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Description

Conformity Activity
Linked with our visit to see Coming to England theatre show.
A short movement based activity.

Resources

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Instructions

Ask scouts to find a space in the room and stand in it. They can stand neutrally - hands by their sides, knees soft, feet hip width apart. By encouraging them to stand neutrally, they are asked to conform to one (comfortable) way of standing. Once scouts are focussed, ask them to walk around the room at a moderate pace, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone else. They should aim to walk in their natural, usual way.

Ask a couple of scouts to step out of the activity and observe. Who is going quickly, and who is going slowly? What do they notice about arm swings,
length of stride, etc. Is everyone walking at the same pace?

Ask all scouts to freeze (at which point the observers can step back in). Their task is now to try and all walk in the same way at the same time, starting with the same foot. However, no-one should lead the group in doing so. They should observe and be aware of what other people are doing.

After a minute or two, freeze the group again, and this time, not only should they all walk uniformly, they have to come to a stop all at the same time. Again, no
one should lead the activity - it is all about responding to the dynamics in the room.
At this point, ask a few different scouts to come and observe what is happening.

When the group has managed to be as uniform as they can, ask them all to stop and sit down on the floor. Discuss how it felt to be trying to conform, when there were no clear ‘rules’ about what had to happen, how and when.

How did people try and communicate to get people to do what they wanted? Did people whisper? Did some people try and make hand gestures, or complain that people weren’t doing what they should? Is it possible to get this game ‘wrong’?

Finally, link this discussion with how Floella feels when she is in England. Nothing she is doing in England is considered ‘wrong’ in Trinidad but when she gets to England, people tell her she is doing things the wrong way. In order to survive, she has to try and fit in, and lose any element of her previous identity and self-expression. Not knowing the new ‘rules’ made life particularly difficult.

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