Kids posed as a family of opera singers

FAMILY PORTRAIT

CURTAINS UP ACTING STUDIO

 
 

FAMILY PORTRAIT: A DRAMA GAME for KIDS
Portraying Characters in Frozen Poses

 

Working in small groups, students create frozen pictures depicting different types of families suggested by the game leader.

 
 

Watch a Demonstration of
the Family Portrait Drama Game:

 
Download printable instructions

Step-by-Step Instructions

  • First, ask the students for a show of hands as to how many of them have had their picture taken by a photographer, either as a family or school class photo.  Remind them that the photographer always wants them to form a close group, and sometimes uses levels to make the picture interesting.  

  • Next, call for a group of five to eight volunteers to pose for a family portrait, and place a chair or block in the center of the stage for them to use.  Tell them you are going to call out a particular type of family, and they have a count of five to get into place and freeze in a pose that reflects who they are in that family.  For example, you might say, “I want to see a family of astronauts,” or “I want to see a family of weightlifters.”  

  • Explain to them: “When you pose, try to be connected to another person in an interesting way.  You can stand, kneel, or sit—but you should always be in a different position than the person next to you. For example, if I call for a family of superheroes, I don't want to see all of you standing with one fist in the air.  Find different ways to show you are a superhero.”  

  • Once they understand these instructions, call for a specific type of family and count, “One, two, three, four, five, freeze!” as they move into position. 

  • If you have a large class, consider dividing them into two teams to “compete” against each other, by calling them Team A and Team B.  Alternate the teams, with one team creating a portrait while the other team watches, and vice versa.  

    Fun categories to call out for the families

Farmers
Opera Singers
Circus Performers
Firefighters
Weightlifters
International Spies
Celebrities on the Red Carpet
Olympic Athletes
Family from the Retirement Home
Family of Preschoolers
Superheroes
Cowboys
The Social Media Family
Runway models
Soldiers
Ice Skaters
Rock Stars
Carpenters
Surfers
Surgeons
Dancers
Snowball fighters

MORE DRAMA GAMES AND THEATER ACTIVITIES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
HOTEL DESK - Actors adopt strong specific characters and interact with a hotel desk clerk
SLEEPY COWBOY - Actors create a character based on a single adjective and a randomly assigned vocation
CHARACTER PAINTING - Three character qualities are “painted” on an actor who then demonstrates them

 
Browse Theater Games Encyclopedia
Curtains Up Creative Dramatics curriculum
 

© 2023, Friends of the Groom Theater Company

 
 

Curtains Up Curriculum by Friends of the Groom Theater Co. is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Curtains Up is a training program designed for young actors sponsored by Friends of the Groom Theater Company. It is available to the general public for free under the terms of the Creative Commons License above.