Dreaming

Sometimes, not very often, but sometimes I allow myself to dream about what may be in store for me in the future, and what I may want to do in the future, where I see my work and life going, and this has been encouraged by tasks on this module, and on the work placement module. 

Recently I have been dreaming about what it would be like a year down the line maybe, and what I would have liked to achieved on this course. On my walk to work placement I always pass a workshop which belongs to the Newcastle Players who are an amatuer dramatics group based in the area, and they use this workshop in the months before productions to design and build all their own sets. 


Seeing spaces like this makes me rather envious, and my brain tends to go into overdrive about how much I would love to have a space like this where I could develop a company and work out of, to be in touch with the community and run workshops. I have seen lots of different  direlict, for sale spaces on my walks to work, three of  which are in close proximty to the New Vic Theatre,  which I feel would be perfect for the kind of venue I would need if I was to ever start up my own company and workshops, this is obviously a massive dream, but I do like to indulge myself sometimes.

Helen Nicholson

Helen Nicholson is a person that I have come across in my studies before when looking into Applied Drama, and she also closely links with Theatre in Education. 

I've picked up a book by her called Applied Drama, the gift of Theatre. 

So far I have only read a short section and had a browse over what each chapters contains, but I think it is going to be a very valuable read for me.

The chapters contain:

• An introduction to Applied Theatre, Where it came from, Radical Directions, its contexts and audiences. 
• Participation : the practice of Citizenship, Praxis and Performance. 
• Narratives and Storytelling
• Space, Place and Time 
• Creativity and Social Intervention- which would be beneficial as back-up for the work placement I have been undertaking
• Human Rights and Performance
• The Gift of Theatre

One thing which Nicholson discusses in depth which is very important to the sector is that of rights and ethics, how everything you do with 'hard to reach' groups has to be seen as socially acceptable, how there is much more to be considered when working with difficult and vulnerable groups, and I think her focus on this will be really valuable to my learning. 

Theatre is ART

Today because it was quite a warm day I decided to walk part of the way to work, and on the route I usually go straight past on the bus I made some what I thought were interesting discoveries. 

My second passion next to theatre it Art, I very nearly chose to do Art at University instead of theatre, and I think the two are very closely linked anyway as within theatre the costumes, set design, and make-up creations are all forms of Art.

I was walking on a 'subway' esq passageway which led from one side of the road under the other, and there was some beautiful graffiti style art work on the walls. Upon researching this a little further I discovered that all the subway routes in this area of Newcastle-under-Lyme are decorated to brighten up their gloomy walls. There was a project which started in 2004 run  by Newcastle Borough Council in which local artists, including B-Arts whom I have blogged about before, worked with young people and schools to create works out art for the subways with the theme 'Our Town',  this link provides interesting insight into the projects. The images I saw are slightly further away than the initial project ones but I think they are linked, really impressive artwork anyway. 

Main Subway Art, 2004

Images I took: 

 Seeing art like this really reminds me of how much I enjoyed working on Art projects during A level art, and also how much I enjoy going to galleries and museums, which I really want to try and do more of over the summer, but it also reminds me of why I enjoy theatre so much.


I love the spectacle of the whole thing, not just the performance the singing and the acting, but the whole event, the atmosphere especially if you are in an old theatre like some of those in London. During my time in theatre I have helped out with set design, costumes and make-up and when going to see a performance I love to see how the set is designed, what effects they use during the performances, and how the costumes and make-up are interpreted, so for me Theatre really is Art, and I love it. 


 

Dorothy Heathcote

 Dorothy Heathcote is another important figure in the drama world. She was a drama teacher who used the 'teacher in role' concept as a way to utilise drama within the curriculum. The concept of teacher in role is that if the role of the teacher is to teach, then the role of the student is to learn. It is a way which uses critical thought, with emotion, moral values and factual data as a whole to broaden the learning experience.

Through her extensive time in the drama and education world Heathcote developed a technique called Mantle of the Expert, which is something she is most well known for.

'Mantle of the Expert is based on the premise that treating children as responsible experts increases their engagement and confidence. They can perceive a real purpose for learning and discovering together in an interactive and proactive way – providing them with skills and knowledge they can apply to their everyday lives. MoE encourages creativity, improves teamwork, communication skills, critical thought and decision-making.'(http://www.dramaresource.com/strategies/mantle-of-the-expert, accessed 5/5/2012)

This kind of role play in education not only offers the students drama skills, but it allows them with a different, creative and interesting approach to their learning, therefore encourages them. The website Drama Resource is a really useful site for breaking down lots of the theories I have been looking at and is good for getting an overview of Applied Theatre subjects. 

Heathcote also wrote a extesie book o the subject and her methods which I used a lot whilst writing my disseration in my third year of uniersity as it covers the subject of Applied Theatre but more in regards to Theatre in Education.

 

The RiDE journal has a great article about her, and in memory of her work over the years: 

Juliana Saxton & Carole Miller (2012): In memory of Dorothy Heathcote, MBE
(29 August 1926 to 8 October 2011), Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 17:1

RiDE

I've been browsing around on the e-resources page on the library today to see if there is any more useful reading to back up my research. I have come across a very useful journal collection called RiDE, which stands for Research in Drama Education. Not all of the full texts of these journals are available online but a lot of them give samples of the text. Issues dating back to 1996 are online and there are several articles on a number of subjects linked with Drama in Education such as:

• Maureen Innes, Tim Moss & Heather Smigiel (2001): What Do the
  Children Say? The Importance of Student Voice, Research in Drama Education: The
  Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 6:2

• Helen Nicholson (2003): Acting, Creativity and Social Justice: Edward Bond’s The
  Children , Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 8:1

•  Jenny Hughes & Karen Wilson (2004): Playing a part: the impact of youth theatre
  on young people's personal and social development, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 9:1

• Penny Bundy (2000): Extending the Possibilities: The use of drama in
  addressing problems of aggression, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of AppliedTheatre and Performance, 5:2

• Peter Wright (1999): The Thought of Doing Drama Scares Me to Death,
  Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 4:2

•  Michael Etherton & Tim Prentki (2006): Drama for change? Prove it! Impact
  assessment in applied theatre, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 11:2

• Kathryn M. Dawson (2012): Theatre, education and performance, Research in
  Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 7:1 

• Colette Conroy (2009): Disability: creative tensions between drama, theatre
  and disability arts, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance,
  14:1

• John O'Toole (2009): Writing Everyday Theatre: applied theatre, or just TIE
  rides again?, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 14:4

• Dr Sruti Bala (2012): Community art: the politics of trespassing, Research in
  Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 17:1

These are some of the articles that stood out to me as being ones which I would like to read, so hopefully I can work my way through these ones over the next few weeks. 
 
 
 

'The Mother of Modern Theatre'

As well as Boal, another favourite theatre practitioner of mine is Joan Littlewood. Littlewood began work in the theatre troupe Theatre of Action where she met her husband, folksinger Ewan MacColl. She had previously trained at RADA ( Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) but left and settled in Manchester.  Littlewood was notorious for being left-wing and for being an active communist, things which led her to be watched by MI5 several years and being banned from broadcasting with the BBC. Littlewood is most well known for setting up the company Theatre Workshop,which is perhaps one of the most influential companies in Modern British Theatre. The company, who toured for several years before settling down at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East,  London, was aiming to provide theatre for the masses, and wanted to allow the common public the chance to see theatre. 

There is a good book I have been reading on this subject, Theatre Workshop,Joan Littlewood and the making of modern British theatre by Robert Leach and this book states: 

'If the theatre is to play an effective part in the life of the community it must face up to contemporary problems and at the same time revive all that is best in theatrical tradition. We believe Theatre Workshop is doing this. Theatre Workshop is an experimental theatre whose aim is to show to the widest public and particularly to that section of the public which has been starved theatrically, plays of artistic siginficance' (Leach, R. (2006) Theatre Workshop, Joan Littlewood and the making of modern British theatre; University pf Exeter Press: Exeter, Pg 49)

One thing that I really liked when looking at this book was the fact that it contains a chronology from 1926-1988 detailing the important dates for Theatre Workshop alongside what was happening in politics and society and theatre, arts and culture, which really helps to set Littlewoods work in scene with the rest of the world.

Theatre Workshop although popular with its audiences faced immense struggles with finance, the cast and crew worked as a commune and lived in the theatre whislt renovating it between rehearsals, and also in those days whenever someone wanted to perform a show they had to get permission from the Lord Chamberlains Office, and Littlewood was prosecuted and fined several times for allowing improvising during performances. Littlewood was well know for swearing when angry and being disrespectful and in a time when women could easily be ignored by men she was not well liked by society, but her work in this type of theatre is of mass importance, and perhaps links with the types of Applied Theatre we see nowadays. 

 

 

Presentation Reflection

I always get stressed an anxious when I hear I have to do a presentation, not so much about the actual presenting part of it as I am quite used to speaking in front of people and actually don't mind it but more about worrying what everyone else has prepared, if mine will make sense, and if I am on the right track.

The good thing about this MA is that as everyone is looking into such a diverse range of projects, it is very hard to feel yours is inadequate as you have been researching and developing something completely different to the person next to you. I was totally enthralled when watching everyone else presentations, and although I didn't necessarily understand everything I was being told, I was still interested and excited. It was good to be able to see in which direction everyone was going and how people had developed since their initial ideas. 

My project has not so much come to a definite conclusion, but it is more about the research I have undertaken and what I have found out about my sector and the subject I wanted to look into.

For me the process of finding out about communities, what makes them and what defines them is such an important one especially as it links so closely with the applied theatre sector that I wish to work in. Each group that I work with and go on to work with will be part of a community in their group, which is then part of a wider community in society, so it was really valuable and important to be to be able to learn about this from a wide range of sources. 


I firstly complied a survey as I wanted to be able to send this out via my social networking sites so that I would attract a lot of responses, I did this through the very useful site Survey Monkey, which lets you distribute your surveys in a number of ways. I then just read as much as I could about community theatre, applied theatre and creativity when working with groups, and also my work placement has greatly helped with this project. The interviews I conducted for the presentation were with people who I thought would have apposing views of what community was, and if I had more time I would have liked to interview more people of different ages and backgrounds so I could have got a more broader range of responses. 




As stated in a previous blog I used LinkedIn as a way to share my survey and they have some brilliant discussions on there. I got some useful responses to a discussion I started. Some responses were:


'When I think of the word community, as it relates to theater, it simply means theater for the extended family. How can you improve or inform the people around you for the betterment of all. When you empower the people in the community by getting them involved in community, You raise the attitude of the people by raising the aptitude of the community.' 


'Community as it relates to theatre is like extended family, but I've run into politic in the local theatre community that I really abhor. It's a small bedroom community, but there are some egos that make it hard to enjoy the local climate. Hopefully they'll realise that, and change over time. Thankfully with the new social networking tools like Facebook and Linked in, we feel less out-of-sight-out-of-mind, which is a pet peeve of mine'

The reason I chose to display my research findings in the form of a film is because I had a lot of statistics and feedback, I felt that if I had just stood there and read it out then it wouldn't be a creative representation, and I wanted to provide something more creative in which I could show some images of my time in placement, and my film interviews as well. And the song I chose is one that is used at my work placement with some of the different youth groups for mainly mime activities.