Virtual Role-Playing

Abstract

I must confess that I am one of those people for whom role-playing is a scary thing. When I was a child, I always dreaded the “audience participation” part of the program when my parents took me to a magic show or one of the animal acts at Sea World. And yet, as a teacher, I have seen the amazing power of drama in the classroom to bring concepts and texts alive for students who, perhaps, have difficulty conjuring up images from a printed page. Because I saw their great power, I continued to use very simple process drama activities in my classroom, all the while making sure there was a space for the “shy kid” or two who was always present and who always reminded me of myself.