Court Trial (16+)

English Improvised Role Play «Court Trial» based on real criminal case tried in U.S. - «Patty Hearst Kidnapping by SLA»

How is the play going?

The actions of each participant are a complete improvisation, which should correspond only to the facts that the participant learned about his character from the description of the case tried by the U.S. court.

A special responsibility lies with the judge, who must familiarize himself with the rules of the trial. A judge is responsible for setting up an improvised trial as close as possible to an authentic trial in a U.S. court: he opens the trial, gives the word to the other participants, asks questions, monitors the court’s order, proceeds to the next stages of the trial, and ends the trial with the judgment.

Who can participate?

From 12 to 20 people can take part in this Role Play. The number of viewers is not limited.

Usual roles are:

• Judge;
• Court clerk;
• Jurors;
• Defendant;
• Claimant (plaintiff);
• The lawyer of the plaintiff;
• Defender (Advocate);
• The prosecutor;
• Witnesses of accusition;
• Witnesses of defense;
• Additional roles could be presented depending on the number of participants.

Participation in the game requires your English level to be not lower than pre-intermediate. To become a participant contact the organizers in Telegram at one of these numbers: +375 (29) 611-88-25 Anastasia +375 (29) 344-32-99 Anna.

How to prepare for the play?

Participation in this type of activity does not require long preparation (except for the role of a judge, of course). Those who want to take part in the game are united in a specially created group in Telegram, where they:

• declare the chosen role;
• familiarize themselves with information on the case (the group contains a link to the official website of FBI);
• communicate with owners of related roles regarding the model of behavior they plan (for example, the defendant and his lawyer; two witnesses of defense, etc.).

What will you gain from the participation?

During the play you will learn:

• to negotiate correctly;
• convincingly present yourself;
• to defend your point of view;
• to give strong arguments;
• to provide justifications;
• to listen to others;
• and of course to improvise.

You will also get to know new English legal vocabulary, will have a chance to communicate with participants from other countries and, in case of responsible preparation for the judge’s role, will get acquainted with the court procedure in the U.S. judicial system.