Henry Collie

Spring 2015 Volume 21.1 Volume Spring 2015 BÁS by Henry Collie PLUS Working in the Muck to Keep Kids Safe Krabat: Four Languages and a Drama Drama through Dialogue Learning through Drama Letting your Students Co-Direct Spring 2015 Volume 21.1 Drama One Forum - Many Voices 21.1 Volume Spring 2015 Drama is the journal of professional practice of National Drama Drama enables Drama educators and practitioners nationally and internationally to share theory and practice, debate key issues, engage in critical analysis and express personal opinions BÁS by Henry Collie Drama is committed to the promotion, support and development of new writers Drama is an equal opportunities publication in line with National Drama policy PLUS Working in the Muck to Keep Kids Safe Krabat: Four Languages and a Drama Drama through Dialogue Learning through Drama Letting your Students Co-Direct Editor for this issue Chris Lawrence Editorial Team Pamela Bowell, Amanda Kipling, Chris Lawrence and Viv Kerridge Reviews Editor Andy Kempe Design Victoria Osborne Advertising Jacqueline Bristow [email protected] Contact Details The National Drama website National Drama Publications contains news items, publications, events, 76 Kimberley Avenue opportunities and resources Nunhead Peckham You can join National Drama from there, or London SE15 3XH access pages for free, download information, Telephone: 020 7732 9336 record an audioboo, post on the ND Twitter and Email: [email protected] Facebook accounts, and link to other related ISSN 0967-4454 internet sites including Drama Magazine Front cover image: Joachim Müller The views expressed in Drama are those of the writers and do not necessarily express ND policy © All material in Drama may be photocopied for personal, education and training purposes. Please credit Drama Printed in UK by Evonprint Ltd, 80-83 Mackley Ind Est, Henfield Road, Small Dole, West Sussex BN5 9XE Spring 2015 Editorial InsideDrama 9 irstly, I would like to congratulate Áine Lark on becoming the new Chair of National Drama and Fwish her all the best in her new role. She brings to it a wealth of experience and commitment to National Drama. I also extend the heartfelt thanks and best wishes of the membership of the association to her predecessor in that role, Patrice Baldwin. Patrice has made an enormous contribution to the life – and survival – of National Drama and her influence will be much missed. 4 Reflections from the Chair In her first Reflections from the Chair, written in the From Heathcote to Hebdo aftermath of the shootings at Charlie Hedbo, in what thereby amounts to a Áine Lark introduces herself as the baptism of fire, Áine appeals to all Drama teachers to remember: new Chair of National Drama in a We are educators and through our work we seek to promote tolerance and highly topical way understanding. We question human values. We explore tensions on both a local and global scale, encouraging positive resolutions. We nurture empathy, emotional 5 Taking Drama Teaching development and social interaction. Our work as advocates of world peace cannot Outside the Classroom be underestimated. Holly Barradell brings the latest In a fortuitously timely way two articles in this issue particularly illustrate drama news these values at work across and through very different cultures. In Krabat Andy Kempe and Anke Koster give an account of a theatre project 6 Working in the Muck to where they outline the challenges and benefits of co-operation across three Keep Kids Safe European cultures and languages: German, Polish and Czech with English as the John Coventon interviews lingua franca of them all. Challenge there certainly was: Peter O’Connor How much more possibility could there be for friction when the cultures of three different schools representing three different national cultures are brought together to 9 Krabat: Four Languages and perform a play specially created for them? a Drama But the drive for collaboration and understanding was stronger still. Andy Kempe and Anke Koster In Bás Henry Collie also describes a trilingual theatre project set in the First describe a European multi-lingual World War. We are told that Bás is a word which means ‘Shallow’ in Welsh and theatre project ‘Death’ in Irish: again, the potential for friction is evident. The story that unfolds 19 Drama Through Dialogue is of soldiers needing to communicate and collaborate in Welsh, Irish and John Dickson describes his first English to survive their life-threatening circumstances. excursion into Drama in Scotland In this way the language itself is like a second play, enabling reflection on the way society makes unnecessary rules about the way people should communicate 25 Bás linguistically. Henry Collie outlines a tri-lingual Elsewhere in this issue the values identified by Áine are in evidence in the theatre project about WWI projects that are featured. Jennifer Little, in Letting Your Students Co-direct, writes about her experiments in greater democracy in the creation of theatre, 33 Learning Through Drama both in the classroom and at graduate level, inspired by Paulo Freire’s concept Jennifer Chamberlain makes the of ‘problem-posing education’ which has ‘co-intentionality ‘ at its heart. case for Drama in the curriculum Co-intentionality is an educational environment in which both the teacher and students are learning and where ‘nurture empathy, emotional development and 37 Letting Your Students social interaction’ are at its heart. Co-direct This is a long way away – and in the opposite direction – from the views of Jennifer Little describes two the current government, as Jennifer Chamberlain argues in Learning Through experiments in ‘democracy’ in the Drama. She responds to the views of Nicky Morgan by highlighting the way that devising process drama has integrated learning in a school in Liverpool. Also in this issue John Dickson writes about his first foray into a drama based 45 Hewin’ Goals practice which sounds a lot of fun; and John Coventon interviews Professor Peter Julie Ward reviews Backscratch’s O’Connor in part one of a two part feature. play about football in the North East At this time of violence and horror, what this issue amply demonstrates is that Our work as advocates of world peace cannot be underestimated. 46 Book Reviews Chris Lawrence Spring 2015 Drama Magazine 3 REFLECTIONS FROM THE CHAIR From Heathcote to Hebdo Áine Lark is the new Chair of National Drama; Former Secretary As a drama and theatre educator and Membership Officer of National Drama; Advanced Skills you can, and will, make a difference. Teacher of Drama; PGCE Drama (11-18); BA (Hons) Drama Campaign fervently to retain Drama and Theatre Studies within your curriculum and other settings. If you meet with resistance just ask the question, ‘What is this person afraid of?’ hilst pondering this, the first core. We leave them vulnerable to the What did Michael Gove fear when he set of my ‘Reflections from the indoctrination of systems and beliefs about removing drama from schools? W Chair’, my mind flitted between – the kind that creates inflexible and Thankfully, at National Drama, we the ground breaking work of Dorothy often unforgiving individuals. Is this aren’t afraid to play. We celebrate the Heathcote MBE and the appalling what the Education Minister for the power of the imagination and our ability situation which beset the offices of the UK wants? Surely society is better as human beings to be expressive. French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo. served by ‘well-rounded’ individuals, As I undertake my position as As the New Year dawned, the engines the so-called, ‘good citizens’. the new Chair of National Drama, I of war, borne out of intolerance, boldly I return to the sound teachings must extend my enormous thanks announced their arrival for 2015. In the of Dorothy Heathcote who and admiration to my predecessor, aftermath of the shootings, and the acknowledged that ‘drama is a real Patrice Baldwin. Always a dynamic seeming solidarity of people around the man in a mess’. I consider again the and passionate drama teacher and a world, I was reminded of the importance situation in France. That bloody mess. mighty force to be reckoned with, Patrice and the significance of the work of the But surely the perpetrators are not ‘real continually evidenced the undeniable drama teacher. We are educators and men’. Heathcote is, of course, referring power of working in and through Drama. through our work we seek to promote to the drama in the classroom, where She continues to work with us and tolerance and understanding. We question experiential learning is fully exploited remains one of my respected mentors, a human values. We explore tensions on to enable its participants to tackle world-recognised leading practitioner of both a local and global scale, encouraging tricky problems and, more significantly, drama, and a life-long friend. positive resolutions. We nurture empathy, in my understanding, to behave in a Having been a member of National emotional development and social manner which is truly worthy of a ‘real Drama for more than ten years, interaction. Our work as advocates of man’ (or woman!). And, in so doing, undertaking Executive positions of world peace cannot be underestimated. the participants learn the skills they Secretary and Membership Officer, I feel And I say this with conviction. In our need to positively affect and influence privileged to have been elected as Chair. I classrooms, we are teaching our children the world in which they live. Drama, look forward to growing the organisation, and young people to be respectful of each therefore, is the key to change. Drama building on the legacy left by Patrice, other. Yes, we build dramatic conflicts into is who we are. both nationally and internationally.

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