Activity 3: WCUU - Good Connections
Part of Riddle and Mystery
Activity time: 20 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Microphone(s), video camera(s) and tripod(s), real or simulated
- For studio set
- Backdrop made in Session 1
- Painter's tape or masking tape
- Leader Resource 3, WCUU Script - Good Connections
- Paper for On-Air People's name cards, markers and string or tape
- Timepiece (minutes)
- A copy of the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources (Session 1, Leader Resource 1, or a poster in your meeting space)
- Optional: Music player for theme song (see Session 1)
- Optional: Studio lights (flashlights will do)
Preparation for Activity
- Retrieve real or simulated television studio equipment, backdrop made in Session 1 and other WCUU materials.
- If necessary, arrange furniture, set up and test equipment and post backdrop. If you plan to record WCUU:
- Make sure electrical outlets are nearby if you will need them.
- Pay attention to lighting. Do not set On-Air People in front of a sunlit window.
- If you are using on-camera microphones, direct On-Air People to speak toward the camera. Invite the Director or Floor Director to use the phrase "Quiet on the Set... Rolling... " followed by a silent countdown from five, using the fingers of one hand, ending with pointing to the On-Air Person to cue them to begin speaking.
- Copy Leader Resource 3 for everyone who will need a script for the broadcast. This script has eight On-Air people: an Anchor, a NUUs Analyst, a UU Guru, and five actors to play UUs at different stages of life. The On-Air people will all need scripts. Studio Crew can include a director, a floor director, a camera operator, a sound engineer, a lighting director, a script supervisor, and production assistants.
- Make name cards for Lost Soul, Little Kid, Sixth Grade Kid, Teen Kid, and Adult or set our supplies for the youth to make their own.
Description of Activity
Participants present a televised WCUU segment involving eight On-Air People-Anchor, a NUUs Analyst, Lost Soul, Little Kid, Sixth Grade Kid, Teen Kid, Adult, and UU Guru. The Studio Crew might include a director, a floor director, a camera operator, a sound engineer, a lighting director, a script supervisor, and production assistants.
Assign roles, using volunteers for On-Air People and Studio Crew. You might invite the Kid for the Day to be the Anchor or the NUUs Analyst. If you do not have enough youth for all the On-Air people, ask some youth to play more than one part.
Give participants who will follow the script a moment to look it over. Review the script with the youth if any may have limited reading skills.
Tell the group when the show should end to keep the session on schedule; assign a Studio Crew member (director or floor director) to watch the time.
Begin the broadcast.
After the broadcast, ask participants how it went. Ask them to summarize how typical UUs respond to today’s Big Question: How am I connected to everything else? Do they think non-UU viewers would understand Unitarian Universalism better after seeing the broadcast? Did the broadcast give your participants any new ideas about their connection to everything else? Point out that in a positive sense, every UU is like the character Lost Soul; UUs typically seek truth and answers by visiting a number of different Sources.
Including All Participants
Arrange your WCUU activity with respect for any participant limitations. If some youth have limited reading skills, review the script in advance of its use, with them or perhaps the whole group. If some youth must remain seated during the broadcast, consider having all remain seated.