Sound It Out

Radio Drama

Creating Soundscapes What is the sound? What could you use?

Create a short scene to portray a specific eg person walking eg shoes on a table

environment. There’s a catch – you only use
sound.

What do you need?

 access to a large clear space
 a pen and paper
 your drama journal.

Let’s create
1. Where does your scene take place?

3. Who are the characters in your space (if

any)? And what do they say to each other?

4. What is happening in your space? Is there

a story? Rising tension? A conflict?

2. What sounds might you hear in this place?

What could you use to create these
sounds? You could use your voice, body or
even objects from around the classroom.

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Sound It Out
Radio Drama

5. How does your story begin? How does it 7. Present your soundscape to the class.
end?
 Close your eyes when listening to your
classmates’ soundscapes.
 Can you guess what the other
environments are?

What have you learned?

 How can sound be used to enhance a
performance?
6. Create a 1–2 minute soundscape in the
 Did you find it easier to create drama with
setting you have been given. It may be
the body or the voice? Why?
useful to write a running order or script for
your soundscape.  Which soundscape did you enjoy listening
to most? Why?
Remember  Which group’s soundscape was particularly
powerful? Why did it work so well?
When putting your soundscape together, think  How could you improve your own work?
about the following:
Let’s reflect
 What background sounds can be heard?
 What sounds can be heard in the Write a reflection based on these discussions
foreground? in your drama journal.
 How long should each sound last?
 Are there silences between the sounds?
 Is there an abrupt sound that stops the
background noise?
 How will you build dramatic tension in your
piece?

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© The Song Room 2013. Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non Commercial Share-
Alike 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/