I agree with the following
>Theater is a coletive activity, always. But there are many "models" of
>relation between people who are involved in any theater
>criation/process. Of course, I believe in a democratic model, in
>which people can be heard and discuss their ideas/thinking/opinions.
>Something very distant from most of business models.
It would be interesting to know is there any research into all the
variations in putting theater in schools? As you said there are various
models of "theater" itself and there is no way that two schools are going
to do quite the same job in using theater techniques or drama/play etc in
the same way. But maybe there are families and connections between some of
the approaches and confrontations with other approaches?
Who are the people engaged in practically doing theater in schools? Are
they professionals in theater arts or educators/teachers who are also
interested in drama? What are their explicit/implicit theories and models
of learning and development?
In the Conference in Ekaterinburg I saw a difference in the general
approach to theater in schools between those who are primarily artists and
theater people and those who are primarily educators. It seemed to me that
their implicit goals were different even when they agreed on the most
important and basic premisses. It looked to me that (and this is a matter
of fine degree) that those who are primarily educators saw theater and play
always as a means of development first; and as an art, second. And vice
versa: the theater people who got involved with education still looked for
aesthetic and artistic values first and for the development second. These
differences could also be seen in the performances which accompanied the
conference: educational workshops and demonstrations were always
improvisational, developmental, warm and communal. Plays performed by
children, on the other hand, were beautiful productions in the sense of a
theater production, but they were non-participatory for the audience, on
stage, "high art" etc. In both cases, however, all could agree that using
theater in school in some form helps develop almost everything: social
relationships, personality, emotional life, perception, cognition, artistic
and aesthetic skills and sensitivity etc.
It would be interesting, from the third point in your tree model -
socio-cultural context of a production - to compare what is happening today
in Russia and in Brazil. Are there specific contexts which foster this or
that approach? Is there any research in Brazil on this new movement? Or
some in-depth studies on particular cases (schools)?
Ana
________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Ana Marjanovic-Shane
151 W. Tulpehocken St. City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA 19144 OMH/MR - Research & Information
(215) 843-2909 [voice] 1101 Market St. 7th Floor
(215) 843-2288 [fax] Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 685-4767 [v]
(215) 685-5581 [fax]
________________________________________________________________________
pshane who-is-at andromeda.rutgers.edu
anchi who-is-at geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/~anchi/
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