Social Presencing Theatre

Introduce students to Social Presencing Theatre (SPT) and 4D Mapping methods, using the handout with background information for teachers.

You can choose to bring a predefined case yourself or ask students to prepare and propose cases in advance. Alternatively, you might devote one session to defining cases together with the group and use a second session for the actual 4D Mapping process. For inspiration, see the case examples provided.

Conclude the introduction with a brief somatic warm-up to help students become present in their bodies. For example, a short moment of silence, slow movement or noticing posture and breath.

Present the case that will be explored through 4D Mapping. If students have prepared the case themselves, invite them to give a short introduction. If you’ve brought the case, provide sufficient context and clearly describe the roles that will be used.

Remind students that when stepping into the space, they do not represent what a role should be or should become. Instead, they enter with an open mind and open body, embodying the role as it is — as they intuitively sense it. They express the quality of the role through a physical shape, not a performance.

Call out the name of each role and hold up the matching card. Invite students to volunteer one by one, asking them not to pick a role that reflects their own daily position. Once chosen, each student attaches the card visibly to their shirt.

The players step into the space and choose a position based on their felt sense of the role, in relation to the centre, the edge and the other roles. Emphasise that this is not a performance, but an embodied exploration through posture, position and presence.

Encourage students to reflect on questions such as:

• “Am I bigger, smaller, in the centre or on the side?”
• “Do I feel powerful, weak or vulnerable?”

Once the player has found a shape, they speak one sentence from that shape, using the first person. For example:

• “I am the CEO, and I feel pressure from the board.”
• “I am an employee, and I feel invisible.”

Repeat this for all roles.

After everyone has entered, invite anyone who wishes to adjust their shape, level or position to better represent the current reality of the system. This becomes Sculpture 1.

Signal clearly that the group is now viewing Sculpture 1.

Optionally, allow a final sentence or movement before moving on.

Remind those seated around the space that their role as space-holders is vital: they offer focused, non-judgmental attention.

Close Sculpture 1 with a short pause. Then, invite the players to transition into movement. Encourage students to begin by simply standing still, letting go of any fixed idea about what should happen next.

From there, they slowly begin to move. This movement unfolds gradually and intuitively, until the group arrives in a new, collective shape: Sculpture 2.

This phase usually takes 5–10 minutes. Allow the process to unfold without rushing.

Once the sculpture has come to a natural stop:

• Each player says the name of their role and one sentence that reflects their experience of this new configuration;
• The note-taker records what is said;
• You may also invite space-holders in the circle to offer one sentence, if they feel moved to speak.

Let students know that Sculpture 2 is not about figuring out the next shape, but about sensing into it. The movement should come from the inside, not from a mental plan. Encourage them to follow a felt impulse rather than asking themselves, “Where should I go?” or “What would make the most sense?”

Guide a group reflection on the experience of moving from Sculpture 1 to Sculpture 2 using reflective questions. If the group is large, consider splitting it into smaller sub-groups for this dialogue.

Clarify that this is not a discussion or evaluation, but a space for collective reflection, focused on sensing, noticing and naming what happened.

Before closing the session, invite everyone to step out of their role consciously. You can do this by asking students to hand in their name tag or by physically “shaking off” the role with a light movement. This helps release the embodied role and restore a neutral sense of self.

Either choose to join the conversations yourself or ask students to report key outcomes. You can also take a moment to share your observations:

• Did the players engage with their role using their bodies, or did it feel more like a performance?
• What worked well in the exercise? What felt difficult or uncomfortable?
• How did students experience stepping into a role?
• How was it for others to observe the process from the outside?

These questions invite a meta-level reflection on the learning experience and can deepen students’ understanding of embodiment, presence and systems sensing.

Assessment as learning aims to strengthen the learning process and the development of metacognitive skills. It empowers students to direct their own learning and to become independent, critical self-assessors.

Self-assessment and peer assessment

Self-regulated learning

Group reflection and individual reflective assignment