Volume 1 Number 4


Hi Folks,

Sorry the Newsletter is a bit late this week, I'm tucked up with a fever and feeling like death warmed over.

LESSON/ACTIVITY IDEA

This activity is likely to run over several periods of class time or an extended workshop.

OK - just a word of warning that some people might find this lesson a little disturbing... I wouldn't run this one with younger students - I have tackled such topics as child neglect, drug use, mental illness with this approach.  I would be very careful introducing very difficult topics with groups I didn't know well... I am simply using the currently available materials as a stimulus...  Feel free to locate your own resources (the Benneton campaigns may also be useful) - Barnardo's also has a small archive of past advertisements.

The approach I will use in this article is an adaptation of one that was shown to me by Jonothan Neelands at a National Drama conference in York. 

For a start - I'd ask you to visit the Barnardo's website and look at their current advertising campaign.  It will help to download the images from that page so they can be displayed in class.  The latest campaign focuses on child prostitution - this is not obligatory but certainly is a topic worth dealing with.  A PDF support leaflet can also be downloaded.

The campaign including a TV commercial "...based on the press and poster campaign to get greater protection for children abused and exploited through prostitution, the advertisement presents images of a child prematurely aged through abuse..." provides some tremendously powerful resource materials to deal with in a process drama.

Phase One

Have the students analyse the image/s... what's going on? What do they portray? How do they work?  What do they emphasise?  It might be useful to look at the Behind the Scenes page of the Barnardo's site to show students how these images were constructed and that no child was put at risk in creating them.

Phase Two

Have students select an image that they would like to work with - the focus of the will be on the character portrayed.  Alternatively - different groups may represent each character shown in the advertisement.

Using a role circle - create a history and identity for the child portrayed.   For those unfamiliar with this - it is a strategy to get the group to contribute to creating a character.   Get the class in a circle - they are to respond as if they are the one person - begin by asking simple questions of individual students, such as what is your name, how old are you, where do you live - stay away from leading questions...  let the students generate the information.

This can be extended by doing role circle interviews with other people in the character's life.   

Note:  Students must listen carefully and contribute information that builds the story - deliberate denouncement and contradiction is counter-productive.

Phase Three

a) Divide the students into small groups and have them think about creating some tableaux images that give more insight into the background...  Students can be asked to show such things as:

b) Eventually the challenge becomes more focussed as students are asked to represent such abstractions as:

Phase Four

Now students are asked to find a transitional movement between each of the tableau images they have presented - this should be a fairly slow and considered movement that transforms each image into the next.

Discuss the quality of the movements and what is suggested by them.  Have each person from the tableau do their movement in isolation.  Discuss how it changes the way the image is read.  

Phase Five

The group has by this created a series of still images and movements.  Now it is time to start introducing language.  Have each group present their tableaux and movements - do the movements sequentially and as each person moves ask them to say a few words that express the experience of the character.

Phase Six

Using the material created so far have the students no bring the original scenes (Phase 3a) to life - that is, to enact the scene dramatically.  When they reach an end point they are to use the transitional movement to take the scene to Phase 3b and again enact this section.

Have the class discuss the scenes that are presented - do they enhance understanding in anyway?  What insights are gleaned?

Phase Seven

Experiment with building the scenes together in a variety of ways - logical sequences, random sequences...   use both the presentational and representational elements that have been created so far...  

What is/are the most effective sequence/s?  Reflect on the process, reflect on the product/s.  Perform the final product for an audience - engage in forum style exploration of the issue/s.  

OK - so that was a fairly extensive involvement - I have not gone into great detail to explain the structures and devices used throughout - assuming that many of these are familiar to Drama teachers.  If you are unfamiliar with any elements it is worth reading up on Drama Structures.  Some suggestions below.

As always - this process works for me and the way I present it and operate it reflects my own teaching style.  Get familiar with the mechanics of the process and then make it your own.

RECOMMENDED WEBSITE

A collection of lessons and other resources that can easily be adapted for a range of purposes.  Contains some "process drama" lesson plans.  Not for everyone but may provide some useful ideas.

On this site you will find ways to incorporate creative drama into your classroom. Designed to be a starting point for K-12 teachers and facilitators who are interested in using creative drama. A collection of lessons divided by age level into 8 categories...  Pantomime, Story Drama, Drama Games, Story Telling, Social Drama, Process Drama, Puppetry and Improvisation.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Title Unravelling the Mystery: A Study of Reflection-in-Action in Process Drama Teaching
Author O'Mara, Joanne
Institution Griffith University
Date 1999
Abstract

Unravelling the Mystery is a qualitative case study that examines the teacher researcher's reflection-in-action as she teaches using process drama.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Planning Process Drama
by Pamela Bowell, Brian S. Heap

"Process drama is essentially improvisational and not based on a set script or 'story board'. As such, it plays an important part in creative 'drama-in-education' - yet there are very few books dedicated to making the approach accessible to specialist and non-specialist drama teachers alike. Distilled from their own practice with pre- and in-service teachers in Britain and the Caribbean, the authors; identify the principles of planning process drama; and illustrate them with a wide range of examples from across the age ranges."

Drama Worlds : A Framework for Process Drama
by Cecily O'Neill 

Drama Worlds examines the complex improvised event called process drama and identifies it as an essential part of today's theatre.

Structuring Drama Work
by Jonothan Neelands

"Structuring Drama Work is a handbook for teachers of Drama. This revised edition takes into account developments in the teaching of Drama over the ten years since the first edition was published, whilst maintaining the successful existing framework. The authors have developed about thirty new conventions in the categories of Context, Narrative, Poetic and Reflective Drama. The original conventions have also been expanded to increase the range offered. Examples illustrating new conventions, and adding to existing ones, come from a range of dramatic and literary forms, often touching on drama in its social context. There are therefore many opportunities to teach citizenship and personal and social development using the ideas in this handbook. A new preface complements the updated and expanded text."

Kim Flintoff