate a scene for two actors, it’s important to specify who the characters are, where they are, and what they are doing. For example, by typing in “write a duologue for a teenage boy and girl who are arguing at the cinema”, I was able to generate a concise but engaging scene. This tool can be incredibly valuable for providing tailored scenarios for students to act out. While these scenes can certainly be adapted as needed, they offer an excellent starting point for teachers and students.
3. Developing Attitude and Characteristic Lists as Scaffolds
When working with stock characters, such as those found in Melodrama, Commedia, and Soap Opera, some students may struggle to consistently portray their characters in an authentic manner. One way to assist them is by utilising AI to generate a list of traits and characteristics that can be printed onto small cards for use during rehearsals. For instance, by searching for “Zanni list of attitudes and characteristics” using the keyword, “list”, you can quickly generate descriptors such as mischievous, lively, subservient, and greedy. This approach can be an effective tool for helping students to better understand their characters and develop more nuanced performances.
4. Summarising Texts
Using AI to simplify complex material can be an excellent strategy for providing differentiated instruction. Whether you are working with a lengthy play summary or attempting to streamline a definition of a drama term, platforms such as ChatGPT are highly effective at generating simplified versions of the text. Just type in “simplify this [paste your summary]” and a new, more accessible version will be generated. While it’s important to double-check the accuracy of the simplified text, this approach can be incredibly useful in creating multiple versions of the same material to meet the diverse needs of your students.
5. Transitive Verbs for Actioning
AI can serve as an invaluable tool for generating a variety of options for transitive verbs to use in rehearsal. For instance, if you have selected the verb “attack” for a student, but wish to explore alternative options, a quick search for “transitive verbs similar to attack” can yield numerous results, such as confront, assault, strike, and ambush. This approach can be incredibly helpful when directing a scene, duologue, or monologue, as well as for preparing lesson plans that require the use of actionable verbs.
6. Creating Tongue Twisters
AI can be an excellent resource for generating new and creative tongue twisters. To begin, consider your focus point, such as the letter T, and type in a search for “tongue twisters beginning with T”. This will yield a variety of fun and challenging options, such as “The turtle took ten tiny tomatoes to the top of the tall tree”. Incorporating tongue twisters into classroom activities can be a great way to improve students’ diction and pronunciation skills, while also providing a fun and engaging challenge. With the help of AI, teachers can easily generate an endless supply of new and exciting tongue twisters to keep their students on their toes.
7. Idea Generation for Devised Work
AI platforms like ChatGPT can be an invaluable resource for generating ideas and suggestions when devising theatre. For instance, if you have a general topic in mind, such as “social media addiction”, you can ask the platform for “devising theatre prompts for social media addiction”, and it will provide you with a list of intriguing ideas. Additionally, you can combine concepts to come up with unique and innovative ideas, such as “Shakespearean characters living in the modern day”. This search generated ideas like “Hamlet in Therapy” or “Juliet on a Dating App.” By leveraging AI, theatre practitioners and educators can unlock an abundance of possibilities.
8. Design
AI has tremendous potential to revolutionise the world of design by generating fresh and innovative ideas for set design, costume design, and props. One such tool is Midjourney, a software that utilises a vast database of images to generate new ones based on specific prompts. As Michael Schweikardt explains in this excellent article, the possibilities are endless. With AI, designers can access a wealth of inspiration and create visually stunning and thought-provoking designs that push the boundaries of what’s possible.
9. Dramatic Structures
One effective method for guiding students in structuring their scenes or stories is through the use of a Freytag plot. You can easily generate a scaffold for this by using ChatGPT and typing in a prompt like “generate a Freytag story structure scaffold” – the keyword “scaffold” is particularly useful. The AI will then provide a step-by-step outline that can help students map out the rising action, climax, and resolution of their story.
10. Grouping Students
One efficient way to quickly randomise student groups or pairs is by creating a list of their first names and using an AI platform to generate the groups. Simply type in a prompt such as randomise students into groups of 5 or pairs and include the list of names. This can save time, although it’s important to keep in mind the need for differentiation and accommodations for specific student needs by manually “tweaking” the groups after this.
I hope you have found this list helpful and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. Please let me know if you have tried any of these techniques and if they have sparked any further discoveries.
