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Picture the scene. You’ve entered the room, looking forward to a full day of workshops but mid-way through you think, ‘I must remember to get that’ or ‘If only I had this, my workshops would be so much easier!’
Here at Moving Waves, we do a variety of workshops, ranging from care homes and schools through to community outreach. Oh yes, I can hear you say – that means carrying a heavy bag of items! The good news is that I’ve whittled down my must-have list to just five, affordable, easy-to-carry resources.
None of these items will break the bank or your shoulders! The links below show a range of budgets covering all my recommended items. These are all ad affiliated, which means that if you purchase any of the items using these links, a percentage of the sales revenue goes to Moving Waves to help fund our amazing, community projects and facilitators. Win-win!
If a picture paints a thousand words, music has the ability to create an atmosphere! Music allows you to dance together, play games like Musical Statues and Spot the Rhythm or just simply create a sense of drama mid-exercise. Speaking as one facilitator to another, a good-quality Bluetooth speaker is essential. Here’s a list of important points that you should factor into the purchasing decision.
There’s no quicker way to make a workshop go south then the technology not working or worse, dying mid-workshop! It’s true that as professional facilitators, we’re trained to be able to change our plan on the fly. But who wants to do that for something as basic as a battery failing? My motto is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. To avoid the class grinding to a halt, your speaker needs a good battery life.
We facilitators are always on the go, usually travelling to and from workshops via public transport. As a result, we need to travel light without compromising on quality. For this reason, I like to have a speaker which is the size of a hardback book and easily transportable. Of course, it’s a fine balancing act. You don’t want a speaker so small that it might get stepped on or become a trip hazard. At the same time, it needs to be robust enough to take a bit of rough-and-tumble.
And now, we come to the most important aspect, the sound. The sound needs to be able to travel in the space and clarity is super important. As freelancers, we can be in a small classroom one day and in a huge rehearsal room the next. Your speaker needs to be flexible.
One affordable option is the Anker Soundcore speaker . This has been a reliable option for me in the past. Alternatively, if you want your music in your pocket, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 speaker is small but mighty.
And finally, the speaker to rival all speakers. Powerful, surround sound and easy to use, the Bose SoundLink Revolve Series II speaker is stylish with great sound and easy to carry. This is my own current, preferred choice.
If you’re like me, your phone’s battery has died as a result of playing all of Disney’s Encanto for the fifteenth time this week! Here is where a good power bank is essential to make sure you can keep your devices operating from workshop to workshop. Many of the same attributes required when looking for a Bluetooth speaker come into play here. Here’s my kist of what you need to look out for when identifying the perfect power bank.
I like using my phone for time keeping, to keep music playing or to record feedback. This is exactly why I like my power banks to be the same size as my phone to allow both to fit neatly in my pocket
I recommend at least two charges. Just knowing you have this back-up is reassuring and it allows you to concentrate on the workshop and forget the rest.
Powerful with the ability to charge three separate devices at once, the INIU Power Bank is not only slim but also makes sure to keep your devices alive. Hurrah!
If you want a cheaper but still powerful portable charger that fits in the palm of your hand, the Miady 5000mAh Ultra Slim Portable Charger Power bank is perfect.
Maybe you want your power bank to never leave your phone’s side, literally. If so, the AOGUERBE Magnetic Wireless Power Bank will make sure your phone is always close to extra juice. Do be aware through, this power bank is designed only for the iPhone 12 and 13.
Do you need to get your group ready for a performance? Do you want to set participants a challenge? Do you need to suddenly change the space? Fret not – coloured tape is the answer!
Think about teaching participants about stage management, using colours to show different locations in the script or to simply to get your group to understand what effort it takes to go from devising and rehearsal through to the final performance. In all these scenarios, coloured tape is your best friend.
Another possible way to get young people excited about performance is to allow them to take the lead and mark the space themselves. It’s not only a great way to foster teamwork as many of the participants will work together to tape the room but it also encourages ownership in the performance from the outset.
A word of caution - remember to a get tape that does not mark floors! Don’t forget you can always ask participants to help you with the clean up!
A ball is another simple item, which can change the room in an instant. A ball has so many possibilities. It can be used to inspire improv games such as ‘This is a not a ball - this is a …’, where participants can try to create as many objects, which are inspired by the ball and act it out for the rest of the group.
Alternatively, you can pass a ball around to recall everyone’s name based on following the path that the ball makes within the room. It can also be used in a focus game where everyone has to work together to try to pass the ball around the room without dropping it. How many throws can we do? Can we do it in silence? Can we move around the room and throw the ball?
A ball can also be used to bring energy into the room with ‘Hot Potato’, a game where you imagine that you’re holding a hot potato and trying to receive and pass it without being knocked out. Participants can also use the ball to play and let off steam before you start your session.
Of course, before you bring a ball into the space, it’s important to establish safety rules. I will include a few options below in terms of size so you can think about which one will best benefit your own facilitation.
These soft foam balls fit in the palm of your hand are great for focus games. This larger football is not only very cute but is soft and perfect in the facilitation room.
Similar to the ball concept, I think that ribbons or scarfs have a naturally beautiful quality to them and when used can bring so much colour and inspiration in the space. Colour especially can be a useful tool. You can ask each participant to pick a colour that reflects how they may be feeling today (or just their favourite colour) and act out a movement that best descries them, their name or whatever the question may be.
Do you have some budding chorographers in the room? Let them come alive and use the ribbons as devising prompts and have participants teach each other some moves. Want to get some creative ideas or just want to do some physical theatre? Handout some ribbons and put on a music with specific moods (happy, sad, anxious)and see what happens.
I especially love ribbons as they can be used for all ages. Those with limited mobility can engage with the colours, wear the item as a scarf, headband or simply use ribbons to wave.
And there you have it! Five simple items you will find yourself using in sessions again and again. All are affordable and all are easy to transport. If you’re looking for further ways to develop your own practice or want to know more about what Moving Waves does, don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to connect with you. We work with everyone from nursery to schools to care homes!
Moving Waves offers an amazing range of After-School Clubs with everything from arts and crafts, ballet, yoga and storytelling through to musical theatre, physical theatre, acting, self-expression, languages, dance and more. Learn about our After-School Clubs and the work we do with people of all ages:
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