By Susan G. Todd, Assistant Instructor, DRW
Feminist Pedagogy Group

Goals: Students will be able to explore the theory of “gender as performance” using gender signifiers and stereotypes in improvisation. The activity becomes a valuable reference point for further discussion of assumptions about gender and gender issues in Shakespeare and other literature in the classroom.

Ss stand in a circle. Ask one student to make a movement and a sound that would signify masculinity.

The student next to her/him repeats the movement and sound, exaggerating it a little.
The student next in the circle repeats the same movement, exaggerating a little more.
And so on. By the time the movement and sound get around the circle it is greatly exaggerated.

Automatically, the student who was formerly # 2 in the circle initiates a different movement and sound and the process is repeated. It is also useful sometimes to reach a pinnacle and then go around the circle in a process of de-emphasis. The sound and movement diminish into nothing.

The same process can be used to explore signifiers and stereotypes of femininity. Teachers must tread with caution when applying this exercise to signifiers and stereotypes of class, race, body type, etc.; those issues are more personal and sensitive and require a mature and trusting environment.

DEBRIEFING:

After improvisation, students should relax and sit in the circle. Open an informal discussion by asking students what they saw, heard, or felt during the exercise. Normally, they will have plenty to say, but with a quiet group, be prepared with open-ended questions: What was the most fun? What was the most awkward? How close did that come to the way real people act? What is gender? What’s the difference between gender and sex? How could this kind of exercise be useful in the performance of Shakespeare’s characters? Withhold your own opinions/knowledge and let students air and develop their ideas.

Related Materials/Resources: Space or room large enough for students to stand in a circle and move around. No materials are needed, but hats, scarves, fake nose/mustache, aprons, and other gender-signifying accessories could be added.

Reflections: This type of circle improvisation is used frequently in theater for the purpose of creating energy on stage. Professor Joni Jones uses it in her Performing Black Feminisms course as a tool for plumbing the depths of sexism, racism, and classism.