Woodcraft Folk SW region Training Weekend 2005

Soap Opera Discussion

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Activity Duration

45 mins for introduction & discussion, 15 mins to view the drama

Objectives of the activity

To discover how much soap was being watched

Materials required

Cards with characters & situations written on
Questions written out for each group

Activity

Began by identifying who watched soaps & which programmes were the most popular. Split into groups of 3 or 4 and gave each the same questions. We gave them 20 mins to discuss & report back. Questions eg
Why do you like your favourite soap?
What do you feel like if you miss an episode?
Are you addicted?
Why are soaps so popular?
Which soaps tackle subject matter most realistically?
Do you feel you are educated about social issues that are covered?

Finally, split into groups again & put together a short piece of drama using the cards, as above, playing the piece as their favourite soap character.Variations

Evaluation

I was amazed to discover how few of our group watched TV. I used the groups who did to explain their reasons to those who didn’t & vice versa. Useful night, showing how people got similar pleasures from reading!