Lessons from Brecht: a Brechtian approach to drama, texts and education

In this piece the authors seek to re-read Brecht in terms of his contribution to drama education and pedagogic thought, rather than viewing him in conventional terms as a cultural icon and ‘great practitioner’ of theatre. The authors believe that a Brechtian conceptual framework, with its emphasis on critical production and critical audiences, is still pertinent to the conditions of contemporary cultural production. A Brechtian framework is seen as a way of taking drama education beyond the conventional polarities where on the one hand it is seen as a process of moral and social education dealing with universal truths, or on the other hand, as a set of formal and critical techniques

Shakespeare and media ecology: beyond historicism and presentism

This article proposes media ecology-a combination of media studies and performance studies with literary and cultural history-as a research perspective for Shakespeare studies. In contrast to a hermeneutics of renewal-as evinced in both New Historicism and what has been called presentism-media ecology combines a sense of historical alterity with an awareness of the continuing transformations of Shakespeare in changing media settings: from manuscripts and printed texts to theatrical performances, music, opera, cinema, and new media. As an example, the article focuses on the masque in The Tempest, which poses obvious difficulties for a hermeneutics of renewal and is often cut from performance. Productions and adaptations frequently extend the spectacular qualities of the masque to The Tempest as a whole and ignore the skepticism about theatrical illusion that is voiced by Prospero in the play. In the case of The Tempest, cultural productions ranging from theatrical performances to the closing ceremony of the London Olympics of 20 12 are difficult to conceptualize in the framework of adaptation studies (which relies on the precedence of an original over its derivations). The article argues that media ecology can help scholars map out such connections and differences between performances and cultural phenomena relating to Shakespeare as cannot be fully grasped either in a historicist or presentist perspective

The Margins of the Rational Man: Fluid Identities in Eighteenth-Century Biography

This study will explore the Enlightenment conception of the individual of reason, its attempted formulations in actor biographies, and its ultimate denial by the reality of human identity as multiple, fluid, and dialogical. Such fluidity sought to overcome the marginal status of the stage player through the embodiment of rational models of personality. Some stage celebrities, most notably David Garrick, were offering themselves as public models of identity for the new age of reasoned discourse. This involved the presentation before the public of stage performers as fully realized individuals. However, the unavoidable problem was that presenting an individual, even a renowned stage star, as a living paradigm of the enlightened person of reason would prove elusive. Aside from the inherent contradiction of locating any perfected stereotype in an actual person, the qualities making an individual in full conformity to his or her “reason” did not match the particular cultural qualities demanded for a successful eighteenth-century middle-class Englishman or Englishwoman. Nonetheless, by the last quarter of the eighteenth century, significant advances were made both within the particular profession of acting and before the onstage and offstage public. The acting profession was moving quickly and for the first time in England away from its marginalized status to offer respected agents for cultural change. The new genre of actor biographies as well contributed to this more fully realized formulation of the modern individual

Ideologija ir teatro tekstų vertimas šiuolaikiniame Turkijos teatre

This paper aims to explore the relationship between drama translation and ideology in contemporary Turkish theatre. After delineating the distinction between state/city theatres and independent (private/alternative) theatres, it will then focus on the 2000s with a special emphasis on the translation activities of independent (private/alternative) theatres. In particular, it shall draw attention to how actor/director translators working with or for these theatres have become significant cultural agents and have challenged the status quo by either choosing to translate plays with provocative content or by retranslating plays that were forced to undergo (self-)censorship. The paper will also challenge the general impression in the Turkish context that the reason for retranslating classical plays into Turkish is merely a need to follow and reflect contemporary changes in the language.Šio straipsnio tikslas – ištirti draminių tekstų vertimo ir ideologijos santykį šiuolaikiniame Turkijos teatre. Išryškinus skirtumus tarp valstybinių bei miestų savivaldybių teatrų ir nepriklausomų (privačių, alternatyvių) teatrų, dėmesys sutelkiamas į nepriklausomų (privačių, alternatyvių) teatrų vertimo veiklą pirmuoju 2000-ųjų metų dešimtmečiu. Daugiausiai šiame straipsnyje gilinamasi į tai, kaip su šiais teatrais dirbę aktoriai-vertėjai ir režisieriai-vertėjai tapo svarbiais kultūros veikėjais ir metė iššūkį teatrų status quo, pasirinkdami versti provokuojančio turinio pjeses arba iš naujo versti (perversti) pjeses, kurios buvo paveiktos (savi)cenzūros. Autoriai taip pat kvestionuoja bendrą Turkijos kontekste susiformavusią nuostatą, kad klasikinės pjesės iš naujo verstos (perverstos) į turkų kalbą tik dėl būtinybės sekti ir atspindėti šiuolaikinius kalbos pokyčius

Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the Musical? Using Theatrical ScholARTistry to Transform Teaching and Learning

Every classroom is a performance space (Pineau, 1994). The relations of power inherent to every classroom must be dismantled to transform pedagogy and make learning mutually liberatory for both teacher and student (Freire, 1996). Using Friere’s (1996) Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a theoretical foundation, this article presents ScholARTistry as a medium to (re)imagine teaching and learning. Simply put, ScholARTistry is a hybrid practice that combines tools used by the literary, visual, and/or performing arts with tools used by educators and other social scientists to explore the human condition (Cahnmann, 2006). First, Freire’s (1996) contributions to emancipatory scholarship and educational discourse are discussed. Next, ScholARTistry is reviewed as a medium exploring the transformative relationship between art and social justice. Finally, using an instrumental case study (Stake, 2003), I illustrate how theatrical ScholARTistry can be used to dismantle normalized discourse and transform teaching and learning

Green Theatre: proto-environmental drama and the performance of ecological values in contemporary Western theatre

The aim of this study is to illustrate the purpose and potential of theatre that promotes a proto-environmental agenda, or Green Theatre, in re-orienting Western behavior and mores in a direction that creates positive socio-environmental change. In correlation, this dissertation will examine the objectives and performance modes of several educational and professional theatre entities that house a distinctly unique Green agenda. The primary performances featured will include Peter Schumann’s Bread and Puppet Theatre, Blue Man Group’s Tubes, performances by Koko the signing lowland gorilla, and Playmakers of Baton Rouge’s production of Habitat Cats

Drama for Social Justice: Embodying Identity and Emotion in ELT

In this thesis, the author makes the case that drama is a powerful tool for language acquisition because it develops and engages embodiment, emotion and identity, important aspects of learning and communication that are often neglected in traditional language classrooms. The thesis establishes a theoretical foundation for the use of drama in the social justice-oriented language classroom, reviews research on drama for language learning and describes common drama techniques. The author connects the theories of embodied cognition and multiliteracies to an intersectional model of identity and argues that drama helps students re-examine the way society positions them based on their embodied identities. The impact of emotions on language learning and the ways students’ emotional experiences are influenced by language and culture are analyzed, with the conclusion that drama can be an effective tool to increase students’ emotional intelligence. The author situates second language identity formation within a narrative identity development framework and proposes identity texts as a form of counter-storytelling. These texts contribute to the creation of a more just society by challenging dominant discourses and encouraging students to envision a wider range of possibilities for their future selves. The thesis concludes with a framework for implementing drama in the language classroom, which contains suggestions for creating a socially responsible drama class as well as a progression of activities that teachers can use with their own students

TYA AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH IN HIGHER EDUCATION: AN ASSET TO UNDERGRADUATES AND THEIR COMMUNITY

Undergraduate students pursuing a career in theatre are at the beginning of their life-long training and understanding and appreciation for the art. Performing in a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) touring production alongside the responsibility of crafting educational outreach opportunities provides the students with a unique chance to comprehend the art they have chosen to devote their lives to. This paper details the value of offering a course I crafted entitled “TYA Educational Outreach”, for both the undergraduates enrolled and the community they would be reaching. While undergraduates develop an understanding of the impact theatre can have on an individual and how to share the art form with others, children in the community are exposed to live theatre and the social, emotional, and academic benefits that accompany it. The course curriculum will introduce students to the genre of TYA, educational outreach, and arts integration with their respective advantages. The course, taken in conjunction with a Rehearsal and Production credit, entails rehearsing and performing a one-hour adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest to local middle and high schools. On top of that students will be responsible for generating an accompanying study guide and workshop lesson plan, which they will lead in classrooms following the performance