Thoughts Have Feelings Too

Venue: Double Teaching Space, Drama Classroom, Studio, Theatre, Hall

Thoughts Have Feelings Too is a playful and heartwarming 45-minute performance designed to help students recognise, understand, and positively manage their emotions. Through clowning, physical storytelling, and light-hearted humour, students meet Sweet ‘Clown’ and the absent-minded ‘Professor’, who explore happiness, sadness, anger, and fear — showing that thoughts and feelings are connected, regular, and manageable.

Developed with input from educators and child health specialists, this performance supports Health, Arts, and General Capabilities curriculum outcomes by promoting emotional literacy, resilience, empathy, and positive self-talk in a relatable, engaging way. Students are invited into the world of two endearing clowns: Sweet ‘Clown’ and the absent-minded ‘Professor’. Through a series of playful and poignant scenes, they explore:

• Happiness
• Sadness
• Anger
• Fear

Each emotional theme is gently unpacked with physical comedy, storytelling, and simple strategies for emotional regulation. Students discover that recognising, accepting, and responding positively to feelings is a powerful tool for wellbeing.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

THEMES & CONTEXTS:

Emotional Literacy:

• Naming, recognising, and understanding emotions.
• Mindfulness and Self-Talk: Promoting positive thoughts and emotional regulation.

Resilience:

• Developing strategies to manage strong feelings safely.
• Creativity and Imagination: Using performance and storytelling to explore emotions.

Confidence and Self-Esteem:

• Building personal strength through empathy and reflection.

THE ARTS – DRAMA (P–6):

Prep – Year 2

• ACADRM027: Explore the role and dramatic action through dramatic play, storytelling, and improvisation.
• ACADRM028: Use voice, facial expression, movement, and space to imagine and establish characters and situations.

Years 3–6

• ACADRM033: Develop expressive skills to communicate feelings, ideas, and stories.
• ACADRM035: Collaborate to plan, shape, and perform dramatic action focusing on character, mood, and situation.
• ACADRR034: Respond to drama experiences and reflect on personal feelings and audience responses.

HPE (P-6):

HPE [Prep – Year 2]:

• • ACPPS001: Identify personal strengths and achievements.
  • ACPPS003: Recognise and describe emotions and their influence on self and others.
  • ACPPS005: Practise personal and social skills to interact positively with others.

HPE [Years 3 – 6]:

• • ACPPS035: Examine how emotional responses vary and develop strategies for managing emotions.
  • ACPPS037: Recognise the benefits of emotional regulation, positive self-talk, and mindfulness for wellbeing.
  • ACPPS038: Practise strategies to promote health, safety, and wellbeing in personal and social situations.

GENERAL CAPABILITIES (P–6):

Critical and Creative Thinking

• Express ideas, concepts, and feelings creatively.
• Consider motivations, intentions, and emotional influences.
• Develop imaginative and empathetic responses to emotional challenges.

Ethical Understanding

• Apply reasoning, empathy, and imagination to understand others’ feelings.
• Make considered judgments about actions and motivations.

Personal and Social Capability

• Build initiative, confidence, and resilience.
• Develop empathy, adaptability, and effective emotional regulation.

EARLY YEARS LEARNING FRAMEWORK (Kindergarten–Prep):

Outcome 1: 

Children develop a strong sense of identity and emotional self-awareness.

Outcome 2: 

Children connect with and contribute to their world through empathetic and respectful interaction.

Outcome 3: 

Children have a strong sense of wellbeing through emotional regulation and resilience.

Outcome 4: 

Children are confident and involved learners, exploring and expressing emotions creatively.

Outcome 5:

Children communicate effectively through verbal and non-verbal modes, expressing feelings clearly.

Devised by: Ben Cornfoot, Tony Kishawi and Brin Pritchard in collaboration with Mental Health specialists.
Directed by: Tony Kishawi.