Tableau in Art Tableau (tab-BLO) is short for the French, tableau vivant (tab-BLO vi-VAHNT)
which means “living picture.” A tableau is a representation of a dramatic scene by a person or
group, posing silently without moving. In art, tableaus can be seen in the theater when a
stage picture shows silent, still, costumed actors in poses. In dance concerts, dancers remain
motionless for a moment to create a still picture in contrast to movement. In films or
community performances, a group of actors might imitate a famous painting, biblical or
historical scene.
In a tableau, participants make still images with their bodies to represent a scene. A tableau
can be used to quickly establish a scene that involves a large number of characters. Because
there is no movement, a tableau is easier to manage than a whole-group improvisation – yet
can easily lead into extended drama activities. It can be used to explore a particular moment in
a story or drama, or to replicate a photograph or artwork for deeper analysis.
Here is one version of the activity!
Secret Crowd Tableaus
Give each group a scene suggestion secretly and allow them a few minutes to develop their
tableau. Suggest that each group have a director, or take turns being a director who would help
make the tableau stronger. When each group is brought on stage to perform their tableau,
audience members must guess the situation.
Crowd tableau examples:
Funeral-goers mourn at the graveside of a loved one.
Paparazzi maneuver to get the best photo of a celebrity.
Film goers watch a bloody scene in a horror film.
Pupils look at a painting or illustration of a historical scene that shows a selection of different
characters. They bring it to life by representing the characters with their bodies.
Current Affairs/History: Small groups are given different newspaper reports of the same
incident (or differing accounts of an historical event) and asked to produce as accurate a
tableau as possible. This can be used to examine how events may be communicated differently
according to the observer’s point of view.
For a more light-hearted activity, groups can devise a tableau on a specific theme, such as epic
books or movies, famous locations or well-known historical events. The other students then try
and guess what the tableau represents.
Introducing Tableau to Students
The following is one way to introduce the drama strategy Tableau to students and increase the
likelihood that they will participate productively in frozen, silent, concentrated posing.
Whole Group Tableau
Begin by engaging all students simultaneously in agreeing to pretend to be in a situation in
which they will take responsibility for creating their roles.
1. With students seated at their desks or in chairs, describe a particular fictional
circumstance and setting (preferably a dramatic one) that they might find themselves in.
Example: Would you agree to pretend that the setting for our drama is the schoolyard
and while we are out there, we sight an alien spaceship?
2. Discuss with students the possible feelings and reactions of people having this
experience: If this really, truly was happening, think about how you would feel. Raise
your hand if you can give me one adjective to describe how you would feel.
3. Point out to students that the kind of thinking they are doing is precisely the kind of
thinking that actors have to do. They must imagine that they are in a particular pretend
situation and then figure out how their characters would likely react.
4. Then ask the students to agree to pretend that a photographer snaps a photo of them in
that circumstance: Would you now also agree to pretend that a photographer just
happened to be there and took a photo the moment you spotted that alien spaceship?
5. Explain how you will cue the students to strike and hold their poses: “I will say ‘Action -
2 - 3 - Freeze!’ You freeze in your pose and hold it until I say ‘Relax.’”(Note: Eventually,
you all will want to improve this first Tableau by allowing students to leave the confines
of their seats, but for now, do not give them permission to do so unless one of them
asks specifically.)
6. Once you feel that the students are ready, cue them with “Action - 2 - 3 - Freeze!”
7. View the Tableau and then call “Relax.”
Discuss the Whole Group Tableau
In that first draft of the Tableau, the students usually participate well, but they usually remain
seated. Compliment them for their cooperation. But, just like actors who rehearse and rehearse
their scenes, students need to work now on increasing the dramatic value of the Tableau:
1. Remind students what photographers may do to people in their photographs who do
not look too interesting—crop them out.
2. Then coach the students dramatically. Explain (and demonstrate) how they can create a
more interesting stage picture by...
1. ...putting more energy into their bodies and more expression in their faces.
2. ...incorporating levels—posing close to the floor, mid-level, or reaching higher.
3. ...interacting with one another to increase the dramatic effect of the Tableau.
3. Invite the students to incorporate your dramatic coaching points and re-create the
Tableau so that it is theatrically more powerful.
4. Share the following list of Tableau Excellence with students. (Reproduce it on a chart or
on a whiteboard or chalkboard.)
Tableau Excellence
Actors...
...remain still or frozen.
...remain silent.
...pose with energy.
...pose with expression.
...keep their concentration.
...pose at different levels.
...choose poses that communicate the tone and mood of the text.
Revise the Whole Group Tableau
1. Once you feel that the students are ready to revise the same Tableau, cue them with
“Action - 2 - 3 - Freeze!”
2. View the Tableau and then call “Relax.” (The second draft is always much stronger than
the first draft.)
Reflect on the Whole Group Tableau
Refer back to the chart on Tableau Excellence and ask students to reflect on the effectiveness of
their second Tableau. They can always recognize the big differences between the first one and
the second one that received theatrical coaching.
This introductory Tableau activity prepares students to use this drama strategy with significant
moments in the literature that they read and the historical episodes that they study. It provides
them with a foundation for using Tableau productively in small groups.
Whole Group Tableau Possibilities
People sighting an alien spaceship
Reporters and photographers who sight a big celebrity
Fans—both happy and angry—at a sporting event
Tourists looking at a famous site
People watching fireworks
