Common Room · Printable version

Empty Chair

The empty chair creates presence through absence — students feel the weight of who is not in the room.

Instructions

Place an empty chair in the center of the circle. Tell students who is sitting in it — a historical figure, a character from a text, someone affected by the issue you are studying. Students take turns addressing the chair directly — a question, a statement, an accusation, an apology. No one plays the character. The chair stays empty.