Pointless Internet Ranting

On the advice of one of the teachers I worked with during my dissertation project, I was in the process of ordering Pat Kane's The Play Ethic from everyone's favourite online book emporium: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0333907361/ref=cm_rdp_product

Idly scanning through the book's page, unwilling to return to my studies (Today I'm addressing the role teacher have in the play that occurs in the drama classroom - basically intercutting my two teacher interviews in a clash of the titans sort of way - woohoo) I came across a review that made my blood boil. In a few short paragraphs it managed to embody every misconception about play, about what those in our society should be most usefully striving for (and, through implication, what schools should be teaching) that I'm fighting against in my dissertation and - beyond that - what I just feel in my heart is wrong. The 'liberal' attitude of dealing with the world as we find it, never questioning, never striving to change alongside striving to exist and thrive. In case you were wondering, he gave it two stars:

The main problem is the author has obviously spent no time at all in the real world. He advocates that by (re)discovering the 'playful' side of our personalities we can somehow transform our working environment, to being something that its not - eg no longer work.

Yeah, well, that's fine if you're in a creative job, like being a musician, or working in an advertising agency. But try applying it to being a nurse, teacher, claims handler, farmer, data inputter or any of the million other mundane jobs people struggle through to pay their dues in our screwed up economy.

The notion falls flat straight away, because, actually, in the real world there are profits to be made and targets to be reached. People also desire power, and ruthlessly compete with each other for wealth and status.

I'm trying not to be a boring old cynic. People read books like this and genuinely get inspired to live more meaningful lives. Good for them. But, at the end of the day, its completely stupid to think ideas like this can change the world. To do that requires a lot of effort, persistance and... no pun intended - Work.

This enraged me so much, particularly the sweeping assertion that teaching is not a playful profession, that I immediately posted a fruitlessly raging reply:

Ms. J. Kitchen says:

Realising this reviewer would be unlikely to grant me the satisfaction of a) reading the comments on a idly posted review b) take the time to reply and engage in a dialogue with me I felt compelled to share on here, if only to give my rage and my challenging of this viewpoint the platform I (perhaps arrogantly) feel it so richly needs.

I hope after all this The Play Ethic is worth reading!

: 03 Aug 2009 12:02 |  Tags: Amazon Dissertation Ethic Kane Pat Play The |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My Dissertation, oh yes

So, what have I been doing with myself for the last 6 months? Working myself to the bone so I could funnel the swirling mess of my brain into this:

Introduction

Working from the principles that development is an essentially playful and social process, through which knowledge is negotiated rather than prescribed, I will be conducting a case study of two separate key stage four classes, focusing on the imaginative, collaborative and transgressive elements of the students’ in-class play. I will be making a detailed observation of these elements of play in the classroom, and through delivering three workshops on the Timberlake Wertenbake play Our Country’s Good will be exploring the potential of play in key stage four childrens’ drama work to act as a collaborative, socially engaged learning medium.

The work of Vygotsky, with his sociolinguistic theory of development based on zones of proximal development (Cole et al, 1978: 86) and the centrality of play (1978: 102) has, along with other constructivist theorists of development, been a huge influence on how we understand learning and teaching. Many of these principles have been applied to great benefit to early years teaching, with Moyles for example observing play “ensures the brain… is stimulated and active. This, in turn, motivates and challenges the participant both to master what is familiar and to respond to the unfamiliar in terms of gaining information, knowledge, skills and understandings.” (1989: 7)

The prevalence of play in writing on early years development has often been coupled with wider statements from theorists emphasising the importance of play throughout our lives: “What most adults fail to recognise… is just how much they themselves play in adult life” (Moyles, 1989: ix) Yet, as Winston identifies (2005: 315) there has been little research into play in older children. Furthermore there exists a lack of concrete theory into how play might progress throughout development, retaining its central place from early years into and throughout adulthood.

The emphasis Vygotsky and others placed on the social construction of knowledge has often viewed the individual in the context of their society; Hornbrook describes how early drama in education practitioners such as Way and Heathcote “saw school drama as a means of restoring the ‘natural’ development processes which play encourages” leading to “an ‘authentic experience’, a so-called ‘deep-knowing’ of the essential truths of the human condition” (1998: 11-13)

This, along with Vygotsky’s understanding of play developing through imagination into a game/rule structure - stating for older children play “becomes a more limited form of activity, predominantly of the athletic type” (1978: 104) - has led to a liberal approach to social education, favouring a psychological/individual understanding focused on the individual coming to terms with and forming their views on the society around them.

I hope to explore through this study the ways in which an understanding of play focused not only on its imaginative, but also collaborative and transgressive qualities can:

a)   Show there is no reason for play-based learning methods to stop with early years’ education. Play is not a developmental stage from which we move to accept - or assimilate into - the adult world of rules and work, but a mode that develops as we develop.

b)   Focus our understanding of social education. By extending the constructivist approach to knowledge I have adopted in this study we can understand that it is not only society that develops us, but also we who develop our society. The work of Castoriadis explores this through the concept of the social imagination, which he describes as “that which creates society and history… the instituting society [which creates the] language, norms, values, ways of life and death, objects for which we live and objects for which we die” (1997: 269). The writings of Neelands has already begun to make connection between social imagination and drama education, through the principle of the ensemble (2009)

In this way we can move beyond a liberal, individualistic understanding of society in education to one that meaningfully engages and empowers young people to connect with the underlying theories, structures and institutions of their society.

I believe a playful, socially-engaged pedagogy is key to effective drama teaching, and this position will inform my journey as a researcher. However, in addition to researcher, I am also a practitioner, and hence this case study will to a large extent be informed by the methodologies of the reflective practitioner; understanding knowledge in terms of practical wisdom.

As a drama practitioner, my focus here is on the processes of imaginative, collaborative and transgressive play within this subject. However, this is not to suggest drama is the only curriculum area in which these ideas are applicable, indeed Neelands says of the socially engaged objectives of QCA’s ‘Bigger Picture’: “These are not the kinds of objectives that can be delivered in isolated subjects, nor are they intended to be” (2009: 177). And so if anything I would argue for the extension of a playful, socially-engaged pedagogy across the curriculum, yet the scope of this study is such that this paper will work within a drama context.

The current prominence of PHSE and citizenship in the curriculum, as observed by Neelands (2009: 176) in addition to a swing back towards more integrated curriculums and increasing drive for visible, pupil-centred modes of teaching such as the approaches described in Charles Leadbeater’s 21 Ideas for 21^st Century Learning (2008) means teachers and other education practitioners many be interested in the outcomes of this study.

Play in older children, as I have already stated, is an understudied area, furthermore Tizard observes social play is another area that would benefit from further research (1977: 126) And so this study may provide an interesting contrast and extension to the wealth of work in early years play and may prompt further research. To this end, my aim within this study is to open out, rather than conclude this path of inquiry.

Hope you're as excited as I am about this. Six hours of field research teaching and 19000 words left to go. Will be keeping you updated :D

: 12 Jun 2009 20:58 |  Tags: Dissertation Ma Play Social |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Boal 1931–2009

This Sunday I found out Augusto Boal died. I didn't expect to feel as shaken up as I did, after all plenty of the other practitioners who have influenced me are no longer around.

If you recall, I began this blog with an extract from Boal's autobiography, which I read this Christmas. As well as the inspirational enthusiasm, eloquence and advocacy I found in all his books. I felt as if I had really begun to have a dialogue with him. Empathising as his experiences of education echoed my own, shock and sympathy at his periods of exile and persecution, bringing my own voice to the question he constantly debated - 'how can you truely create a people's theatre?'

And so, in part, my grief is that of an evolving friendship and dialogue that is suddenly cut short. Except, of course, it isn't. Boal's writing still, and always will, exist for us to engage in. And more than that, the living legacy he leaves behind in groups such as The International Theatre of The Oppressed Organisation, Cardboard Citizens, Mind The Gap... means we can continue to debate and strive towards answers to that all important question.

I have just described my relationship with Boal as new and evolving. But in some ways it isn't. In my pioneering days of my undergraduate Independent Practical Project (the wild west of Millfield's primary school drama club and me the loan gunslinger, armed only with shakey workshop plans and my wits) Boal was one of the first theorists I came across - advised by my tutor: 'you will have done Boal, you just don't know it.'

And this, I discovered, was the thing about Boal, the ideas from Theatre of The Oppressed; Games For Actors and Non-Actors are so pervasive that I wonder if we could conceive of a theatre in education without them. I don't mean that Boal has all the answers, or fool proof techniques. But I think that so many practitioners, as I did, cut their TiE practitioner teeth on Boal to the extent this his ideas have become part of the language we share.

We can disagree with him, reshape or reject his ideas, but we cannot ignore the fact his work has shaped the very landscape we inhabit.

It could be stated Boal didn't always spend a lot time crediting those who in turn inspired him, notably the pedagogic work of Friere. None the less it is, for many of us through the invigorationg rhetoric of Boal that these ideas have reached us. I will leave you with a shining example of that rhetoric, written shortly before his death and now being shared amongst those for whom he has been such a key figure in both their professional and personal lives:

"We have to create another world because we know it is possible. But it is up to us to build this 
other world with our hands and by acting on the stage and in our own life.
Participate in the “spectacle” which is about to begin and once you are back home, with your friends act your own plays and look at what you were never able to see: that which is obvious. Theatre is not just an event; it is a way of life!
We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it."

: 07 May 2009 07:38 |  Tags: Boal Forum Theatre |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bamboozle Training at Birmingham Rep Part Deux

Back for the second day, the first thing we did was relay to a member of a group who couldn't be there yesterday what we have covered. Two offers that stayed with me were two members of the group describing how inspired, excited and hyper they felt after yesterday's sessions. I think this reflects the power of drama workshops themselves to evoke a feeling of inspiration and empowerment, through providing a fear free space in which participants can explore stimulus and extract meaning relevant to their own ways of knowing/understanding life.

Yesterday we spent some time exploring the idea of language in drama workshops, we continued on this theme today, specifically how language can be used to help create that fear-free space (which for me is synonymous with the concept of the ensemble) which Bomboozle theatre feel is so key.

Chris gave us a list of top ten language tips. Some of these covered the same area in terms of process and effect, so I will group them together in a way that makes sense for me:

1. We/us not you/I

This guideline is something we found tripping us in practical exercises, and it can become inhibative if you get obsessive with it. But although "Today I want you to tell me everything you know about asylum seekers" and "Today were are going to share everything we know about asylum seekers" is a small change, it makes a HUGE difference. Chris pointed out it also gives you a way to guide the group and input without making a value judgement about their input (or lack thereof) because everyone is working in collaboration on a task. For example, teacher's input doesn't reject or 'overrule' young people's input if the group is a 'we'.

2. Pace pace pace and lead

This has connections with the idea of matching - you begin by going to where the young person is at, settling the group into a shared reality "We're here, in the school hall, on a Tuesday afternoon, some of us are a bit fidigity after lunch, but as we settle into our chairs we begin to remember the story we were looking at this morning..." Chris described it as finding a way to be 'with' a group, and then leading them forward to a new exercise/idea. This method is also very representative of Chris's ethic of taking time within the drama until everyone is a space to move forward.

3. Language of Beliefs

I'm grouping together several different techniques here. Again, Chris suggests beginning with where the young person is at: "I know you don't want to... (sit with the group right now, for e.g.) but what would it be like if you did?" or, more firmly: "but what will it be like when you do?" This phrase removes any element of conflict, and so without pressure invites the young person to consider a different experience to the one they are currently having, to explore the possibility of changing their beliefs about their behaviour.

Chris doesn't claim this as infallible, but does report a high success rate of using the language of beliefs in this way, he suggests several other variations, that make connections between belief and imagination. For example:

"If there was a miracle tonight and... what would it feel/look/sound like?" (this focuses on the benefits of changing a particular belief)

"What would have to happen for you to..." (in this example, imagination is used not only to identify where you want to be, but ways of getting there)

4. Persuasive Language

Initially I struggled with this, as it did have a feeling of using 'salespeak' in an educational context. Which for me has all sort of uncomfortable connotations of invisible curriculums. However, in the light of my earlier questions (see Molly Whuppieentry) about ways of maintaining discipline and focus in a classroom I recognise the value of these techniques in encouraging behaviours that maintains a fear-free space for all members of the group. These techniques include appealing to a young person's sense of justice in three steps:

"If... then... does that seem fair?"

The qualification of "does that seem fair?" is an important one, Chris pointed out. If the young person doesn't recognise this as fair, you have to take the time (there it is again) to negotiate what they recognise as a fair response to their behaviours.

Chris also values the use of even small verbal changes, recognising the use of language can effect how our unconscious minds interpret a statement. For example '... isn't it?" makes it more likely the young person will agree with a statement (not that you want them to agree with everything, but useful if you want to take them somewhere in the drama that needs a certain level of shared reality first). While using "Please walk" rather than "Don't run" is more likely to succeed, because the former doesn't involve the introduction of the reality you don't want to exist, i.e. - the young person running. 

I shall leave it there, because using language to examin how you use language is something that ties my brain into knots after a while. There was lots of other content at these training workshops I haven't included, but I hope what I have touched on gives a flavour of how the past two days have both inspired and challenged my practice.

: 08 Apr 2009 19:35 |  Tags: Bamboozle Theatre Birmingham Rep Ensemble Langauge Workshop |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bamboozle Training at Birmingham Rep Part Une

Have been attending a two-day training course with Bamboozle Theatre Companywith the aim of finding out more about ways to do drama work with young people with learning disabilities, and also meet other TiE practitioners.

There were about 20 of us at the workshop, run in Birmingham's Rep Theatre, the experience of meeting a room full of people who are all making a living from theatre in education was in itself an inspiring experience - there's hope for my career yet! But several other things from the first session also stuck with me.

Beauty

Towards the end of the first session, we did an exercise to explore how 'making' can be incorporated into TiE work. We were given a selection of Styrofoam egg shapes, pipe cleaners, feathers and sequins - our of which we were going to make a bird. These birds would them form part of a simple storytelling exercise.

The story, written out on two sheets of flipchart paper by Chris and narrated between four members of the group, told of a special tree (a clothes rail) in the forest where all the birds would fly one by one to have their parties. We were then invited, one by one, accompanied by drum music from some members of the group, to fly our birds around the circle before settling them on the tree. Once this ritual had been completed, the story continued. A tortoise (a hand puppet, manipulated by a group member) wanted to join in the party. One by one the birds threw down feathers to him (some of us had been given spare feathers for this purpose) and he flew up to the tree. However once he was thee, he began to push, shove and annoy the birds so much that one by one the birds took the feathers away (we did so) and the tortoise fell back to earth, and cracked his shell.

And that is why whenever you see a tortoise, they have cracks in their shell. The story ended with violin music from a folk musican within the group.

What struck me about this exercise was it's simple charm and it's beauty. It is significant I think that the writer Scarry argues that beauty "like a small bird, has an aura of fragility". These Styrofoam, feather and pipe cleaner birds had a fragile beauty, but one that was also joyful with bright colours and sequins. The materials and the creative process were simple, but what we produced were objects of beauty. The storytelling gave each member of the group a ritual moment to celebrate and share the beauty of what they had created.

This exercise was heavily scaffolded, with the story and our various roles in it given by Chris, in a real-time method similar to a story woosh. And so the exercise incorporated all the joy and absorbtion in the moment story woosh has the power to create, but the addition of our bird puppets and the live music made for an atmosphere of beauty and charm. My tutor Joe Winston has written on the importance of beauty in theatre in education, stating: "beauty can provide us with a conceptual and analytical base from which to re-engage with the idea of the arts and of education as pursuits morally for their own sake."

Matching

One of the last things we discussed today was the importance of matching. This wasn't a technique I had heard of before, but as I understood it, it involves mirroring whatever the young person is doing; the movements and noises they are making, right down to their breathing patterns. The rational is you are going to where the young person is at, making no demands of them and hence removing any element of resistance. The message is 'I am accepting you entirely as you are'.

As it was decribed, it seemed to me their was an intensely playful element to this technique. Those who had not used it before queried whether it would come across as mocking the young person, but those who has used it assured us that would not happen as long as it was done with honesty and authenticity.

The thing that really interested me was how many of the group who, while not aware of matching as a specific technique, had used it in a wide variety of settings: the elderly, young people with learning disabilities or behavioural issues, and a new mother who often matched her infant's movements and sounds. Each said it felt like the natural thing to do as they searched for a way to have authentic communication with the people involved. And they all reported a high level of success using the technique; one group member described how as they mirrored a young person's movements, they in turn would mirror the facilitator, creating  a see-saw of offers and acceptances moving towards an equilibrium that reminded me of the intense feeling of communication and connection I have felt in contact improvisation dance performances.

Taking Time

One of the strongest ideas that permeated the entirety of today's session was that of taking your time in drama work. For Chris this meant that if the space wasn't appropriate for drama work - in terms of techincal set up or size, he would delay the start of the drama so this could be corrected, stating nothing valueable could happen when the space was compromised in this way. Chris also focuses on the concept of creating a fear-free space for the group, and similarly if this space is compromised or can't be realised for any reason, Chris is comfortable with taking the time to take whatever measures are needed to secure this space, even if this means only completing 10 minutes of a 1 hour session.

I recognise there is a possible risk of this coming across as pretentious. But for me it was a revelation. Being relatively new to the business of running drama workshops, I feel the pressure to be *doing*: whether it's accepting whatever space or time a school give you, filling any silences with discussion or exercises, plowing ahead over disrubtions from the group, feeling that I have somehow failed if I haven't delivered the workshop journey I have planned. Today made me realise even two minutes of powerful drama are worth taking the time, and the importance of having patience and confidence in the work.

This also set a personal challenge for me. All through my life, any nervousness has expressed itself in rushing and garbling my speech. As a workshop facilitator, if I am not confident things are going smoothly, I will revert back to this tendency to rush my words, which I recognise often componds the problem. If I can reach this place of calm confidence Chris seems to have, then I can see how much more effective I could be as a facilliator, and also as a communicator in other areas of my life. The best way to achieve this (to avoid my work becoming a place for therapy!) seems to be improving my understanding and experience of what I consider good drama practice, so I can tap into the confidence in the work, regardless of my personal level of confidence.

: 08 Apr 2009 10:03 |  Tags: Bamboozle Theatre Beauty Birmingham Rep Language Learning Difficulties Matching Tie |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The ongoing story of Molly

"Once upon a time there was a little girl called Molly Whuppie and she was very clever. But her parents had so many children they could not afford to feed her and her two older sisters, so they were sent out into the world.

Led by Molly, the girls encounter a giant and escape, causing his own daughters to be killed along the way. She meets a king, and through fulfilling a series of tasks set by him - namely returning to the giant's house and stealing various treasured items - Molly secures prince-husbands for her sisters and finally herself."

This was the English fairy tale that formed the basis of our group's storytelling theatre performance last term. Using the storytelling techniques described by Mike Alfreds in his work with Shared Experience. This proved a unique and sometimes frustrating challenge during rehearsal, as we swung from an interpritation that was too cartoonish, to a heavy-handed, pyschological character analysis approach.

Our saviour was Bakhtin, and carnival humour. Suddenly the elements of the story made sense - the grotesque body of the giant, the reoccurance of food and eating as key themes, and Molly as the comic hero: amoral, resourcesful and likeable trickster. Revived by this, we transformed the piece as a rollicking and irreverent romp. It was a great success when performed to our peers. Our tutor, Joe Winston commented "something of a triumph - pacey, gripping, suspenseful, comical, ironical and true to the spirit of the original." 

Giants, child snatchers and other villians of MA storytelling group!

Yet, as an ensemble all viewing each other's work, I couldn't help but be aware that we all had a certain amount invested in enjoying the performances each group presented. The presentation evening ran high with theatrical nerves and elation, and while the standard was such that the compliments which passed easily between us were honest and heartfelt, this was not an evening when our practice was carefully reflected on. For many, what felt like the real challenge as education practitioners was the next day's performance in a local primary school; Balsall Common. The laughter was less, but it was there - with rapt attention between.

What I found really interesting was watching the children - aged between 7-10 - during a break between performances. They had just watched a performance of Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves that included an enthustiastic mime sequence of pouring boiling oil into barrels containing hidden thieves and an African tale with a cartwheeling villian. As soon as the children got up from their spaces they began mimicking the sections that had made the most impression on them. The room was full of the screams of miniature thieves, dying in boiling agony, and legs flying everywhere as cartwheels were attempted. This made me consider that an important aspect of performances intended for young people should elements they can recreate for themselves. As Grotowski observes, if the actor "performs feats which are well beyond the ability of the spectator... the result is either incomprehension... or quite vehement refusal to listen"

The second incarnation of Molly Whuppie was as part of an hour long workshop with a year four class at Templars Primary School. We attempted to deliver a workshop with a focus on the moral themes inherent in Molly Whuppie, particulary the questionable moral values of Molly herself. However, we discovered the children, without expection, approved of Molly's action and wanted to be her friend because 'she was clever' and 'she would take care of you'. A hotseating session with the giant almost descended into a slanging match. The giant tried in vain to explain to the class Molly had caused him to kill his children and almost batter his wife to death. But they would have none of it - Molly was the hero of the hour. I wonder if a factor in this was that the performers ourselves, though our devising process had also come to like and admire Molly, and in our carnival-inspired performance revelled in her trickery - even when it resulted in death and violence.

Reflecting on this, we struggled. It seemed clear a more heavy-handed protrayal of Molly would leaden the whole performance. the very power of this carnival folk tale, some would argue of all theatre, is in its ability to subvert the norms of society. If (as we attempted in rehearsal) we were to temper Molly's actions with space in the narrative to reflect on their consequences, the whole performance took on the air of a sermon. And so, despite an enjoyable workshop, we were left with questions. We were sure the tale had moral issues within its scope; combining so deftly questions of hunger, greed and poverty with family allegiances, bravery and marriage, but how to tease out these without loosing the sense of fun inherent in the story?

Our latest Molly adventure was with a year 10 drama class at Queensbridge School. On the teacher's request, we had developed a skills-based workshop. The group had already done some work on narration, and so - also taking into consideration our own storytelling module began with an exploration of narration, this seemed a viable choice of focus. Remembering the primary children and their eager imitations of the most grusome storytelling moments, we elected to focus on the moment at the Giant's house when Molly has tricked the Giant into clubbing his own daughters to death - giving her and her sisters time to escape.

Although the performance was well recieved, we struggled with a frustrating mixture of rowdiness and lack of motivation from the class for the rest of the session. The teacher (himself a previous graduate of my MA scheme) had told us we might face these challenges with this group. And although we spent time developing the scaffolding of the task - using a mixute of discussion, whole space warm-ups and still image formation to develop understanding of the narrator's role - I wonder now if we could have taken more advantage of our numbers (four facillitators in all) to work more intensively with smaller groups. Our model of one facillitator leading an exercise and others drifting between groups left too much space for either misbehaviour or disinterest to develop. In fact there were times when the 'how are you getting on?' approach to a group actually felt more of a hinderence than a help to them - the sudden attention either making them clam up completely, or having to halt effective group negotiations to communicate with us.

Having said this, there were some very positive moments. One group of boys in particular seemed to grasp the concept of narration leading the tone and interpritation of the story, creating two strong still images: one of Molly's triumph, and the other of the Giant Children's tragedy. Other groups had started to experiement with the importance of body langauge and use of the space in storytelling there - one girl created a strong, upright Molly standing over the prone bodies of the Giant Children, while another group had Molly standing on a table, the Giant Children draped asleep or dead at her feet

If I believe (and I do) that storytelling can be engaging and relevant for every age, then how do I understand and hopefully overcome the issues we faced in the GCSE workshop? For me it raised lots of questions about discipline and classroom management in drama. If you are trying to create the atmosphere of an ensemble, how do you sqaure this away with the need (as we had today) of dealing with unacceptable classroom behaviours? If, as Nora Allingham points out "curriculum consists of everything in the school environment' then won't a 'shut up and listen now' attitude destory any mutual respect between teachers and students? And yet if the behaviour of some is inhibiting the work of others, isn't there a necessity of discipline procedures to deal with this? And if this is a knotty problem for a teacher to handle, surely it is even more so for the visiting practitioner to deal with? How do you establish these boundries in one, or a small number of sessions?.... But this issue is, as we say, a story for another day.

: 10 Mar 2009 14:12 |  Tags: Bakhtin Molly Whuppie Storytelling |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Theatre and Citizenship

"the idea of the ensemble as a community reconciles the artistic and social purposes of Theatre making"- Jonothan Neelands (Course Director)

Early on in our course we were introduced to the concept of the ENSEMBLE, and it's importance as an artistic, social and educational construct. The idea of meaning existing between was something I was familiar with from my time as a drama undergraduate, and I now began to expand it - meaning between not only performers and audience, but between teacher and student, student and student, citizen and citizen. For me, theatre naturally inhabits the edges - the grey, dangerous, exciting and taboo borders between supposed opposite or singular entities. I began to understand that this idea encompasses not only what we show in theatre, but the participants themselves - by taking the leap of inhabiting this shared space we achieve what Geoffrey Streatfield describes as "a secure environment without ever being a comfort zone. All of us are continually challenging ourselves and being inspired by those around us."

Our class experienced this during a session with visiting practitioner Brian Lighthill. Brian is currently researching how using Shakespeare can help teach citizenship and PHSE. In a swift-paced workshop, little changed from the ones he delivers in secondary schools, we combined whole space drama games and story 'wooshes' with carefully scaffolded discussion exercises to explore ideas such as 'community', 'blame', 'truth', and 'responsibility' through Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.

The feeling of ensemble was engendered from the beginning through the agreement on a set of group rules (or guidelines as my inner liberal would prefer to call them) and a simple walking the space exercise that emphasised group responsibility for ensuring the space was evenly filled.

The result was a powerful atmosphere in the room, different from other sessions and more reminiscent of debates in my undergraduate philosophy modules than any drama class I could recall. Students spoke rapidly - international students breaking industriously off into Greek and Mandarin to discover the right English words to explain themselves - agreement, disagreement, questioning, clarification and extension of each other's ideas: never before had we worked so efficiently together in an effort to create meaning between ourselves.

Brian's role in this had been a facilitator in the truest sence - providing stimulus and helping to create a framework within which this sharing and learning could occur. This, I felt, was the sort of practitioner I wanted to be. Able to create that environment that was at once secure, but challeging and inspirational; blur the boundries between theatre and citizentry, art and life - recognising one could not exist without the other and they can never be mutally exclusive concepts.

And yet I struggled with some aspects of the workshop - did I agree that we had used Shakespeare without once directly encounting his dialogue, written or spoken? Did I accept that the language could represent enough of a boundry to some students to justify it's exclusion? Where does the value of working with Shakespeare truely lie - in understanding his stories or his words, if indeed we can make that clear distinction?

Also Brian used the term 'impartial facilitator' - can one ever be truely impartial? What if, in attempting to be impartial, all we do is fail to recognise and therefore naturalise our own partiality? Surely the advantage of the ensemble is not in striving to be objective individuals, but in sharing and learning from each others subjectivities - the facilitator included?

: 02 Mar 2009 21:43 |  Tags: Brian Lighthill Citizenship Ensemble Shakespeare |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

A year goes by rapidly

"A year goes by rapidly, especially when you begin to enjoy what you do, to understand the language you speak, to make friendships, loves. And when you are studying with colleagues like mine, learning, reading all the books, watching all the films, going to all the shows, when you live like that, really living and loving, a year rushes by"

                                                                              - Augusto Boal, 2001

I read that extract from Boal's autobiography in December 2008, and nothing could more clearly express my feelings on my first three months of my Master's course: Drama and Theatre in Education at The University of Warwick. A BA Drama graduate, thrown into the turbulent and dynamic world of educational theatre I would leave the brightly lit studio of my evening classes - bursting out into the night air - feeling as if my head had exploded. New ideas, new ways of looking at theatre; teaching; life itself - revelations, moments of recognition, solidarity, debate and wonder punctuated every day.

Back for the second term in January 2009, beginning the research methods module and becoming familiar with the term 'reflective practitioner', I realised that is what I must become. Not only in relation to myself as a teaching practitioner in the classroom, but as a practitioner within the whole context of my course and experience at The University of Warwick. To find some perspective on the continuing revelations. Reflect on and understand my reactions to different theorists and practitioners and my actions and choices in my own projects.

That is what I want to share - with current and future possible colleagues, employers, collaborators, funders, students - to chart my trajectory, my ever moving stance as I encounter new ideas that inform and change my practice.

: 02 Mar 2009 20:45 |  Tags: Boal Drama And Theatre In Education Ma Reflective Practitioner |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem